Lisp Apostrophe Quote 'f Came From MacLisp
ok, the major damage to lisp's syntax regularity, the lisp apostrophe for quote e.g. '(a b c)
, came from MacLisp.
Maclisp is a descendant of Lisp 1.5.[3] Maclisp departs from Lisp 1.5 by using a “value cell” to access and store the dynamic values of variables;[4] Lisp 1.5 used a linear search of an association list to determine a variable's value.[5] The Maclisp variable evaluation is faster but has different variable semantics.
Maclisp also employed reader macros to make more readable input and output. Instead of entering
(QUOTE A)
, one could enter'A
to get the same s-expression. Although both implementations put functions on the property list, Maclisp uses different syntax to define functions.[6] Maclisp also has a load-on-demand feature.[7][from Wikipedia Maclisp]
lisp macros, the bane of all wrong in lisp.
it all began, in the name of convenience.
[see Syntax Design Problem: Irregularity vs Convenience]
and so, perhaps, convenience is the mother of all design failure.
- Fundamental Problems of Lisp
- Grammar Complexity of conlang and complang
- Formal Definition of Systematic Grammar
- Intro to Wolfram Language Pattern Matching for Lisp Programers
- Lisp Macros and Practical Common Lisp
- Can Lisp Macro Change Lisp Syntax?
and then, predictions and hindsight:
postscript: actually, honestly, i don't fully understand lisp reader macro. That is, the ontology of it. [see What is Ontology of Programing Language?]
- Lisp Celebrities and Computing History from “Worse Is Better”
- Paul Graham's Infatuation with the Concept of Hacker
- Why Lisp Do Not Have A Generic Copy-List Function
- Programing Language: A Ruby Illustration of Lisp Problems
- Language, Purity, Cult, and Deception
- LISP is Not Functional
- ELisp: read-from-minibuffer Propels Deep Questions