Re: Documentation for car and cdr

[David Kastrup]

Alan Mackenzie <address@hidden> writes:

> On Wed, 25 Jan 2006, Bill Atkins wrote:
>
>>Why do we need to "speak loosely"?
>
> So as to be immediately understandable.

But the understanding will be faulty.  There is no way we can be
immediately understandable if the concept of a cons cell is unknown.

>>Including a link to a description of cons cells is completely
>>adequate.
>
> Yes, but only in addition to an intuitively meaningful description,
> not instead of it.

Intuitively meaningful is no substitute for correct.

> Because that would force the poor hacker to go and look somewhere
> else.

We don't explain the concept of addition in the doc string for +, or
the concept of comparisons in the doc string for >.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum