Re: special forms. - Naggum cll archive

Subject: Re: special forms.
From: Erik Naggum <erik@naggum.net>
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 11:55:53 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp
Message-ID: <3204359752948151@naggum.net>

* Frode Vatvedt Fjeld <frodef@acm.org>
> You are right that strictly functionally speaking, special forms are
> not necessary.

  Not so.  Take let as the favorite example of a special form that is very
  necessary in any functional paradigm.  What may be true for if is not
  true for forms that in addition to require special evaluation rules of
  subforms, imposes _structure_ on its subforms that "violate" the normal
  evaluation rules.  In fact, if is a very special case special operator.
  It is better to begin with something like let and then deduce if, than to
  begin with if and try to get anywhere at all.

#:Erik
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