[REBOL] Re: ROUND function (like TRUNC, FLOOR, etc...)
From: joel:neely:fedex at: 20-Feb-2002 13:53
Brett Handley wrote:
> >
> > The problem I had with the name is that the concept of "a context"
> > is very specific in REBOL, and that concept shows up in multiple
> > places. A function has a context, an object has a context, there
> > is a global context, and every application of USE creates a
> > context (at least AFAICT). That's a different idea from having
> > a "shortcut" for MAKE OBJECT! (especially as it saves only five
> > keystrokes...)
>
> IIRC Rebol tech. has not used the word "context" in any official
> way except for this shortcut function. That's rather marked I
> believe. I felt that this was a deliberate decision as many of
> RT's decisions seem to be.
>
Again, I must disagree; the documentation available from the RT
web site *does* refer to the concept in many places.
The word "context" is used throughout the REBOL/Core User Guide,
specifically in the following sections.
http://www.rebol.com/docs/core23/rebolcore-2.html
http://www.rebol.com/docs/core23/rebolcore-4.html
http://www.rebol.com/docs/core23/rebolcore-9.html
http://www.rebol.com/docs/core23/rebolcore-10.html
http://www.rebol.com/docs/core23/rebolcore-15.html
http://www.rebol.com/docs/core23/rebolcore-16.html
http://www.rebol.com/docs/core23/rebolcore-17.html
It also appears in
http://www.rebol.com/core23notes.html
Additionally,
http://www.rebol.com/docs/dictionary.html
contains a section called "Context Functions" which includes
ALIAS, BIND, CONTEXT, GET, IN, SET, UNSET, USE, and VALUE?
The discussion of BIND makes heavy use of the idea of context, and
is the closest to exposing that concept of anywhere I know in the
REBOL documentation.
> I have benefited though from the list participants using the
> word "context" when discussing their theories on how Rebol
> carries out evaluation.
>
Those "theories" also include ideas gained from posts to the list
by RT employees.
> Such discussion reasonably uses terms from computing science.
>
But "context" is *not* the standard term from computing science;
it is specific to REBOL. I am accustomed to seeing the terms
environment
and "activation record" used in computing science
for what RT calls "context".
> So the list has a concept they have called "context" ...
>
Which came from RT.
-jn-
