From ... Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!skynet.be!skynet.be!proxad.net!fr.clara.net!heighliner.fr.clara.net!hamster.europeonline.net!newsfeed.europeonline.net!nslave.kpnqwest.net!nnum.kpnqwest.net!EU.net!nreader2.kpnqwest.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp Subject: Re: Why is this code broken? References: <2hvg8sskp6.fsf@vserver.cs.uit.no> <3D03EC84.933FCD7B@dls.net> <3D03F3A5.E00083B4@dls.net> Mail-Copies-To: never From: Erik Naggum Message-ID: <3232700368298991@naggum.net> Organization: Naggum Software, Oslo, Norway Lines: 40 User-Agent: Gnus/5.09 (Gnus v5.9.0) Emacs/21.2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 12:19:34 GMT X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@KPNQwest.no X-Trace: nreader2.kpnqwest.net 1023711574 193.71.199.50 (Mon, 10 Jun 2002 14:19:34 MET DST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 14:19:34 MET DST Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.lisp:34653 * Adam Warner | Paul my expectations are not on trial here. Yes, they are. | Tell me how many newbies to Lisp expect a variable assigment to | effectively create a constant. It is the value that is a constant, not the variable. You let the variable contain (a pointer to) a constant value. You may modify the variable as much as you want, but not (components of) the constant value. | It seems that this distinction has come about to assist compiler | optimisation. Only to you. | How does that create an intuitive expectation? Good intuition is a result of paying attention and thinking. Ignorant arrogance very seldom produces good intuition. | Python will [...] Sure, and smart people have figured this out. Comparing irrelevant comparends¹ benefits nobody, however. This is _not_ Python. | I would expect to quickly learn and understand how to fix the error if | the compiler signalled the error when it was made. Common Lisp is generally made for people who (want to) know what they are doing. It is not an _error_ to do what you have done. On the contrary, it may be the intended effect and it may be supported in the environment. ------- ¹ this should be a word. -- 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. 70 percent of American adults do not understand the scientific process.