Subject: Re: It's A Big Language Survey
From: rpw3@rpw3.org (Rob Warnock)
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:49:05 -0500
Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp
Message-ID: <btCdnZp_ebE8Vm7UnZ2dnUVZ_vidnZ2d@speakeasy.net>
Didier Verna  <didier@lrde.epita.fr> wrote:
+---------------
| Stuff I never use: eval
| Stuff nobody uses but me: nreconc
+---------------

Stuff I never used before 'cuz I never noticed them 'til now
(thanks, Didier!):

    REVAPPEND
    NRECONC

Stuff I know about but almost never use (not sure why):

    ELT (dunno why, maybe learned AREF & NTH first?)
    MAP-INTO
    MERGE
    SUBLIS/NSUBLIS
    BUTLAST/NBUTLAST
    LDIFF/TAILP
    Any of the explicit PPRINT-* functions (except as invoked
      indirectly via FORMAT directives)
    SCHAR
    REMHASH/CLRHASH/SXHASH
    WITH-HASH-TABLE-ITERATOR (tend to use LOOP forms instead)
    Logical pathnames (too Unix-centric, I guess)
    TARCE/UNTRACE/STEP
    Other than simple bits of CLOS (but do use method dispatch on STRUCTUREs)
    SYMBOL-PLIST
    COMPLEX numbers (just haven't had the need yet)
    BIT vectors (but I do *lots* of bit-banging on integers!!)

Stuff I use a lot and consider underappreciated [especially by
those who think that the regexp hammer fits all "nails"]:

    MISMATCH
    SEARCH (esp. as weird-but-useful :TEST arg to other sequence funcs)
    POSITION-IF

Stuff I use occasionally in "unusual"(?) ways:

    TREE-EQUAL (to walk *one* tree! ["tree1" == "tree2", with :TEST arg])
    NSUBST/NSUBST-IF (ditto)


-Rob

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Rob Warnock			<rpw3@rpw3.org>
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