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2 points by pg 5433 days ago | link | parent

Having separate meaning, determined by context, means that you don't have to use as many distinct identifiers in your program.

That would make your code very confusing. Even in Lisp 2s, programmers avoid using the same names for functions and ordinary variables.

Arc3 is getting stable enough that you can probably start with that. Most basic stuff (e.g. everything in the tutorial) should be the same anyway.



7 points by zbeane 5432 days ago | link

> Even in Lisp 2s, programmers avoid using the same names for functions and ordinary variables.

No, they don't.

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1 point by Adlai 5431 days ago | link

I'm a big fan of using identifiers such as 'list, 'string, 'fn (isn't a problem in CL, but is one in Arc), 'array, 'char, etc. Often a general name is the most concise and appropriate name to use.

I think that since Arc is supposed to be designed towards flexibility and usability for the programmer, it should have few restrictions, and a common namespace is such a restriction.

However, my opinion on this could change as I explore Arc over the next few weeks.

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