<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Dear all,<div><br></div><div>I was fooling around with reader macros to implement some - let's say - "tuple" syntax.</div><div><br></div><div>Now, I am just curious about the general thinking on this.</div><div><br></div><div>First of all, let's note that the problem here in the conflating of the "constructor" with the "printed representation" of an item. I.e., in Matlab you say</div><div><br></div><div><font face="Courier">>> [1, 2, 40 + 2]</font></div><div><font face="Courier">ans =</font></div><div><font face="Courier"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>1<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>2<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>42</font></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>In CL, doing the simple thing, you get</div><div><br></div><div><font face="Courier">cl-prompt> [1 2 (+ 40 2)]</font></div><div><font face="Courier">[1 2 42]</font></div><div><br></div><div>but</div><div><br></div><div><font face="Courier">cl-prompt> #(1 2 (+ 40 2))</font></div><div><font face="Courier">#(1 2 (+ 40 2))</font></div><div><br></div><div>So, suppose you have your <font face="Courier">[ … ]</font> reader macro, would you have it work "functionally" or "quoting-ly" (for want of a better word)? I am curious. Note that the Matlab-style version would not break referential transparency if you did not have mutations.</div><div><br></div><div>best</div><div><br></div><div>Marco Antoniotti</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div>--<br>Marco Antoniotti, Associate Professor<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>tel.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>+39 - 02 64 48 79 01<br>DISCo, Università Milano Bicocca U14 2043<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="http://bimib.disco.unimib.it">http://bimib.disco.unimib.it</a><br>Viale Sarca 336<br>I-20126 Milan (MI) ITALY<br><br>Please note that I am not checking my Spam-box anymore.<br>Please do not forward this email without asking me first.<br><br><br><br><br></div><br></div></body></html>