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Parenscript vs Python (via Skulpt)

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When comparing Parenscript vs Python (via Skulpt), the Slant community recommends Python (via Skulpt) for most people. In the question“What are the best languages that compile to JavaScript? ” Python (via Skulpt) is ranked 34th while Parenscript is ranked 35th. The most important reason people chose Python (via Skulpt) is:

You can write blocking methods that don't cause the whole page to hang, something difficult to do in languages targeting Javascript.

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Common Questions

What are the best languages that compile to JavaScript?

Parenscript

Python (via Skulpt)

Pros

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).

Pro
Suspensions

You can write blocking methods that don't cause the whole page to hang, something difficult to do in languages targeting Javascript.

Pro
Interactive REPL

You can evaluate new Python code in the browser written by the user.

Cons

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.