Common Lisp vs Dart vs JavaScript: What are the differences?

# Key Differences Between Common Lisp and Dart and JavaScript

Common Lisp, Dart, and JavaScript are three different programming languages that offer unique features and functionalities. Here are the key differences between these languages:

1. **Type System**:
Common Lisp is a dynamically typed language with strong support for functional programming, making it versatile and powerful for various applications. Dart is a statically typed language that provides strong type checking at compile time, ensuring fewer runtime errors. JavaScript, on the other hand, is weakly typed, allowing for flexible and easy development but potentially leading to unexpected behaviors.

2. **Concurrency and Parallelism**:
Common Lisp has built-in support for advanced concurrency features like multithreading and parallel programming through libraries like `bordeaux-threads`. Dart provides Isolates as a way to achieve concurrency, making it easier to develop efficient concurrent programs. JavaScript, although single-threaded, can utilize asynchronous programming with features like Promises and async/await for efficient execution.

3. **Development Environment**:
Common Lisp has a rich eco-system of libraries and tools like Quicklisp for package management and environments like Emacs with SLIME for integrated development. Dart offers a comprehensive development environment with tools like Dart SDK, Flutter for mobile app development, and WebStorm IDE. JavaScript has a wide range of frameworks and libraries like Node.js, React, and Angular, along with text editors like Visual Studio Code for development.

4. **Performance**:
Common Lisp is known for its high performance due to its compiler optimizations and direct access to machine resources, making it suitable for demanding computational tasks. Dart is optimized for fast execution through its AOT (Ahead-Of-Time) compilation, making it efficient for mobile and web applications. JavaScript's performance varies depending on the runtime environment and optimizations applied, making it versatile but sometimes less performant than compiled languages.

5. **Language Paradigm**:
Common Lisp supports multiple paradigms like procedural, object-oriented, and functional programming through its flexible nature, allowing developers to choose the best approach for their needs. Dart is primarily an object-oriented language with support for functional programming, providing a structured approach to software development. JavaScript is a multi-paradigm language that combines object-oriented, functional, and imperative programming, offering flexibility but potentially leading to complex codebases.

6. **Community and Support**:
Common Lisp has a dedicated community of users and contributors who actively maintain libraries, frameworks, and documentation to support its ecosystem. Dart is backed by Google and has a growing community around web and mobile development, with official documentation and resources. JavaScript has one of the largest and most active communities in the programming world, with abundant resources, tutorials, and community-driven frameworks for development.

In Summary, the key differences between Common Lisp, Dart, and JavaScript lie in their type systems, concurrency models, development environments, performance characteristics, supported paradigms, and community support, offering developers a range of choices based on their project requirements and programming preferences.