[REBOL] Re: Does the REBOL book clarify REBOL semantics?
From: g:santilli:tiscalinet:it at: 21-Nov-2000 12:31
j-sw wrote:
> There doesn't seem to be a place in the manual where
> this crucial matter is explained in terms of say
> 'by copy', 'by value', 'by reference', etc - conventional
> usage that can clarify matters greatly.
This is because REBOL just passes values. Some REBOL values are
immutable (=> "passed by value"), some (mainly SERIES!) are
mutable (=> "passed by reference").
The use of 'word or :word in function definitions fro argument
names changes the way function arguments are retrieved, not how
they are passed. 'word means: if the argument is a word, don't
evaluate it, but just pass the word, as if it was a lit-word;
:word means: if the argument is a word, pass its value without
evaluating it; otherwise just pass the next value without
evaluating it.
If you find this unclear, just let me know, and I'll try to
explain it better.
Regards,
Gabriele.
--
Gabriele Santilli <[giesse--writeme--com]> - Amigan - REBOL programmer
Amiga Group Italia sez. L'Aquila -- http://www.amyresource.it/AGI/