Re: How to improve the readability of (any) LISP or any highlevel functional language to the level of FORTH ?

[Nathan]

Well, to answer the question simply, this code will provide the
functionality you've been asking about in Ruby.

my_list = [1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 1, 1, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5]
print my_list.reduce([]){|x, y|
  if x.empty? or x[x.length-1] != y then
    x + [y]
  else
    x
  end
}

As is typical of functional languages, this returns a value rather
than modifying the list in place. I recommended Ruby because you were
asking about a functional programming language that still reads in an
sequential manner like imperative languages, which Ruby does.

Ruby is a purely object oriented language, however there is no need
for new developers to write code in an object oriented manner. Your
code will be put into objects whether you specify those objects or not
simply for the sake of providing metadata.

I am familiar with Python, I use it more than Ruby these days. I've
found function/method names and locations to be less consistent than
in Ruby. I've found that far too many routines modify data in place -
rather than return the result- to make it a serious functional
language. That being the case, it's very usable.

It is my belief that every language possesses some piece of the light.
None are prefect; every one needs to learn from every other one.
Whether it's Ruby, Python, Java, C#, Lisp, or Perl; there are always
developers in the community that believe their language is beyond
improvement. I pity them.

Generally I consider the issue of readability to be a question of how
closely a new syntax matches what one is accustomed to reading. Many
people prefer sequential program flow over nested simply because
English, and every other spoken language I'm aware of, is sequential
in nature.

Thus, something can be considered "simple" and "intuitive" only when
it builds off what a person already knows; and since that knowledge
base changes dramatically between individuals... Simple and intuitive
are also in the eye of the beholder. In the end, what's important is
that your solution work for you.

There are many languages because there are many types of people and
there are many ways of thinking and recording thought. I believe that
greatness in thought is not about "having the prefect way of doing
things" or "finding some ultimate", to me it's about having many ways
of doing something and recognizing when to use each one.

Just like any other tool, programming languages have their strengths
and weaknesses. If one wanted, one could probably build an entire
house using nothing but a hammer. I will prefer to use a hammer only
for the nails, but that's me.