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Re: Lispref add-to-list - doc is unnecessary convoluted
From: |
Arthur Miller |
Subject: |
Re: Lispref add-to-list - doc is unnecessary convoluted |
Date: |
Fri, 04 Dec 2020 16:28:29 +0100 |
User-agent: |
Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/28.0.50 (gnu/linux) |
Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:
>> From: Arthur Miller <arthur.miller@live.com>
>> Date: Fri, 04 Dec 2020 03:17:19 +0100
>>
>> +This function adds the @var{element} to a list @var{list} if
>
> This will produce "... to a list LIST if ...", which is sub-optimal.
>
> You omitted the part where the current doc string warns against an
> argument that is not a list, and that's losing information.
Yes, it was on purpose, partly because hopefully the argument name LIST is
self-documenting and partly because name of the function says
add-to-list which is self-documenting too. Partly because I also dislike
the wording: "better be a list". Does not sound so proffsy to me; but we
can add description for the argument, and change name to LIST-VAR as
suggested. Maybe the argument should be called LIST-NAME
Another question, why doesn't add-to-list take a list value, why symbol?
Maybe I don't understand lisp enough, but why is this not desirable:
(add-to-list '(1 2 3) '4) or (add-to-list (list 1 2 3) 4)
>> -The argument @var{symbol} is not implicitly quoted; @code{add-to-list}
>> -is an ordinary function, like @code{set} and unlike @code{setq}. Quote
>> -the argument yourself if that is what you want.
>> +The argument @var{list} is not implicitly quoted; @code{add-to-list}
>> +is an ordinary function, like @code{set} and unlike @code{setq}.
>
> Not sure why you want to drop the explicit suggestion to quote the
> list symbol here: it's also losing information.
Mostly because I think it is rather description of implementation and
also because I dislike the wording:
"Quote the argument yourself if that is what you want."
"If that is I want"? :-) If I don't want - is it not needed then? :-)
Is LIST-NAME ok suggestion? And I can put back info about it's value and
quote. Will have to do it tomorrow though.
- Lispref add-to-list - doc is unnecessary convoluted, Arthur Miller, 2020/12/03
- Re: Lispref add-to-list - doc is unnecessary convoluted, Christopher Dimech, 2020/12/03
- Re: Lispref add-to-list - doc is unnecessary convoluted, Robin Tarsiger, 2020/12/03
- Re: Lispref add-to-list - doc is unnecessary convoluted, Eli Zaretskii, 2020/12/04
- Re: Lispref add-to-list - doc is unnecessary convoluted,
Arthur Miller <=
- Re: Lispref add-to-list - doc is unnecessary convoluted, Robin Tarsiger, 2020/12/04
- Re: Ad-hoc list structure tutorializing (was: Lispref add-to-list - doc is unnecessary convoluted), Robin Tarsiger, 2020/12/04
- Re: Ad-hoc list structure tutorializing, Stefan Monnier, 2020/12/04
- Re: Ad-hoc list structure tutorializing, Christopher Dimech, 2020/12/04
- Re: Ad-hoc list structure tutorializing, Eli Zaretskii, 2020/12/05
- Re: Ad-hoc list structure tutorializing, Richard Stallman, 2020/12/06
- Re: Ad-hoc list structure tutorializing, Robin Tarsiger, 2020/12/06
- Re: Ad-hoc list structure tutorializing, Arthur Miller, 2020/12/06
- Re: Ad-hoc list structure tutorializing, Richard Stallman, 2020/12/06
- Re: add-to-list vs cl-pushnew, Robin Tarsiger, 2020/12/04