1. The standard doesn’t guarantee double float arrays will be efficient.
Most implementations do it (CCL SBCL CMUCL ECL LW ACL SCL ...), except for a few unpopular implementations. Seven do what you want, but a couple don’t. What gives? Julia has neither a standard nor more than one implementation.
2. No efficient parametric/ad hoc polymorphism.
You can get far with inlining. You can also use libraries specifically built with this in mind. But you’re right, it’s not a built-in feature. But scientific codes are generally not super polymorphic anyway. Look at all the FORTRAN.
But besides that, Lisp let’s you build the language you want to use, and have it interoperate for the rest of the ecosystem. If you are surprised that building a language is work, then Lisp may not be the choice for you. If you’re willing to design the language you want for numerical computing, Lisp has the essential data types and primitives to allow you to do that, even portably.
If you want off-the-shelf features of Julia, then using Julia is more optimal than Lisp. If you want a language that will readily adapt without changing under your feet, without risking your programs not working 2, 10, or 25 years from now, then Lisp might be a good choice.
Most implementations do it (CCL SBCL CMUCL ECL LW ACL SCL ...), except for a few unpopular implementations. Seven do what you want, but a couple don’t. What gives? Julia has neither a standard nor more than one implementation.
2. No efficient parametric/ad hoc polymorphism.
You can get far with inlining. You can also use libraries specifically built with this in mind. But you’re right, it’s not a built-in feature. But scientific codes are generally not super polymorphic anyway. Look at all the FORTRAN.
But besides that, Lisp let’s you build the language you want to use, and have it interoperate for the rest of the ecosystem. If you are surprised that building a language is work, then Lisp may not be the choice for you. If you’re willing to design the language you want for numerical computing, Lisp has the essential data types and primitives to allow you to do that, even portably.
If you want off-the-shelf features of Julia, then using Julia is more optimal than Lisp. If you want a language that will readily adapt without changing under your feet, without risking your programs not working 2, 10, or 25 years from now, then Lisp might be a good choice.