From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Robert Thorpe Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: using setq to create lists based on other lists... Date: Wed, 05 Dec 2018 01:07:39 +0000 Message-ID: <878t14dbms.fsf@robertthorpeconsulting.com> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: blaine.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Trace: blaine.gmane.org 1543971969 1502 195.159.176.226 (5 Dec 2018 01:06:09 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@blaine.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2018 01:06:09 +0000 (UTC) Cc: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org To: Barry Margolin Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Wed Dec 05 02:06:05 2018 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by blaine.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.84_2) (envelope-from ) id 1gULdd-0000En-3P for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Wed, 05 Dec 2018 02:06:05 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:59608 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1gULfj-0003lm-JU for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Tue, 04 Dec 2018 20:08:15 -0500 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:54446) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1gULfI-0003eW-1U for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 04 Dec 2018 20:07:48 -0500 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1gULfE-0006Xr-HS for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 04 Dec 2018 20:07:47 -0500 Original-Received: from outbound-smtp08.blacknight.com ([46.22.139.13]:44341) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS1.0:DHE_RSA_AES_256_CBC_SHA1:32) (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1gULfD-0006Vr-UE for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 04 Dec 2018 20:07:44 -0500 Original-Received: from mail.blacknight.com (pemlinmail06.blacknight.ie [81.17.255.152]) by outbound-smtp08.blacknight.com (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 0E7CC1C1BFB for ; Wed, 5 Dec 2018 01:07:41 +0000 (GMT) Original-Received: (qmail 30769 invoked from network); 5 Dec 2018 01:07:40 -0000 Original-Received: from unknown (HELO RTLaptop) (rt@robertthorpeconsulting.com@[109.77.118.232]) by 81.17.254.9 with ESMTPSA (AES128-SHA encrypted, authenticated); 5 Dec 2018 01:07:40 -0000 In-Reply-To: (message from Barry Margolin on Tue, 04 Dec 2018 04:04:52 -0500) X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: GNU/Linux 2.2.x-3.x [generic] [fuzzy] X-Received-From: 46.22.139.13 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.21 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: "help-gnu-emacs" Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:118849 Archived-At: Barry Margolin writes: > In article , > Robert Thorpe wrote: > >> I've seen lots of beginners write programs that setq undefined symbols >> and now I know why. > > There's nothing wrong with it in Emacs Lisp and a number of other Lisp > dialects. I think Common Lisp was the first specification that made it > questionable, but it was commonplace in the days of Maclisp, which is > the dialect that Emacs Lisp is most directly descended from. Yes. But, there's still the issue of accidentally creating global variables. I think the modern learner will expect "setq" to do what "let" does unless told otherwise. BR, Robert Thorpe