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From: rv@cs.brown.edu (rodrigo vanegas)
Subject: Re: Comparison: Beta - Lisp
In-Reply-To: haible@ma2s2.mathematik.uni-karlsruhe.de's message of 9 Sep 1994 15:50:06 GMT
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Date: Fri, 9 Sep 1994 17:25:10 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.lang.beta:20 comp.lang.lisp:14563

In article <34q07e$n16@nz12.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de>, haible@ma2s2.mathematik.uni-karlsruhe.de (Bruno Haible) writes:

>> So what are these "patterns" anyway?  It sounds as if they are very
>> close if not identical to lisp closures.  After all, can't each of the
>> above lisp stuff can be implemented as sugar for closures.  

> From the point of view of a Lisp programmer, a pattern consists of
>
> * a specification of variables (call them "variables" or "closure variables"
>   or "slots"), and
>
> * a piece of code which is executed after the storage for the variables has
>   been allocated (call it "initialization method" or simply "program").

Ok, so consider the following:

 (lambda (x y) (print "whatever...") (funcall x y))

This lambda abstraction, which evaluates to a closure, has "a
specification of variables", X and Y, and "a piece of code which is
executed after the storage for the variables has been allocated", the
PRINT followed by the FUNCALL.

I don't see any difference yet...

> But that's only one of many aspects of patterns...

Why is it that every explanation of patterns i've come across so far
always includes a "more to come" disclaimer at the end?!  I'm
beginning to wonder if these so called "patterns" can be defined at
all!


rodrigo "tired of playing detective" vanegas
rv@cs.brown.edu

