From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail
From: Hadron <hadronquark@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help
Subject: lisp question
Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2007 19:14:17 +0200
Message-ID: <871wi385na.fsf@gmail.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1177868093 29628 80.91.229.12 (29 Apr 2007 17:34:53 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org
NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2007 17:34:53 +0000 (UTC)
To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org
Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sun Apr 29 19:34:52 2007
Return-path: <help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org>
Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org
Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165])
	by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50)
	id 1HiDIQ-0006M0-37
	for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sun, 29 Apr 2007 19:34:50 +0200
Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org)
	by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43)
	id 1HiDOV-0002DD-LG
	for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sun, 29 Apr 2007 13:41:07 -0400
Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!headwall.stanford.edu!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail
Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help
Original-Lines: 35
Original-X-Trace: individual.net 1oUMax7fO0u4jxfHcQw7SAM9QrP7QFiujkbnQbmCsbeBLbXbEf
X-Orig-Path: news.individual.net!news
X-Face: 2h#||Cd#d%F*NCm59[_6/{1a@jy%;
	|j>{D~4^gKg(^i%7j0IK?+<E"~~VEHpAJ&'G+cu0g&
	$xE$h&Kjg@6-s8\aR, (o3Z]m)d.cAU-y!i/G'}}$WId)8Uh3TpmTQSRis6,
	U`NQ8IWIda}W:tIo=Bb 2M]M7$V[!_P*Mb9YnDD@W6z9TLk7/>,/GmW&:CD5fEKb_!
User-Agent: Gnus/5.110006 (No Gnus v0.6) Emacs/22.0.99 (gnu/linux)
Cancel-Lock: sha1:qfcVBQmuCr/xVQEvlIzcqY1gnyI=
Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:147751
X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5
Precedence: list
List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor <help-gnu-emacs.gnu.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-gnu-emacs>,
	<mailto:help-gnu-emacs-request@gnu.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://lists.gnu.org/pipermail/help-gnu-emacs>
List-Post: <mailto:help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
List-Help: <mailto:help-gnu-emacs-request@gnu.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-gnu-emacs>,
	<mailto:help-gnu-emacs-request@gnu.org?subject=subscribe>
Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org
Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org
Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:43354
Archived-At: <http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help/43354>


from the lisp tutorial which comes with emacs 22:

,----
| 1.8.3 Variable Number of Arguments
| ----------------------------------
| 
| Some functions, such as `concat', `+' or `*', take any number of
| arguments.  (The `*' is the symbol for multiplication.)  This can be
| seen by evaluating each of the following expressions in the usual way.
| What you will see in the echo area is printed in this text after `=>',
| which you may read as `evaluates to'.
| 
|    In the first set, the functions have no arguments:
| 
|      (+)       => 0
| 
|      (*)       => 1
| 
|    In this set, the functions have one argument each:
| 
|      (+ 3)     => 3
| 
|      (* 3)     => 3
| 
|    In this set, the functions have three arguments each:
| 
|      (+ 3 4 5) => 12
| 
|      (* 3 4 5) => 60
`----

It kind of glosses over sections (1) and (2).

Why do (*) and (* 3) evaluate to 1?