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Hofstadter on Lisp (1983)

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372 points Eric_WVGG | 1 comments | 16 Oct 24 13:44 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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AnimalMuppet ◴[16 Oct 24 15:21 UTC] No.41860160[source]▶
> Every computer language has arbitrary features, and most languages are in fact overloaded with them. A few, however, such as Lisp and Algol, are built around a kernel that seems as natural as a branch of mathematics.

Algol? The kernel of Algol seems as natural as a branch of mathematics? Can anyone who has used Algol give their opinion of this statement?

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1. aidenn0 ◴[17 Oct 24 02:02 UTC] No.41865751[source]▶
Hard to say without knowing which version of Algol he is referring to. Algol 68 was very different from Algol 58.

Algol 60 was the first language with lexical scope, while Algol 68 was a kitchen-sink language that (positively) influenced Python and (negatively) influenced Pascal.