From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 107f24,626a0a064b320310 X-Google-Attributes: gid107f24,public X-Google-Thread: f4fd2,626a0a064b320310 X-Google-Attributes: gidf4fd2,public X-Google-Thread: 103d24,626a0a064b320310 X-Google-Attributes: gid103d24,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,ea8ea502d35ca2ce X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1164ba,626a0a064b320310 X-Google-Attributes: gid1164ba,public X-Google-Thread: 10259a,626a0a064b320310 X-Google-Attributes: gid10259a,public X-Google-Thread: 114809,626a0a064b320310 X-Google-Attributes: gid114809,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-05-16 17:23:10 PST Path: archiver1.sj.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!sn-xit-02!supernews.com!newsfeed.direct.ca!look.ca!feeder.qis.net!yellow.newsread.com!netaxs.com!newsread.com!netaxs.newsread.com!usenet From: Boris Smilga Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.lisp,comp.lang.smalltalk,comp.lang.basic,comp.lang.functional,comp.lang.scheme,comp.lang.perl Subject: Re: Beginner's Language? Date: 16 May 2001 20:22:35 -0400 Organization: newsread.com ISP News Reading Service (http://www.newsread.com) Sender: boris@rome.bhasha.com Message-ID: References: <9cukad$nn68@news-dxb> <9d6b6e$1bt$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <87snihxiwc.fsf@frown.here> <9dbi83$sji$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <87heyu7cqd.fsf@frown.here> <9dc20p$hh15e$1@ID-37382.news.dfncis.de> <3B003CA2.D24D083C@research.bell-labs.com> <3b02a7d0$1@news.microsoft.com> <3B02E7E3.D3640D53@research.bell-labs.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: ppp74.blackbox1-mfs.netaxs.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii User-Agent: Gnus/5.0807 (Gnus v5.8.7) XEmacs/21.1 (Channel Islands) Xref: archiver1.sj.google.com comp.lang.ada:7596 comp.lang.lisp:10191 comp.lang.smalltalk:9741 comp.lang.functional:5682 comp.lang.scheme:3858 comp.lang.perl:2790 Date: 2001-05-16T20:22:35-04:00 List-Id: Matthias Blume writes: > <...> In C functions are function > pointers, and they are completely first-class because they can be used "as > elements of a complex data structure (array, record or however you want to > call it)" and they can be the "return value of a function/procedure". Pronouncing this explicitely, "being a first-class object" is not the same as "being dynamically creatable". [Can one say "creatable" in English?] The ability to generate first-class procedures (closures) on the fly is, probably, one of the most pleasant distinctions of Scheme. (There are other languages with that feature, of course, but Scheme was, most likely, the first one to provide it.) -BSm