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Sorry, but even the Lisp logo is a bit quirky!
Wrong again #157
It has been said that one can tell what language a programmer used previously by looking at their first Mathematica program. Similarly, it is common to see Python programs rated on how ‘pythonic’ they are.
In a Lisp tutorial, one wants to see Lisp used in the way it is intended to be used, rather than examples that are direct translations from a language such as Basic. If you have learnt Basic, the best advice is to forget all about it, so I was disappointed to see Basic mentioned in a Lisp article together with program examples written in a Basic style.
Lisp is primarily a functional language; purely functional languages have some drawbacks, so Lisp includes some non-functional features, but these are for use in special cases, so should not be included in a first tutorial. Lisp has an REPL (read, evaluate, print loop), which means results are automatically printed, so any mention of the print command is an unnecessary distraction. In Lisp, variables are best used only in special cases, so the setq command shouldn’t be mentioned in a first tutorial either.