RE: [External] : Emacs website, Lisp, and other

[Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com>]

> A balanced documentation example would be:
> 
>  Emacs Lisp (Elisp) is a dialect of the Lisp
>  programming language, chosen by Richard Stallman
>  for its flexibility and his familiarity with it...
>
>  While Elisp's power and versatility make it
>  well-suited for writing editing commands, it's
>  important to recognize that different languages
>  have their own strengths and may be better suited
>  for other specific tasks.
> 
> This approach provides necessary background
> information without making exaggerated claims,
> reducing the likelihood of sparking heated debates
> among users.

While I agree with general advice to avoid inflated
language / hyperbole, IMO that description is not
only too subdued, it misses the reasons why Elisp
is important for Emacs:

 > Lisp programming language, chosen by Richard
 > Stallman for its flexibility and his familiarity
 > with it

Flexibility: Certainly, but without some support
that's just a weasel word - unhelpful, near
meaningless.

And RMS didn't choose Lisp because it was what he
was familiar with.  There's a little more to it -
and to Lisp - than you suggest there.  RMS has,
himself, written about it.  You can take him at his
1981 word about why Lisp is important for Emacs.

https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/emacs-paper.html

  Comprehension of the user's program reaches its
  greatest heights for Lisp programs, because the
  simplicity of Lisp syntax makes intelligent
  editing operations easier to implement, while
  the complexity of other languages discourages
  their users from implementing similar operations
  for them. In fact, EMACS offers most of the same
  facilities as editors such as the Interlisp editor
  which operate on list structure, but combined with
  display editing. The simple syntax of Lisp,
  together with the powerful editing features made
  possible by that simple syntax, add up to a more
  convenient programming system than is practical
  with other languages. Lisp and extensible editors
  are made for each other, in this way. We will see
  below that this is not the only way...

  An on-line extensible system must be able to accept
  and then execute new code while it is running.
  This eliminates most popular programming languages
  except Lisp, APL and Snobol. At the same time,
  Lisp's interpreter and its ability to treat
  functions as data are exactly what we need...

  A PASCAL or PL/I implementation which uses an
  interpreter, and allows the user program to access
  the interpreter data structures sufficiently, could
  be used just as a Lisp implementation would be used.
  However, such implementations are very rare, because
  these languages are not designed for them. If the
  implementor appreciates the importance of the
  interpreter, and of treating functions as data, he
  will usually choose to implement Lisp...

  When a language is used for implementing extensible
  systems, certain control structure and data
  structure features become vital:

   * Global Variables...
   * Dynamic Binding...
   * Variables Local to a File...
   * Hooks...
   * User handling of errors...
   * Non-Local Control Transfer...

  The traditional attitude towards Lisp holds that
  it is useful only for esoteric amusements and
  Artificial Intelligence... The special properties
  of Lisp, which make extensibility possible, are
  a key feature, even though many of the users will
  not be programmers.

tl;dr:

"Lisp and extensible editors are made for each other"

Sure, that was 43 years ago.  But still germane.

 > it's important to recognize that different
 > languages have their own strengths and may be
 > better suited for other specific tasks.

What's the point of saying that in the context for
which you suggest it?