From ... Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news.uchicago.edu!newsswitch.lcs.mit.edu!newsfeed.cwix.com!newsfeed.icl.net!newsfeed.esat.net!nslave.kpnqwest.net!nloc.kpnqwest.net!nmaster.kpnqwest.net!nreader2.kpnqwest.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp Subject: Re: First-class symbols (Re: Why is Scheme not a Lisp?) References: <87pu28kzjy.fsf@charter.net> <87eliokv9v.fsf@charter.net> <87sn73c40c.fsf@charter.net> Mail-Copies-To: never From: Erik Naggum Message-ID: <3225221516192724@naggum.net> Organization: Naggum Software, Oslo, Norway Lines: 18 User-Agent: Gnus/5.09 (Gnus v5.9.0) Emacs/21.1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 22:51:44 GMT X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@KPNQwest.no X-Trace: nreader2.kpnqwest.net 1016232704 193.71.199.50 (Fri, 15 Mar 2002 23:51:44 MET) NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 23:51:44 MET Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.lisp:29126 * Erann Gat | I think I really don't understand what he means by "first class symbols." | The phrase "first-class function" usually means that functions can be | passed as arugments and returned as values. Scheme symbols have those | properties as well. So one of us is obviously missing something, and I'm | pretty sure it's me. But what can you do with a symbol in Scheme? Can you read and write its value? At least you can call a (first-class) function that has been pased to you. Can you call a symbol in Scheme if its global value is a function? If symbols are _only_ interned constant strings, I do not see the value of calling them "symbols" in the Lisp sense of the word. This is one of the cost of flirting too much with the Algol family. /// -- In a fight against something, the fight has value, victory has none. In a fight for something, the fight is a loss, victory merely relief.