[Jscheme-user] apply/2 vs apply/n (absent): apply takes only 2 arguments

[Hoehle, Joerg-C. <Joe...@t-...>]

Hi,

apply in Jscheme takes exactly 2 arguments.
> apply
{jsint.Primitive apply[2]}

In R4RS terms:
  essential procedure: apply proc args
  procedure: apply proc arg1 ... args
, this means that only the essential part if implemented in Jscheme.

R5RS' apply takes n arguments and doesn't make a distinction anymore. =
Having only apply/2 is a nightmare for recursive procedures with =
variable number of arguments.

BTW, the documentation at
http://jscheme.sourceforge.net/jscheme/doc/R4RSprimitives.html
is inconsistent. It says
(apply f arguments ) ...
(map F L) ...
Yet map takes n arguments (in both R4RS and R5RS and) in Jscheme.


While it is a trivial exercise to write an apply/n based on the =
apply/2, it is not so w.r.t. compiler optimization and inlining.
Will the home-grown apply/n compile to as efficient code/bytecode as =
apply/2?

BTW, Common Lisp has list* which is quite useful for a straightforward =
apply/n->apply/2.

Regards,
	J=F6rg H=F6hle.
Using Jscheme 5.0 04/05/2002 on MS-Woes-2000