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From: davis@ilog.fr (Harley Davis)
Subject: Re: Comparing productivity: LisP against C++ (was Re: Reference
In-Reply-To: lofaso@gandalf.arlut.utexas.edu's message of 23 Dec 1994 14:24:45 GMT
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Date: 23 Dec 1994 15:58:26 GMT
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.lang.c++:104716 comp.lang.lisp:16177


In article <LOFASO.94Dec23082445@gandalf.arlut.utexas.edu> lofaso@gandalf.arlut.utexas.edu (Bernie Lofaso) writes:

   I don't know many (read none) people who write Lisp to interface to
   X-windows or make Sybase queries. These tasks are more what I'd
   envision as being a part of real world problems, not writing
   blackboard systems.

Practically all of our clients do one or another of these things, or
both. (On the other hand, I only know of one client working on a
blackboard-like system.)  Furthermore, they program the GUI/DB access
part of the application using C++ libraries which are automatically
interfaced into our Lisp, Ilog Talk.

Of course, in between accessing a database and displaying data on the
screen, there is a great deal of work to do.  Our philosophy is that
C++ is a good language for writing well-understood,
performance-intensive libraries such as graphics libraries or general
database access libraries, while Lisp is a good language for rapid
prototyping and development of high-level or poorly-understood
problems.  The important thing is to make Lisp and C++ work together
seamlessly.  This is what we've tried to accomplish with Ilog Talk.

I would also point out that SmallTalk, which is basically Lisp with
another syntax, has carved out a considerable niche in exactly the
database/GUI market.

-- Harley Davis


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