Re: why are there [v e c t o r s] in Lisp?

[Emanuel Berg <embe8573@student.uu.se>]

"Pascal J. Bourguignon" <pjb@informatimago.com>
writes:

>> Why the syntax is there at all is to provide fast
>> (faster) access to the vector data type which has
>> other time and space properties than do lists.
>
> ABSOLUTELY NOT.
>
> For example, in C++ you have vectors and lists, but
> you don't have any literal syntax for them.
>
> You can have fast and slow data structures without
> having any literal syntax for it.
>
> Why do you keep confusing the two concepts?

The original question was why there is a special
syntax for vectors, even as lists are perfectly fitted
to be vectors.

The question was not why there are lists AND vectors.
But that issue is also interesting so that discussion
wasn't wasted on anyone who read it (perhaps).

As for the syntax, the "literal"

    [1 2 3]

is a faster and more readable way than

    (vector 1 2 3)

to tell the computer when it should use what, because
the computer isn't advanced enough to figure this out
on it own.

> For a higher fee, I guess we could even provide
> a 60's job. For example, we could find a remote
> COBOL job, and provide it to a programmer with punch
> card/printer interfaces.

If we did this good enough to a guy who recently had
a car crash and lost his memory for a couple of weeks,
probably he wouldn't mind if his new life was better
than his old...

    You know, I know that this steak doesn't exist.
    I know when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is
    telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious.
    ... Ignorance is bliss. (Cypher)

-- 
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