Like sure if I want to enter a multiline expression for evaluation I could press enter. The I enter the forms first line. Then I enter subsequent ones. If I want to skip a line for clarity or some other reason I can't. Sure there is the simple workaround of inserting the ; comment symbol on that line and that's it. However that whole dynamic still feels cumbersome.
NewLISP absolutely kicks ass and is a pleasure to work with compared to Common LISP and Scheme. I think the interactive prompt should also reflect the ease of use and quality of the rest of the language. Like Common LISP is bloated and has a horrible syntax but when run in interactive mode it's a pleasure to work with. Whatever expression I enter be it an atom or list if it takes several lines so be it. Common LISP does that without complaining:
[georgiy@PANTHER ~]$ clisp -q
[1]> (+
1
1
)
2
[2]> "Hello
Lispers"
"Hello
Lispers"
[3]>
[georgiy@PANTHER ~]$
NewLISP on the other hand while workable with the clunky multiline awkwardness just isn't as pleasant as it could be to deal with:
[georgiy@PANTHER ~]$ newlisp
newLISP v.10.4.3 64-bit on Linux IPv4/6 UTF-8, execute 'newlisp -h' for more info.
> "Hello
ERR: string token too long : "Hello"
>
"Hello
Lispers"
"HellonLispers"
> (
ERR: missing parenthesis : "...( "
>
(
+
1
1
)
2
> [georgiy@PANTHER ~]$
I'm wondering can the interactive NewLISP REPL be made to be as convenient to use as a Common LISP REPL if not by default then maybe via a command line switch? Is there a reason for the current behaviour that I don't see currently?