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1:14:44
dim
Demosthenex: do it the other way around, store data in a normalized relational design and build JSON as a query output
1:15:38
dim
Demosthenex: have a read of https://tapoueh.org/blog/2017/09/on-json-and-sql/ to see how to normalize JSON documents in a relational database
4:09:12
csgator
hi all, I am a young programmer and I want to learn lisp as a hobby project because I read about it in paul graham's book hackers and painters. The way he describes lisp it seems to be the holy grail of languages , what do you guys think does learning lisp make you a better programmer ?
4:10:40
csgator
haha fair point. I just want to know as an outsider why you guys think lisp is so good ?
4:12:56
no-defun-allowed
learning lisp made my datefriend think about other languages weird, and they told me they couldn't stand C++ after. it likely will make you hate every other language on the planet but hey go for it.
4:13:02
beach
csgator: The condition system is also quite good. Much better than the exception feature of languages like Java.
4:13:47
csgator
so noob question here : let's say I want to build a REST API can I do it in lisp ? does it have enough libraries to do anything one would require in a normal application building ? what I am trying to ask maybe is can I use it to build stuff ? I am convinced that programming languages are increasingly becoming more lisp like
4:13:47
beach
Oh, sure, if you compare to a language without automatic memory management, Common Lisp looks even better. But most sane languages these days have that.
4:15:24
beach
csgator: Not my domain of expertise, but I am pretty sure there are libraries for that. Other languages won't become Common Lisp until they also look like it, and then they might as well *be* Common Lisp.
4:16:06
csgator
so what do you guys use lisp for ? just trying to gather info on where it is being used :)
4:16:08
beach
csgator: It is trues that for *almost* every feature of Common Lisp, you will find some language that has it. But you won't find a language other than Common Lisp that combines all those features.
4:16:31
no-defun-allowed
i use hunchentoot but caveman2 is also an option (if you can mind the god awful Python @tagging things)
4:17:06
beach
csgator: Here is a nice quotation from Kent Pitman: https://www.wisdomandwonder.com/link/1018/please-dont-assume-lisp-is
4:17:20
csgator
beach : that is exactly the point paul graham mentions in his book which made me wonder, why is the software world going backward and if so why even bother with a fancy new language every year, we could just use lisp for everything
4:18:35
beach
csgator: Because there are strong psychological forces at work. People are not rational and they are willing to waste arbitrary amounts of time not to learn Common Lisp.
4:18:58
beach
csgator: There is an entire domain now called "behavioral economics" that will explain such behavior.
4:19:43
beach
In the meantime, here is a short essay on the subject: http://metamodular.com/Essays/psychology.html
4:21:03
no-defun-allowed
still they don't quite get why we avoid SETF and friends when possible in lisps but they know a lot of CL and scheme
4:21:58
no-defun-allowed
i said it's easier to analyse since SETF can set whatever but they say understanding functional code is hard already
4:22:18
csgator
beach: got your point, thanks. I am going to spend the next few weeks learning lisp just for the fun of it and also because many smart people I know have suggested learning lisp. I'll be using this channel to get help when stuck
6:13:20
Shinmera
csgator: Just to get you started, the typical recommendation nowadays is https://portacle.github.io for the IDE and http://www.gigamonkeys.com/book/ for the introductory text.
6:16:47
Shinmera
csgator: As for REST APIs, of course you can do that with Lisp. There's plenty of websites and services, both hobby and professional, running Lisp on the web.