Opa vs Parenscript
When comparing Opa vs Parenscript, the Slant community recommends Opa for most people. In the question“What are the best languages that compile to JavaScript? ” Opa is ranked 30th while Parenscript is ranked 35th. The most important reason people chose Opa is:
Opa uses type inference to decide what code runs on the client or the server, so you can organize code how you like, but still be sure that it runs where it needs to.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Type Inferred
Opa uses type inference to decide what code runs on the client or the server, so you can organize code how you like, but still be sure that it runs where it needs to.
Pro Familiar Javascript Syntax
Opa's syntax is very similar to JavaScript, making it an easy choice for developers who are used to developing in JavaScript.
Pro Client and Server in the same language
Pro It is Common Lisp
Lisps are easy languages to learn (once you get past the parens) and Common Lisp is a very practical dialect.
Pro Run almost identically on both the browser and server
Parenscript code can run almost identically on both the browser (as JavaScript) and server (as Common Lisp).
Cons
Con Not popular
Opa is not as popular as other languages which compile to JavaScript. Making it harder to find learning resources or even answers if you get stuck somewhere.
Con The syntax may be hard to learn
Being an implementation of Lisp, Parenscript's syntax may seem cryptic and hard to understand for people not used to it. While Lisp has very little syntax compared to other languages and it's generally considered pretty terse, there's still an initial overhead in learning the language.