> the irb shell is not a real REPL.
What is a true repl?
loop { puts eval(gets) }
is a REPL. Just because you don't like what irb has to offer doesn't mean you get to define what REPL is.
> You can also do stuff like retrieve a database entry as a CLOS object and inspect or manipulate it
That's great. Just like you can retrieve database entries as activerecord objects.
> While I was taking SaaS-class, I missed the parentheses and as always, I got curious: how would Common Lisp compare?
For a regular CRUD task, Common Lisp compares badly. You say Rails convention is a steep learning curve, but I don't see how your folder structure is any easier to grok than Rails' if I am not already familiar with it. As far as naming convnetion goes, that might bite you sometimes when you are just starting, but use generators and "do as what is already done" and you will be good.
Common Lisp has its niceties - generally produces fast code, some abstractions are better done with macros etc. But for now, when compared to Rails for a regular CRUD app, it isn't going to look good. Someone can alwasy write Rails for Common Lisp, and then implement all plugins which ease development(devise, kaminari, paperclip...) - but no one has yet.
What is a true repl?
is a REPL. Just because you don't like what irb has to offer doesn't mean you get to define what REPL is.> You can also do stuff like retrieve a database entry as a CLOS object and inspect or manipulate it
That's great. Just like you can retrieve database entries as activerecord objects.
> While I was taking SaaS-class, I missed the parentheses and as always, I got curious: how would Common Lisp compare?
For a regular CRUD task, Common Lisp compares badly. You say Rails convention is a steep learning curve, but I don't see how your folder structure is any easier to grok than Rails' if I am not already familiar with it. As far as naming convnetion goes, that might bite you sometimes when you are just starting, but use generators and "do as what is already done" and you will be good.
Common Lisp has its niceties - generally produces fast code, some abstractions are better done with macros etc. But for now, when compared to Rails for a regular CRUD app, it isn't going to look good. Someone can alwasy write Rails for Common Lisp, and then implement all plugins which ease development(devise, kaminari, paperclip...) - but no one has yet.