programming languages

Rank

Smalltalk vs Common Lisp

  1. This language would be good for teaching children to write software

    83% 17%
    Smalltalk 10 out of 12 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  2. This language encourages writing code that is easy to maintain.

    76% 24%
    Smalltalk 16 out of 21 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  3. This language is good for beginners

    76% 24%
    Smalltalk 38 out of 50 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  4. This language is likely to be a passing fad

    73% 27%
    Smalltalk 28 out of 38 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  5. This language has well-organized libraries with consistent, carefully thought-out interfaces

    72% 28%
    Smalltalk 26 out of 36 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  6. This language is minimal

    71% 29%
    Smalltalk 28 out of 39 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  7. This language has a very rigid idea of how things should be done

    68% 32%
    Smalltalk 40 out of 58 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  8. This language has a niche outside of which I would not use it

    68% 32%
    Smalltalk 30 out of 44 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  9. This language has a very coherent design

    66% 34%
    Smalltalk 26 out of 39 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  10. Code written in this language tends to be verbose

    65% 35%
    Smalltalk 27 out of 41 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  11. I would use this language for a desktop GUI project

    65% 35%
    Smalltalk 32 out of 49 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  12. I enjoy playing with this language but would never use it for "real code"

    62% 38%
    Smalltalk 27 out of 43 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  13. This language has an annoying syntax

    62% 38%
    Smalltalk 10 out of 16 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  14. I am sometimes embarrassed to admit to my peers that I know this language

    62% 38%
    Smalltalk 20 out of 32 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  15. It is easy to tell at a glance what code in this language does

    62% 38%
    Smalltalk 33 out of 53 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  16. I use this language out of choice

    60% 40%
    Smalltalk 23 out of 38 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  17. I use a lot of code written in this language which I really don't want to have to make changes to

    60% 40%
    Smalltalk 6 out of 10 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  18. Code written in this language will usually run in all the major implementations if it runs in one of them.

    58% 42%
    Smalltalk 7 out of 12 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  19. This language is frequently used for applications it isn't suitable for

    57% 43%
    Smalltalk 16 out of 28 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  20. Code written in this language is very readable

    56% 44%
    Smalltalk 25 out of 44 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  21. I usually use this language on projects with many other members

    56% 44%
    Smalltalk 27 out of 48 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  22. This language has a good community

    56% 44%
    Smalltalk 27 out of 48 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  23. This language has a high quality implementation

    55% 45%
    Smalltalk 10 out of 18 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  24. This language is built on a small core of orthogonal features

    52% 48%
    Smalltalk 21 out of 40 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  25. It is easy to debug programs written in this language when it goes wrong

    52% 48%
    Smalltalk 23 out of 44 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  26. There are many good tools for this language

    52% 48%
    Smalltalk 24 out of 46 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  27. I would use this language for a web project

    51% 49%
    Smalltalk 31 out of 60 picked Smalltalk over Common Lisp Common Lisp

  28. This language is well suited for an agile development approach using short iterations.

    50% 50%
    Smalltalk 7 out of 14 each for Common Lisp and Smalltalk Common Lisp

  29. I enjoy using this language

    50% 50%
    Smalltalk 26 out of 52 each for Common Lisp and Smalltalk Common Lisp

  30. Libraries in this language tend to be well documented.

    50% 50%
    Smalltalk 8 out of 16 each for Common Lisp and Smalltalk Common Lisp

  31. This is a low level language

    50% 50%
    Smalltalk 24 out of 48 each for Common Lisp and Smalltalk Common Lisp

  32. This language has a good library distribution mechanism.

    50% 50%
    Smalltalk 8 out of 16 each for Common Lisp and Smalltalk Common Lisp

  33. It's unusual for me to discover unfamiliar features

    50% 50%
    Smalltalk 19 out of 38 each for Common Lisp and Smalltalk Common Lisp

  34. Writing code in this language is a lot of work

    50% 50%
    Smalltalk 25 out of 50 each for Common Lisp and Smalltalk Common Lisp

  35. I often get angry when writing code in this language

    50% 50%
    Smalltalk 5 out of 10 each for Common Lisp and Smalltalk Common Lisp

  36. I would use this language as a scripting language embedded inside a larger application

    48% 52%
    Smalltalk 21 out of 41 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  37. The thought that I may still be using this language in twenty years time fills me with dread

    48% 52%
    Smalltalk 21 out of 41 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  38. This language matches it's problem domain particularly well.

    47% 53%
    Smalltalk 10 out of 19 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  39. I can imagine this will be a popular language in twenty years time

    47% 53%
    Smalltalk 20 out of 38 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  40. There is a lot of accidental complexity when writing code in this language

    47% 53%
    Smalltalk 19 out of 36 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  41. I find code written in this language very elegant

    47% 53%
    Smalltalk 27 out of 51 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  42. I still discover new features of this language on a fairly regular basis

    47% 53%
    Smalltalk 18 out of 34 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  43. I would recommend most programmers learn this language, regardless of whether they have a specific need for it

    46% 54%
    Smalltalk 8 out of 15 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  44. I usually use this language on solo projects

    46% 54%
    Smalltalk 29 out of 54 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  45. This language makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot

    46% 54%
    Smalltalk 14 out of 26 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  46. This language has a niche in which it is great

    45% 55%
    Smalltalk 24 out of 44 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  47. There are many good commercial tools for this language

    45% 55%
    Smalltalk 23 out of 42 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  48. This language encourages writing reusable code.

    44% 56%
    Smalltalk 11 out of 20 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  49. When I run into problems my colleagues can provide me with immediate help with this language

    44% 56%
    Smalltalk 22 out of 40 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  50. I am reluctant to admit to knowing this language

    44% 56%
    Smalltalk 19 out of 34 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  51. This is a mainstream language

    43% 57%
    Smalltalk 9 out of 16 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  52. I know many other people who use this language

    43% 57%
    Smalltalk 27 out of 48 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  53. This language is best for very small projects

    43% 57%
    Smalltalk 26 out of 46 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  54. This language excels at text processing

    43% 57%
    Smalltalk 25 out of 44 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  55. This language allows me to write programs where I know exactly what they are doing under the hood

    43% 57%
    Smalltalk 29 out of 51 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  56. I would use this language for writing embedded programs

    42% 58%
    Smalltalk 8 out of 14 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  57. Code written in this language tends to be very reliable

    42% 58%
    Smalltalk 27 out of 47 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  58. If this language didn't exist, I would have trouble finding a satisfactory replacement

    41% 59%
    Smalltalk 18 out of 31 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  59. This language has a strong static type system

    41% 59%
    Smalltalk 28 out of 48 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  60. This is a high level language

    41% 59%
    Smalltalk 34 out of 58 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  61. Code written in this language tends to be terse

    41% 59%
    Smalltalk 27 out of 46 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  62. When I write code in this language I can be very sure it is correct

    41% 59%
    Smalltalk 27 out of 46 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  63. This language is expressive

    41% 59%
    Smalltalk 33 out of 56 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  64. I would like to write more of this language than I currently do

    40% 60%
    Smalltalk 26 out of 44 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  65. There is a wide variety of open source code written in this language

    40% 60%
    Smalltalk 29 out of 49 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  66. I regularly use this language

    40% 60%
    Smalltalk 32 out of 54 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  67. Developers who primarily use this language often burn out after a few years

    40% 60%
    Smalltalk 19 out of 32 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  68. This language is unusually bad for beginners

    40% 60%
    Smalltalk 30 out of 50 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  69. If my code in this language successfully compiles, there is a good chance my code is correct.

    40% 60%
    Smalltalk 12 out of 20 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  70. I learned this language early in my career as a programmer

    40% 60%
    Smalltalk 9 out of 15 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  71. I know this language well

    39% 61%
    Smalltalk 236 out of 391 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  72. Programs written in this language tend to play well with others

    39% 61%
    Smalltalk 26 out of 43 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  73. I use many applications written in this language

    38% 62%
    Smalltalk 32 out of 52 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  74. I would list this language on my resume

    38% 62%
    Smalltalk 24 out of 39 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  75. I often write things in this language with the intent of rewriting them in something else later

    37% 63%
    Smalltalk 18 out of 29 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  76. I find this language easy to prototype in

    37% 63%
    Smalltalk 30 out of 48 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  77. Learning this language significantly changed how I use other languages.

    37% 63%
    Smalltalk 10 out of 16 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  78. There are many good open-source tools for this language

    37% 63%
    Smalltalk 27 out of 43 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  79. Learning this language improved my ability as a programmer

    36% 64%
    Smalltalk 29 out of 46 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  80. I would use this language for mobile applications

    36% 64%
    Smalltalk 35 out of 55 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  81. This language is good for distributed computing

    36% 64%
    Smalltalk 21 out of 33 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  82. I rarely have difficulty abstracting patterns I find in my code

    36% 64%
    Smalltalk 30 out of 47 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  83. I would use this language for writing programs for an embedded hardware platform

    36% 64%
    Smalltalk 23 out of 36 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  84. It is too easy to write code in this language that looks like it does one thing but actually does something else

    35% 65%
    Smalltalk 24 out of 37 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  85. I can imagine using this language in my day job

    35% 65%
    Smalltalk 39 out of 60 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  86. This language has a wide variety of agreed-upon conventions, which are generally adhered to reasonably well, and which increase my productivity

    34% 66%
    Smalltalk 23 out of 35 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  87. This language is likely to be around for a very long time

    34% 66%
    Smalltalk 27 out of 41 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  88. This language is well documented

    34% 66%
    Smalltalk 29 out of 44 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  89. This language is very flexible

    33% 67%
    Smalltalk 35 out of 53 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  90. The semantics of this language are much different than other languages I know.

    33% 67%
    Smalltalk 8 out of 12 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  91. This language has a very dogmatic community

    33% 67%
    Smalltalk 30 out of 45 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  92. This language excels at concurrency

    33% 67%
    Smalltalk 30 out of 45 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  93. This language is easier to use for it's problem domain by removing unneeded expressiveness (such as not being Turing complete).

    33% 67%
    Smalltalk 4 out of 6 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  94. I would use this language for casual scripting

    32% 68%
    Smalltalk 29 out of 43 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  95. This language is likely to have a strong influence on future languages

    31% 69%
    Smalltalk 26 out of 38 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  96. This language has many features which feel "tacked on"

    29% 71%
    Smalltalk 29 out of 41 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  97. I find it easy to write efficient code in this language

    29% 71%
    Smalltalk 34 out of 48 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  98. Programs written in this language will usually work in future versions of the language

    28% 72%
    Smalltalk 28 out of 39 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  99. I would use this language to write a command-line app

    27% 73%
    Smalltalk 34 out of 47 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  100. Third-party libraries are readily available, well-documented, and of high quality

    27% 73%
    Smalltalk 32 out of 44 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  101. This language is suitable for real-time applications

    24% 76%
    Smalltalk 28 out of 37 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  102. The resources for learning this language are of high quality

    23% 77%
    Smalltalk 36 out of 47 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  103. This language is best for very large projects

    21% 79%
    Smalltalk 29 out of 37 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  104. This language is good for scientific computing

    21% 79%
    Smalltalk 33 out of 42 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  105. This language is large

    21% 79%
    Smalltalk 33 out of 42 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  106. I would use this language for writing server programs

    20% 80%
    Smalltalk 39 out of 49 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  107. This language excels at symbolic manipulation

    18% 82%
    Smalltalk 47 out of 58 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  108. Programs written in this language tend to be efficient

    18% 82%
    Smalltalk 35 out of 43 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  109. This language has unusual features that I often miss when using other languages

    17% 83%
    Smalltalk 29 out of 35 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  110. This language is good for numeric computing

    17% 83%
    Smalltalk 29 out of 35 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

  111. I often feel like I am not smart enough to write this language

    16% 84%
    Smalltalk 10 out of 12 picked Common Lisp over Smalltalk Common Lisp

What's going on here?

The absolute rankings are interesting for large scale comparisons but when you want to know about two specific languages it's much more informative to look at how the two fare when they go directly head to head.

Here are all the statements which we've got enough comparisons between Smalltalk and Common Lisp to be meaningful and which of the two our users picked.

The order in which we're presenting them is a little arbitrary (sorry), but we've tried to put the things which they're both good at first so as to give you the most interesting picture of it.