From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "Alfred M\. Szmidt" Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: Documentation for car and cdr Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 23:01:33 +0100 Message-ID: <1138226493.647832.7429.nullmailer@Update.UU.SE> References: Reply-To: ams@gnu.org NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1138226555 28784 80.91.229.2 (25 Jan 2006 22:02:35 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 22:02:35 +0000 (UTC) Cc: mario.goulart@gmail.com, emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Wed Jan 25 23:02:28 2006 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1F1sid-0000oL-S4 for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Wed, 25 Jan 2006 23:02:24 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1F1slO-0004EC-Qd for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Wed, 25 Jan 2006 17:05:14 -0500 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1F1sku-0004Aj-Cc for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Wed, 25 Jan 2006 17:04:44 -0500 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1F1skr-00042C-4l for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Wed, 25 Jan 2006 17:04:43 -0500 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1F1skq-00041s-Pr for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Wed, 25 Jan 2006 17:04:41 -0500 Original-Received: from [130.238.4.154] (helo=colibri.its.uu.se) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.52) id 1F1siF-0007H1-RA; Wed, 25 Jan 2006 17:02:00 -0500 Original-Received: by colibri.its.uu.se (Postfix, from userid 211) id F054182A; Wed, 25 Jan 2006 23:01:44 +0100 (NFT) Original-Received: from colibri.its.uu.se(127.0.0.1) by colibri.its.uu.se via virus-scan id s14357; Wed, 25 Jan 06 23:01:34 +0100 Original-Received: from Psilocybe.Update.UU.SE (Psilocybe.Update.UU.SE [130.238.19.25]) by colibri.its.uu.se (Postfix) with ESMTP id 652DE7FC; Wed, 25 Jan 2006 23:01:34 +0100 (NFT) Original-Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by Psilocybe.Update.UU.SE (Postfix) with ESMTP id 50FB344004; Wed, 25 Jan 2006 23:01:34 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from Psilocybe.Update.UU.SE ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (Psilocybe.Update.UU.SE [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with LMTP id 18784-04-21; Wed, 25 Jan 2006 23:01:33 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from Update.UU.SE (Lem.Update.UU.SE [130.238.19.73]) by Psilocybe.Update.UU.SE (Postfix) with SMTP id C3EFB44003; Wed, 25 Jan 2006 23:01:33 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: (nullmailer pid 7430 invoked by uid 30270); Wed, 25 Jan 2006 22:01:33 -0000 Original-To: Alan Mackenzie In-reply-to: (message from Alan Mackenzie on Wed, 25 Jan 2006 19:54:36 +0000 (GMT)) X-Virus-Scanned: Debian amavisd-new at Update.UU.SE X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:49540 Archived-At: >> ,----[ M-x describe-function cdr ] >> | cdr is a built-in function in `C source code'. >> | (cdr list) >> | >> | Return the cdr of list. If arg is nil, return nil. >> | Error if arg is not nil and not a cons cell. See also `cdr-safe'. >> `---- [...] This description of the function is near useless. The same applies to many other functions, take bobp and a novice programmer, and she will ask `what is a buffer?'. Some level of knowledge about the function must be assumed for docstrings. What the car/cdr of a list is, is already explained in the Introduction to Emacs Lisp manual and that is where a novice programmer will have to start to understand many things about emacs, like lists, frames, windows, buffers, arrays, strings, vectors, special forms, etc.