emacs-devel
[Top][All Lists]
Advanced

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Creating recursive customization types / widgets


From: Per Abrahamsen
Subject: Re: Creating recursive customization types / widgets
Date: Tue, 02 Dec 2003 11:31:24 +0100
User-agent: Gnus/5.1003 (Gnus v5.10.3) Emacs/21.3 (gnu/linux)

Richard Stallman <address@hidden> writes:

> ISTR that there is a frequently used term for an object
> whose value will be computed only when you actually refer to it,
> but it has been so many years that I don't remember the term.
> Is it "lazy"?  Maybe this type should be called `lazy'.

The word is lazy, as in lazy evaluation.

> `delayed' is ok too.

'lazy' and 'delayed' are good because they describe how the widget
accomplish its task.  But I now believe 'recursive' is best, because
it described what the task is.  Also 

  (define-widget 'binary-tree 'recursive ...)

reads well:  A binary tree is a recursive datastructure with the
following attributes ...

That lazy or delayed expansion is needed for recursive datastructures
is an (admittedly important) implementation detail.

May I commit the widget under the name `recursive'?




reply via email to

[Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]