> Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2002 18:43:08 -0300
> From: Adriano Nagelschmidt Rodrigues <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> Hi,
>
> Perl is my favorite language, and I'm eagerly following Perl 6
> development. So I would like to ask this question here. Sorry if I'm
> being inconvenient...
>
> Do you think that Lisp macros make the language more powerful than
> others (eg Perl)? I mean, do they really give a competitive
> advantage, or are they being overrated (see below)?
If you define "powerful" as "can do more things," then of course not.
Lisp is implemented in C, and C's macros are certainly not essential
to its functionality. But think of what macros in general provide:
* Multi-platform compatability
* Easier maintenance
Perl has no problem with the former. It's multi-platform by nature.
But is has as much of a problem with the latter as any other language,
except Lisp. That is one of the continuing strong points of Lisp: it
can change very, very quickly.
However, they are intending to make it possible to write things like
C<if> with subs, which will imply most of the power of
macros... though I imagine it won't be possible to have the level of
introspection lisp macros have (infinite). But, that design team is
very clever, so you never know.
This kind of thing should reveal itself in the next Apocalypse. Then
we can see Larry's "vision," and make appropriate adjustments in terms
of that. Right now, it's very fuzzy.
Oh, and you aren't being inconvenient. These kinds of questions are
what the list is for: ask away!
Luke
