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From: peter@nmti.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Re: What language would you use?
Message-ID: <id.82JE1.MYK@nmti.com>
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Organization: Network/development platform support, NMTI
References: <39b7ha$j9v@zeno.nscf.org> <1994Nov5.100029.6559@news.cs.indiana.edu> <ROCKWELL.94Nov6062619@nova.umd.edu> <39jj9s$b17@caslon.cs.arizona.edu>
Date: Mon, 7 Nov 1994 19:29:31 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.lang.misc:18873 comp.lang.scheme:11030 comp.lang.python:2446

In article <39jj9s$b17@caslon.cs.arizona.edu>,
Scott E Gilbert <scott@CS.Arizona.EDU> wrote:
> On this topic of foreign syntax, I have a question maybe some of you could
> answer.  Why in their infinite wisdom did the designers of lisp-like
> languages choose to have the function name inside of the parens?  Wouldn't
> this

>    foo(arg1 arg2 (list type argument))

> look more preferable to this

>    (foo arg1 arg2 '(list type argument))

> ???

Because the former would have to be something like:

	foo (arg1 arg2 'list (type argument))

A lot of old lisps had a flag you could set to use external-function-name
syntax, and it was pretty bloody horrid to try and use it.
-- 
Peter da Silva                                            `-_-'
Network Management Technology Incorporated                 'U`
1601 Industrial Blvd.     Sugar Land, TX  77478  USA
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