[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
[Emacs-diffs] emacs-26 db3874b: Refer to "proper lists" instead of "true
From: |
Paul Eggert |
Subject: |
[Emacs-diffs] emacs-26 db3874b: Refer to "proper lists" instead of "true lists" |
Date: |
Tue, 10 Jul 2018 22:54:36 -0400 (EDT) |
branch: emacs-26
commit db3874b16192142f473d53e3b80213ad74d19eff
Author: Basil L. Contovounesios <address@hidden>
Commit: Paul Eggert <address@hidden>
Refer to "proper lists" instead of "true lists"
* doc/lispref/lists.texi (Cons Cells, Building Lists):
* doc/lispref/sequences.texi (Vector Functions): Use the more
popular term "proper", rather than "true", to qualify nil-terminated
lists.
For discussion, see the following emacs-devel subthreads:
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2018-06/msg00112.html
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2018-06/msg00138.html
---
doc/lispref/lists.texi | 23 +++++++++++++----------
doc/lispref/sequences.texi | 2 +-
2 files changed, 14 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
diff --git a/doc/lispref/lists.texi b/doc/lispref/lists.texi
index 431f5fb..e05633a 100644
--- a/doc/lispref/lists.texi
+++ b/doc/lispref/lists.texi
@@ -50,16 +50,19 @@ convention; at the level of cons cells, the @sc{car} and
@sc{cdr}
slots have similar properties). Hence, the @sc{cdr} slot of each cons
cell in a list refers to the following cons cell.
address@hidden proper list
@cindex true list
Also by convention, the @sc{cdr} of the last cons cell in a list is
@code{nil}. We call such a @code{nil}-terminated structure a
address@hidden list}. In Emacs Lisp, the symbol @code{nil} is both a
-symbol and a list with no elements. For convenience, the symbol
address@hidden is considered to have @code{nil} as its @sc{cdr} (and also
-as its @sc{car}).
-
- Hence, the @sc{cdr} of a true list is always a true list. The
address@hidden of a nonempty true list is a true list containing all the
address@hidden address@hidden is sometimes also referred to as a
address@hidden list}, but we generally do not use this terminology in this
+manual.}. In Emacs Lisp, the symbol @code{nil} is both a symbol and a
+list with no elements. For convenience, the symbol @code{nil} is
+considered to have @code{nil} as its @sc{cdr} (and also as its
address@hidden).
+
+ Hence, the @sc{cdr} of a proper list is always a proper list. The
address@hidden of a nonempty proper list is a proper list containing all the
elements except the first.
@cindex dotted list
@@ -71,10 +74,10 @@ Pair Notation}). There is one other possibility: some cons
cell's
@sc{cdr} could point to one of the previous cons cells in the list.
We call that structure a @dfn{circular list}.
- For some purposes, it does not matter whether a list is true,
+ For some purposes, it does not matter whether a list is proper,
circular or dotted. If a program doesn't look far enough down the
list to see the @sc{cdr} of the final cons cell, it won't care.
-However, some functions that operate on lists demand true lists and
+However, some functions that operate on lists demand proper lists and
signal errors if given a dotted list. Most functions that try to find
the end of a list enter infinite loops if given a circular list.
@@ -522,7 +525,7 @@ object. The final argument is not copied or converted; it
becomes the
is itself a list, then its elements become in effect elements of the
result list. If the final element is not a list, the result is a
dotted list since its final @sc{cdr} is not @code{nil} as required
-in a true list.
+in a proper list (@pxref{Cons Cells}).
@end defun
Here is an example of using @code{append}:
diff --git a/doc/lispref/sequences.texi b/doc/lispref/sequences.texi
index 188a345..327de6e 100644
--- a/doc/lispref/sequences.texi
+++ b/doc/lispref/sequences.texi
@@ -1355,7 +1355,7 @@ each initialized to @var{object}.
@defun vconcat &rest sequences
@cindex copying vectors
This function returns a new vector containing all the elements of
address@hidden The arguments @var{sequences} may be true lists,
address@hidden The arguments @var{sequences} may be proper lists,
vectors, strings or bool-vectors. If no @var{sequences} are given,
the empty vector is returned.
[Prev in Thread] |
Current Thread |
[Next in Thread] |
- [Emacs-diffs] emacs-26 db3874b: Refer to "proper lists" instead of "true lists",
Paul Eggert <=