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From: rdp@teddy.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Re: Using LISP for scientific programming? (gasp!)
Message-ID: <1250@teddy.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 4-Sep-85 08:44:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: teddy.1250
Posted: Wed Sep  4 08:44:59 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 5-Sep-85 08:59:56 EDT
References: <909@oddjob.UUCP> <163@ho95e.UUCP> <152@rtp47.UUCP> <1057@sdcsvax.UUCP> <799@kuling.UUCP>
Reply-To: rdp@teddy.UUCP (Richard D. Pierce)
Distribution: net
Organization: GenRad, Inc., Concord, Mass.
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In article <799@kuling.UUCP> martin@kuling.UUCP (Per-Erik Martin) writes:
>
>I came from FORTRAN/Pascal to Lisp. It was wonderful.
>
What is FORTRAN/Pascal? I didn't know they were that alike? Is this an
arithmetic expression? If so, the result is dman near zero :-)
>
>Most scientific programmers have studied enough math to learn that with
>no problems at all. Hewlett Packards calculators, which use postfix syntax,
>are very popular among scientific engineers.
>
I was around when the first HP scientific calculators were introduced. You
could not imagine the grumbling, the bitching, the weeping wailing and
gnashing of teeth on the part of the scientific and engineering community
about having to use RPN. very few liked it, but they all put up with it
because it was the only thing around.

As yet, I have yet to find a standard Algebra book that states the quadratic
formula in anything other than algebraic notation. So what if one takes more
keystrokes than another? (10 percent more, maybe). The algebraic expression
of algebraic equations is closer to the method that is presented in high
schools and college math and engineering courses. That alone is sufficient,
in my view, to condemn RPN.

The fact that stack-oriented architectures are better served by expressions
in RPN notation is no damned excuse. Computers exist to serve people, not
the other way around. If it can be demonstrated that all arithmetic, algebra,
etc. etc. has been presented in RPN, then you got a case for it's proliferation.
Otherwise, it is merely forcing the inadequacies of an architecture on the user.