Re: Why DIGITP and DIGIT-WEIGHT?

[Kent M. Pitman <KMP at MIT-MC>]

(APPEND A ())		      ; Obscure use of APPEND to copy top of list
(SUBST () () A)		      ; Obscure use of SUBST to copy structure
(LSH -1 -1)		      ; Obscure use of -1 & LSH to get max pos fixnum
(SSTATUS MACRO (PROGN I) ...) ; Obscure use of PROGN to make I EVAL
...
These are ugly idioms. They each have their particular application -- some
more questionable than others, but in each case, the end result is in no way
related to the name. APPEND should put things together. SUBST should do
substitution. -1 should be negative 1 -- we shouldn't have to use it for its
representation. PROGN should sequence -- it shouldn't be used to make a list
out of something that wouldn't normally be ... 

Having to say (DIGITP #/8) to get a digit's weight is annoying. It looks like
a predicate. It may be a predicate -- sometimes. If I did:

	... (WHILE (SETQ C (DIGITP (TYI))) ...) ...

I might want DIGITP instead of DIGIT-WEIGHT but if I were in a routine which
I knew had verified its input to be digits, I would want to say 

	... (LET ((W (DIGIT-WEIGHT DIGIT))) ...

rather than

	... (LET ((W (DIGITP DIGIT))) ...

Indeed, I may have been passed the DIGIT from some other routine and not
know what his input radix was. I may only know that the caller wanted it
treated as a digit. Then the default argument must be explicitly given (as
36. -- sigh) and I will need

	... (LET ((W (DIGITP DIGIT 36.))) ...

which is even dumber if all I want is the digit weight. I'd also like to think
that the code I was writing would work fine if there were bases above 36. Why
should that constant have to go in.

Having two functions means I can say the functionality I want and get it
straightforwardly. The issues are subtle when there is only one function and
they are straightforward if there are two. I vote for the straightforward
case. The code will be there anyway; why not give the user the entry point
he wants?


-kmp