[hoosieree]

> What’s the point of an array-based language if it’s slower and harder to write than the equivalent in mainstream languages!?

How many times would you throw away a 1000 line program and start over with completely different data structures and algorithms, just to try a different approach? What about a 10 line program? Or a 1-line program?

When it's basically free to rewrite your entire program, you tend to explore more. That's one benefit terseness affords you.

[bbatha]

With auto complete I rarely type more that a character or two of any single thing. I doubt it takes me much longer to compose a traditional program compared to array language syntax with modern tooling.

[NikkiA]

The (human) memory footprint of the more verbose program is much larger though, requiring it to be thought of in smaller chunks, and thus in a slower manner. You can't keep the mental model of a 1000 line program entirely in your memory, but a 10 line program is different, even if the individual lines are more dense.