Re:The Lisp Curse (2011)
by aidenn0 on Friday February 26, 2016 @03:14PM
(#11183891)
An equivalent to iterate/loop where each compound form need be replaced by an anonymous function and each binding is replaced by a dictionary entry could be implemented completely as a function. Is this also new syntax?
If not, how is the macro different other than implicitly changing the evaluation?
for a more simple example, why is the idiom CALL-WITH-FOO (implemented as a function) not syntax while WITH-FOO (implemented as a macro) is? What precisely is syntax is somewhat nebulous (if I use a regex library in C, have I added syntax to the language? Regexes certainly are syntax, despite being wrapped in a C string).
If not, how is the macro different other than implicitly changing the evaluation?
for a more simple example, why is the idiom CALL-WITH-FOO (implemented as a function) not syntax while WITH-FOO (implemented as a macro) is? What precisely is syntax is somewhat nebulous (if I use a regex library in C, have I added syntax to the language? Regexes certainly are syntax, despite being wrapped in a C string).