david <notmas@gmail.com> wrote:
+---------------
| thanks for your teachings. i see i will be
| spending some time experimenting with format.
+---------------

Hint: In its full-blown glory, FORMAT is even more complex than LOOP,
a complete separate sub-language, embedded in a single string! Thus
you should approach it in baby steps, so as not to get overwhelmed.

Once you get your footing with simple stuff, you can start exploring
the wonders of control flow (backing up, branching, & looping), layout
control, and pretty-printer ops.[1]

That said, it does help to learn very early the full generality of
the FORMAT "embedded directive" syntax, the thing introduced by the
tilde ("~") and terminated by a format control character, discussed
in the 8th & 9th paragraphs of CLHS "22.3 Formatted Output", since
almost every non-trivial directive uses some combination of the
available optional modifiers.


-Rob

[1] <http://www.99-bottles-of-beer.net/language-common-lisp-114.html>,
    while *quite* amusing, isn't actually a particularly complex FORMAT
    if you take out the artsy line-break hidings and clean it up a little.

-----
Rob Warnock			<rpw3@rpw3.org>
627 26th Avenue			<URL:http://rpw3.org/>
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