Subject: Re: Understanding #' and function variables From: Erik Naggum <erik@naggum.no> Date: 02 Feb 2004 21:18:38 +0000 Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp Message-ID: <2004-033-838-KL2065E@naggum.no> * Joe Marshall > A special or free reference, however, is stored in the value cell of > the symbol. * Erann Gat | This is often claimed, but is in fact incorrect. It is an adequate | model in a single-threaded environment, but breaks badly in a | multi-threaded environment. So, since the same symbol exists in different Common Lisp worlds on different computers all across the Internet, it is «misleading» to refer to a symbol's value cell as a unique place. Right? There is no way in Common Lisp to refer to symbols in any but the current thread. All references to values of symbols will therefore be those in the current thread. Whether there exist some other values or some other dimension or some other invocation of the Common Lisp world on some other computer somewhere else, is completely irrelevant. One of the beauties of the Common Lisp environments and their thread support is that it does not violate the conceptual models we have. What you obsess about is immaterial, irrelevant, and very annoying because /you/ violate the conceptual models of the language. What I cannot quite come to grips with is that during 2003, you have learned exactly /nothing/. The same stupid discussions keep going around and around and you make the same stupid arguments in 2004 as you did in 2002. It was annoying then, and it's annoying now. *sigh* -- Erik Naggum | Oslo, Norway 2004-033 Act from reason, and failure makes you rethink and study harder. Act from faith, and failure makes you blame someone and push harder.