From ... Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news.tele.dk!134.222.94.5!npeer.kpnqwest.net!nreader1.kpnqwest.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp Subject: Re: special forms. References: <2hg0bw62yo.fsf@dslab7.cs.uit.no> Mail-Copies-To: never From: Erik Naggum Message-ID: <3204359752948151@naggum.net> Organization: Naggum Software, Oslo, Norway Lines: 15 User-Agent: Gnus/5.0808 (Gnus v5.8.8) Emacs/20.7 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 11:55:53 GMT X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@Norway.EU.net X-Trace: nreader1.kpnqwest.net 995370953 193.71.66.1 (Tue, 17 Jul 2001 13:55:53 MET DST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 13:55:53 MET DST Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.lisp:13238 * Frode Vatvedt Fjeld > You are right that strictly functionally speaking, special forms are > not necessary. Not so. Take let as the favorite example of a special form that is very necessary in any functional paradigm. What may be true for if is not true for forms that in addition to require special evaluation rules of subforms, imposes _structure_ on its subforms that "violate" the normal evaluation rules. In fact, if is a very special case special operator. It is better to begin with something like let and then deduce if, than to begin with if and try to get anywhere at all. #:Erik -- Travel is a meat thing.