From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Stefan Monnier Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: What does the coding system nil mean? Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 16:33:38 GMT Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1075222369 12642 80.91.224.253 (27 Jan 2004 16:52:49 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 16:52:49 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Tue Jan 27 17:52:33 2004 Return-path: Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1AlWS0-0003i6-00 for ; Tue, 27 Jan 2004 17:52:32 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.24) id 1AlWNK-0003yG-Kz for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Tue, 27 Jan 2004 11:47:42 -0500 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!snoopy.risq.qc.ca!charlie.risq.qc.ca!53ab2750!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help Original-Lines: 14 User-Agent: Gnus/5.09 (Gnus v5.9.0) Emacs/21.3.50 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 132.204.24.84 Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@umontreal.ca Original-X-Trace: charlie.risq.qc.ca 1075221218 132.204.24.84 (Tue, 27 Jan 2004 11:33:38 EST) Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 11:33:38 EST Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:120472 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.2 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 Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:16418 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help:16418 > Is this a matter of taste or does nil belonging to multiple data types > cause problems somewhere (debugging programs, compiler/intepreter > construction, whatever)? It does not cause any particular problem, no. It's just considered unclean by some. It can definitely surprise people that (symbolp ()) is true. In some cases it's annoying: one example off the top of my head is (intern-soft "nil"). In a sense, it's similar to whether or not chars and integers should be distinguishable. Stefan