On 2/2/2024 7:52 AM, Julieta Shem wrote:
> I read
>
> --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
> The evolution of Lisp
> Guy L. Steele, Richard P. Gabriel
> History of programming languages---II
> January 1996
> Pages 233–330
> https://doi.org/10.1145/234286.1057818
> --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---
>
> Actually I read a longer version that I found somewhere. I suppose that
> was the draft from which the published version was derived. I'd hope
> that I got a little more details than I would have otherwise.
>
> Very interesting read.
>
> (*) A small language is easy to learn
>
> --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
> Extensive work on Scheme implementations was carried on at Yale and
> later at MIT by Jonathan Rees, Norman Adams, and others. This resulted
> in the dialect of Scheme known as T; [...] The goal was to be a simple
> dialect with an especially efficient implementation [Rees, 1982]:
>
> T centers around a small core language, free of complicated
> features, thus easy to learn. [...]
> --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---
>
> In Kent Pitman's ``dpANS Common Lisp'', we find
>
> Who says people have to learn it all at once? [...] Imagine what
> would have happened if Mathematics were constrained such that
> mathematicians could use only those concepts that could be taught in
> First Grade.
>
> That was nice. :-)
>
> Thanks to whoever mentioned this paper by Kent Pitman here recently. I
> think it was Axel Reichert. Thanks!
>
> (*) Alan Bawden
>
> Hey, Alan! I didn't know who you were. (I like not to know who I'm
> talking to.) The document spoke very highly of you. It first mentions
> you were in the Commmon Lisp Group and eventually calls you a
> backquote-meister. Impressive!
>
> The backquote syntax was particularly powerful when nested. This
> occurred primarily within macro-defining macros; because such were
> coded primarily by wizards, the ability to write and interpret nested
> backquote expressions was soon surrounded by a certain mystique. Alan
> Bawden of MIT acquired a particular reputation as backquote-meister in
> the early days of the Lisp Machine.
>
> We also learned about synctatic closures. Very cool.

yes, he is the backquote-meister --- Checkout his paper on it.

HenHanna <HenHanna@devnull.tb> writes:

> On 2/2/2024 7:52 AM, Julieta Shem wrote:

[...]

>> (*) Alan Bawden
>> Hey, Alan! I didn't know who you were. (I like not to know who I'm
>> talking to.) The document spoke very highly of you. It first mentions
>> you were in the Commmon Lisp Group and eventually calls you a
>> backquote-meister. Impressive!
>> The backquote syntax was particularly powerful when nested. This
>> occurred primarily within macro-defining macros; because such were
>> coded primarily by wizards, the ability to write and interpret nested
>> backquote expressions was soon surrounded by a certain mystique. Alan
>> Bawden of MIT acquired a particular reputation as backquote-meister in
>> the early days of the Lisp Machine.
>> We also learned about synctatic closures. Very cool.
>
>
> yes, he is the backquote-meister --- Checkout his paper on it.

(It's great to have the experts around.)

There are so many papers. I suppose you mean

Bawden, Alan. ``Quasiquotation in Lisp.'' PEPM, 1999.

Thanks.

On 6/16/2024 5:11 PM, Julieta Shem wrote:
> HenHanna <HenHanna@devnull.tb> writes:
>
>> On 2/2/2024 7:52 AM, Julieta Shem wrote:
>
> [...]
>
>>> (*) Alan Bawden
>>> Hey, Alan! I didn't know who you were. (I like not to know who I'm
>>> talking to.) The document spoke very highly of you. It first mentions
>>> you were in the Commmon Lisp Group and eventually calls you a
>>> backquote-meister. Impressive!
>>> The backquote syntax was particularly powerful when nested. This
>>> occurred primarily within macro-defining macros; because such were
>>> coded primarily by wizards, the ability to write and interpret nested
>>> backquote expressions was soon surrounded by a certain mystique. Alan
>>> Bawden of MIT acquired a particular reputation as backquote-meister in
>>> the early days of the Lisp Machine.
>>> We also learned about synctatic closures. Very cool.
>>
>>
>> yes, he is the backquote-meister --- Checkout his paper on it.
>
> (It's great to have the experts around.)
>
> There are so many papers. I suppose you mean
>
> Bawden, Alan. ``Quasiquotation in Lisp.'' PEPM, 1999.
>
> Thanks.

yes. i think that's the one....
i think there are 2 PDF versions (floating around).

_________________________the following Backquotes aren't really nested.

(define-macro (ave x)
`(/ (+ ,@ (map (lambda (n) `(+ ,@ (make-list n 1))) (cadr x)))
(+ ,@ (map (lambda (n) 1) (cadr x)))))

(print (ave '(1)))
(print (ave '(1 2 3)))

gosh> (macroexpand '(ave '(1 2 3)))
==> (/ (+ (+ 1) (+ 1 1) (+ 1 1 1)) (+ 1 1 1))