Corey Sweeney wrote:
I avoid using set commands whenever I can, but I probably have differnt goals then you when programming.
One reason why I tend to think of Lisp as a functional language (even though it is technically multi-paradigm) has to do with the fact that I almost always program in a functional manner.
Lisp for me has two primary advantages: a) supports the functional paradigm, and b) homoiconic. I tend to exploit both of those features to their fullest when I program in the language, as these have proven to produce remarkably powerful and bug-free code for me.
That some Common Lisp implementations have poor support for optimized functional usage is an unfortunate, but rather irrelevant, point for me. When I need highly optimized code, I develop in C. I use Lisp for its elegance, and because it promotes the creation of rapid, bug-free programs.
- John Quigley