From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Stefan Monnier Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: proposal to make null string handling more emacs-y Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:48:11 -0400 Message-ID: References: <83d36wfcf1.fsf@gnu.org> <834ns7g9r8.fsf@gnu.org> NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Trace: dough.gmane.org 1335642506 14169 80.91.229.3 (28 Apr 2012 19:48:26 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@dough.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:48:26 +0000 (UTC) Cc: Eli Barzilay , emacs-devel@gnu.org To: rms@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sat Apr 28 21:48:25 2012 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1SODd2-00073e-Qt for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:48:24 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:39487 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1SODd2-00022y-92 for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:48:24 -0400 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([208.118.235.92]:55199) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1SODcy-00022r-Vz for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:48:22 -0400 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1SODcx-0005Ba-H2 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:48:20 -0400 Original-Received: from pruche.dit.umontreal.ca ([132.204.246.22]:58613) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1SODcv-0005BI-5U; Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:48:17 -0400 Original-Received: from fmsmemgm.homelinux.net (lechon.iro.umontreal.ca [132.204.27.242]) by pruche.dit.umontreal.ca (8.14.1/8.14.1) with ESMTP id q3SJmC9h017705; Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:48:13 -0400 Original-Received: by fmsmemgm.homelinux.net (Postfix, from userid 20848) id AF163AE233; Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:48:11 -0400 (EDT) In-Reply-To: (Richard Stallman's message of "Sat, 28 Apr 2012 13:02:06 -0400") User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.1.50 (gnu/linux) X-NAI-Spam-Flag: NO X-NAI-Spam-Threshold: 5 X-NAI-Spam-Score: 0 X-NAI-Spam-Rules: 1 Rules triggered RV4206=0 X-NAI-Spam-Version: 2.2.0.9309 : core <4206> : streams <751041> : uri <1104843> X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: Genre and OS details not recognized. X-Received-From: 132.204.246.22 X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 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-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:150127 Archived-At: > I am not sure there is any benefit to the fact that () is the same as > (intern "nil"). Indeed, it's actually something I dislike about Elisp (whereas I found the ()=false to be really handy, just like the 0=NULL= false in C). I've never found it to be useful, and it can be really inconvenient when you need to distinguish "a symbol" from "just the nil value". Stefan