[tlrobinson]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Parenscript doesn't abstract away HTML, CSS, JavaScript, it just lets you write HTML, CSS, and JavaScript using a Lispy language.

This is very different than abstracting away HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which is where I think the real problem is.

I shouldn't have to learn 3+ of different languages (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc), AND 3+ different variations of each (Mozilla, WebKit, IE, etc), AND multiple versions of each, AND another abstraction layer (Parenscript) just for basically macros, just to write a web application.

[gruseom]

It seems to me we've had this discussion before! No, it doesn't abstract these things away in the sense that compilers abstract away machine language. That is, you still have to know about them. Is that what you mean?

If so, it's a fair distinction. Probably it would be more accurate if I said abstract over rather than abstract away. We can get rid of a lot of repetition this way, but not a lot of the details that remain after that. Still, that's a big deal; better than anything else I've seen by far. So while "abstract away" may be an overstatement, I think that "just lets you write HTML, CSS, and JavaScript using a Lispy language" is an understatement. It doesn't just let you write those things - you don't need Lisp to do that. Similarly, saying "just for basically macros" (my emphasis) reads like an oxymoron to me. Macros are a big deal!

If you can do better, I definitely want to know. But my definition of "better" includes being usable in a standard browser, and "usable" includes performant.