Subject: Re: resonable use of internal functions
From: Erik Naggum <erik@naggum.no>
Date: 1999/11/18
Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp
Message-ID: <3151940280815662@naggum.no>

* Robert Monfera <monfera@fisec.com>
| What are the pros and conses (sic) of &aux, as an alternative to let in
| some cases?

  this may sound silly, but if you can avoid a few LET bindings among many,
  it's going to impact your maximum indentation favorably.  such concerns
  should not be dismissed _too_ lightly, although it might be a good
  argument in its favor.

  in some cases, however, &AUX is useful to avoid a LET binding or a SETQ
  that does nothing but resolve a designator or some other relevant work on
  an argument.  it's a difficult to spell out any rules for when this is
  good style, though.

| I like &aux, but I have a vague recollection that it may be retrograde to
| use it (I can not think of the reason).

  I like having &AUX in the language.  it tells me somebody thought about
  something important and came up with a solution.  I'm not sure _exactly_
  what they thought about all that time, but it's evidence of intelligence
  at work.  in fact, the whole lambda list concept in Common Lisp gives me
  that feeling, with all its variations and intriguing details.

#:Erik
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