From: AWS
Subject: Meta (lisp-like language) question
Date: 
Message-ID: <bd5d6564.0403092107.7e2a11c4@posting.google.com>
Hi all,

I need some help. I am programming in Meta, and ran into an
interesting bug.
I thought Meta was like Lisp, in that there are no types (eg int,
double ...).

But, I guess I was wrong.
Meta is built on Microsoft's .NET (I don't know if that has anything
to do with it, but I thought I'd mention it).

Anyway, I did a simple operation:
[/ 50 10]
and I tried to pass that result to a funtion that takes a number as a
counter.

It gave me an arguement type exception error, because 
[/ 50 10] returned a double.

This is really confusing me. If you have any advice for me, like what
I can do to convert a double, or how to get around so that my function
accepts a double, that would be great.

Thanks,
AWS

PS. Please respond by e-mail AND by posting on the group. Thank you.

From: Kaz Kylheku
Subject: Re: Meta (lisp-like language) question
Date: 
Message-ID: <cf333042.0403100856.5ef4d3a3@posting.google.com>
·······@northwestern.edu (AWS) wrote in message news:<····························@posting.google.com>...
> Hi all,
> 
> I need some help. I am programming in Meta, and ran into an
> interesting bug.
> I thought Meta was like Lisp, in that there are no types (eg int,
> double ...).
>
> But, I guess I was wrong.

In more ways than one perhaps, since Lisp has types. Like the function
you are trying to use in Meta which rejects a floating point value
because it expects an integer, Lisp functions can do the same thing.

Look:

  (evenp 1.1)  ;; is 1.1 even?

  --> <ERROR>  ;; 1.1 is not an integer.

> This is really confusing me. If you have any advice for me, like what
> I can do to convert a double, or how to get around so that my function
> accepts a double, that would be great.

Maybe this Meta has a reference manual? Or, failing that, source code?
From: Frank A. Adrian
Subject: Re: Meta (lisp-like language) question
Date: 
Message-ID: <pan.2004.03.10.17.45.33.745714@ancar.org>
On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 08:56:25 -0800, Kaz Kylheku wrote:

> Maybe this Meta has a reference manual? Or, failing that, source code?

If it does, I'm sure there must be something in the index under "type
conversion" or "coercion".  You might start there...

faa