From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Richard Stallman Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Using "pcase" as part of names is inhelpful. Date: Sat, 09 Dec 2017 17:00:58 -0500 Message-ID: Reply-To: rms@gnu.org NNTP-Posting-Host: blaine.gmane.org Content-Type: text/plain; charset=Utf-8 X-Trace: blaine.gmane.org 1512856897 28024 195.159.176.226 (9 Dec 2017 22:01:37 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@blaine.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 9 Dec 2017 22:01:37 +0000 (UTC) To: emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sat Dec 09 23:01:33 2017 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@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 1eNnBc-00077P-7X for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sat, 09 Dec 2017 23:01:32 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:42695 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1eNnBj-00082p-JP for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sat, 09 Dec 2017 17:01:39 -0500 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:52980) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1eNnB5-00081a-M5 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 09 Dec 2017 17:01:02 -0500 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1eNnB4-0000G2-JC for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 09 Dec 2017 17:00:59 -0500 Original-Received: from fencepost.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::e]:38273) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1eNnB4-0000Fx-G0 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 09 Dec 2017 17:00:58 -0500 Original-Received: from rms by fencepost.gnu.org with local (Exim 4.82) (envelope-from ) id 1eNnB4-0005Sd-2f; Sat, 09 Dec 2017 17:00:58 -0500 X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: GNU/Linux 2.2.x-3.x [generic] X-Received-From: 2001:4830:134:3::e X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.21 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: "Emacs-devel" Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:220835 Archived-At: [[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider ]]] [[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies, ]]] [[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example. ]]] The construct 'pcase' uses patterns to test and destructure objects while selecting among various cases. Now we are adding other constructs that use patterns to destructure objects. These constructs have nothing to do with selecting among cases. Thus, 'pcase' in their names makes for misleading names. The only part of the name 'pcase' that refers to the use of patterns is the letter 'p'. Referring users to 'pcase' to understand the use of patterns is unhelpful since 'pcase' includes conceptual complexity (about cases) that isn't present in the new constructs. We should give the new constructs names that fit them without a distracting element. What would be good new names? We could use 'plet' and 'plambda'. Or 'pattern-let' and 'pattern-lambda'. We could follow the example of Common Lisp 'destructuring-bind', to create 'destructuring-let' and 'destructuring-lambda'. Let's mark the old names 'pcase-...' obsolete so that they won't build up in Lisp code. -- Dr Richard Stallman President, Free Software Foundation (https://gnu.org, https://fsf.org) Internet Hall-of-Famer (https://internethalloffame.org) Skype: No way! See https://stallman.org/skype.html.