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From: bsmith@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU
Newsgroups: net.lang.lisp
Subject: Re: Against the Tide of Common LISP
Message-ID: <8700002@uiucdcsp>
Date: Thu, 26-Jun-86 17:37:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: uiucdcsp.8700002
Posted: Thu Jun 26 17:37:00 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 30-Jun-86 03:14:11 EDT
References: <830@bu-cs.UUCP>
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Nf-From: uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU!bsmith    Jun 26 16:37:00 1986


It seems incredible to me that anyone would prefer Franz Lisp over
Common Lisp.  I recently had to convert a natural language front-end
written in Franz on a vax to Common Lisp on a Symbolics.  It was a
nightmare I hope I never have to go through again.  Functions
continuously mentioned variables that were defined in other files
(the program was spread out across 6 files).  There was no way to
know what was happening at any given time without extensive comments
(which were missing).  I never appreciated lexical scoping more than
I did then.  If Common Lisp is the dark ages compared to Franz Lisp,
then I plan on being very happy in my monastery surrounded by 
Symbolics and Explorers.