From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "Stuart D. Herring" Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: constant `e' Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:17:57 -0800 (PST) Message-ID: <45328.128.165.123.18.1171307877.squirrel@webmail.lanl.gov> References: <87ireah6ia.fsf@wigwam.brockman.se> <854ppu8k1l.fsf@lola.goethe.zz> <87y7n6fdod.fsf@wigwam.brockman.se> Reply-To: herring@lanl.gov NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1171307991 15508 80.91.229.12 (12 Feb 2007 19:19:51 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2007 19:19:51 +0000 (UTC) Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org To: "Daniel Brockman" Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Mon Feb 12 20:19:44 2007 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1HGgiD-0000v4-0T for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Mon, 12 Feb 2007 20:19:41 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1HGgiC-000511-Kd for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:19:40 -0500 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1HGggq-0004Rz-V2 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:18:17 -0500 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1HGggl-0004NJ-Ms for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:18:16 -0500 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1HGggl-0004N9-Eq for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:18:11 -0500 Original-Received: from mailwasher.lanl.gov ([192.65.95.54] helo=mailwasher-b.lanl.gov) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.52) id 1HGggj-0000TN-LF for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:18:10 -0500 Original-Received: from mailrelay3.lanl.gov (mailrelay3.lanl.gov [128.165.4.104]) by mailwasher-b.lanl.gov (8.13.8/8.13.8/(ccn-5)) with ESMTP id l1CJHxoI015786 for ; Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:17:59 -0700 Original-Received: from webmail1.lanl.gov (webmail1.lanl.gov [128.165.4.106]) by mailrelay3.lanl.gov (8.13.8/8.13.8/(ccn-5)) with ESMTP id l1CJHwh2020840; Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:17:58 -0700 Original-Received: from webmail1.lanl.gov (localhost.localdomain [127.0.0.1]) by webmail1.lanl.gov (8.12.11.20060308/8.12.11) with ESMTP id l1CJHwij001663; Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:17:58 -0700 Original-Received: (from apache@localhost) by webmail1.lanl.gov (8.12.11.20060308/8.12.11/Submit) id l1CJHvek001660; Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:17:57 -0800 X-Authentication-Warning: webmail1.lanl.gov: apache set sender to herring@lanl.gov using -f Original-Received: from 128.165.123.18 (SquirrelMail authenticated user 196434) by webmail.lanl.gov with HTTP; Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:17:57 -0800 (PST) In-Reply-To: <87y7n6fdod.fsf@wigwam.brockman.se> User-Agent: SquirrelMail/1.4.8-2.el3.7lanl X-Priority: 3 (Normal) Importance: Normal X-PMX-Version: 4.7.1.128075 X-detected-kernel: Linux 2.4-2.6 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:66307 Archived-At: > The `case' macro already allows `otherwise'. That's a > pretty compelling reason to allow it in `cond' as well. > (Yes, I know `case' is in the `cl' library, but lots of > people use that library --- at least its macros.) The `case' macro allows it because t is already a special case there (case clauses are not conditions), and so giving it an unusual name reduces the surprise. In `cond', each clause by definition begins with an expression evaluated as a condition. Any problems whatsoever in immediately and fully understanding the function of t in such a circumstance are so fundamental that they -should- be called out by the syntax and addressed rather than allowed to continue by an English-like special case. (Imagine what would happen if someone, perhaps to shush the byte-compiler, set `otherwise' to nil, and how much worse if the person debugging thought that `case' treated that symbol specially!) I am sure that not everyone agrees with my thoughts on the matter, and that there are good arguments against them, but it is my general contention that programmers would do well spending more time learning their languages and tools and less time divising clever tricks in an attempt to make such learning unnecessary for others. The tricks typically succeed in preventing the learning but not in transcending it. Davis -- This product is sold by volume, not by mass. If it appears too dense or too sparse, it is because mass-energy conversion has occurred during shipping.