[kbp]

Yes, I agree. If you've ever read old Lisp code it's full of PROG and assigning variables and jumping around with gotos, McCarthy even said: "LISP also allows sequential programs written with assignment statements and go tos. Compared to the mathematically elegant recursive function definition features, the ``program feature'' looks like a hasty afterthought. This is not quite correct; the idea of having sequential programs in LISP antedates that of having recursive function definition." Mind, if you've ever read modern Lisp code, it's full of LOOP and ITER. Lisp has always been largely imperative.

As for what makes Lisp "different," I think it was true in about 1960 that it was mostly the functional support. It hasn't been for a long time, but I just think that people who don't know Lisp assuming that it is isn't completely unfounded.

> More, early lisps were far more up front about their imperative abstractions.

I will say that I have no idea how someone could look at Common Lisp and not realise it was largely an imperative language unless they had some major preconceptions going in.

[taeric]

My reading comprehension on first waking up was terrible. I thought we were disagreeing, but I can see you were clearly adding to my statement, not contradicting it. :)

Love that quote from McCarthy, btw. I have not seen that before. Is there more in the context of where that came from?

[kbp]

It's from this: http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/history/lisp/lisp.html

[taeric]

I'd seen this link before, but clearly hadn't read it as well as I'd thought I'd done in the past. Likely I was too unfamiliar with the techs to really grok what I was reading at the time. Thanks for sharing!