Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version nyu B notes v1.5 12/10/84; site csd2.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!qantel!lll-crg!seismo!cmcl2!csd2!dimitrov
From: dimitrov@csd2.UUCP (Isaac Dimitrovsky)
Newsgroups: net.lang.lisp
Subject: Re: A BNF for Lisp
Message-ID: <3120008@csd2.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 16-Nov-85 11:16:00 EST
Article-I.D.: csd2.3120008
Posted: Sat Nov 16 11:16:00 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 18-Nov-85 07:21:18 EST
References: <60@aquila.UUCP>
Organization: New York University
Lines: 17

[]
Ted Hopp writes:
> A major difficulty in defining a lisp syntax in mosts lisp dialects is the
> presence of read macros.  Thus 'A usually gets translated to (quote A) by
> the reader (and remember, it is the reader that defines the syntax!)  I
> don't see how 'A fits the above bnf.

Lisp macros have the computational power of Turing machines;
thus, it's impossible to define a bnf for lisp that would
take read macros into account.

Isaac Dimitrovsky
allegra!cmcl2!csd2!dimitrov   (l in cmcl2 is letter l not number 1)
251 Mercer Street, New York NY 10012     (212) 674-8652

... Hernandez steps in to face ... Orl ... HERchiiiser ... and it's a liiine
driive, deeeeep to the gap in left center ...	- Bob Murphy, Voice of the Mets