RE: constant `e'

["Stuart D. Herring" <herring@lanl.gov>]

>> >> I could consider renaming it (later) if someone suggests a good new
>> >> name.
>> >
>> > MAXIMA is using %e %pi etc. for those constants.
>>
>> What about E and PI ?
>
> 1. Some users sometimes use mixed-case symbols in Lisp. I sometimes do.

`E' and `PI' are not mixed-case, obviously.  And why would you use them? 
They're not reasonable names for temporary variables (like perhaps `e'
is), and they aren't long enough to be a meaningful "type name" or
"package name" or so.  And the naming conventions suggest using a
package-prefix for all but the temporaries anyway.

> 2. `E' is still one character. With caps-lock on accidentally, hitting `e'
> would have the same effect as now.
>
> What's wrong with reasonale-length names?

wITH cAPS lOCK ON, ...yeah.  I think you would notice that.  As well as
get lots of (void-function CAR) errors to tip you off.

There is nothing wrong with names of reasonable length, but there should
be good reasons to lengthen names that are used any more frequently than
`normal-erase-is-backspace-mode' in code.  I'm not saying that the current
names are sacred, but these two reasons in particular are unimportant IMO.

Davis

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