[OT] Etymology of cons

From: Rupert Swarbrick
Subject: [OT] Etymology of cons
Date: Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:04:23 +0000
Message-ID: <g9ur8p$mmk$1@news.albasani.net>

--=-=-=


So this is really OT, but reading the thread that is happening about
consing made me wonder where the word came from. Presumably construct?
And is that a noun form or a verb form?

I reckoned someone here would know...

Rupert

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Re: [OT] Etymology of cons Pascal J. Bourguignon
- Re: [OT] Etymology of cons Rupert Swarbrick
  - Re: [OT] Etymology of cons Kaz Kylheku
    - Re: [OT] Etymology of cons Rob Warnock
- Re: Etymology of cons namekuseijin
  - Re: Etymology of cons Benjamin L. Russell

From: Pascal J. Bourguignon
Subject: Re: [OT] Etymology of cons
Date: Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:23:28 +0000
Message-ID: <87wshparzj.fsf@hubble.informatimago.com>

Rupert Swarbrick <··········@gmail.com> writes:

> So this is really OT, but reading the thread that is happening about
> consing made me wonder where the word came from. Presumably construct?
> And is that a noun form or a verb form?
>
> I reckoned someone here would know...

In the sources of LISP 1.5 dated 1962, we find this line:

       TRA     $CONS              CONSTRUCT A LIST

Before that, in the AIM-8 memo (dated 1959), it was called "combine".

Something happened during these three years...

-- 
__Pascal Bourguignon__                     http://www.informatimago.com/

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From: Rupert Swarbrick
Subject: Re: [OT] Etymology of cons
Date: Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:02:27 +0000
Message-ID: <g9v265$u4t$1@news.albasani.net>

--=-=-=

···@informatimago.com (Pascal J. Bourguignon) writes:

> Rupert Swarbrick <··········@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> So this is really OT, but reading the thread that is happening about
>> consing made me wonder where the word came from. Presumably construct?
>> And is that a noun form or a verb form?
>>
>> I reckoned someone here would know...
>
> In the sources of LISP 1.5 dated 1962, we find this line:
>
>        TRA     $CONS              CONSTRUCT A LIST
>
> Before that, in the AIM-8 memo (dated 1959), it was called "combine".
>
> Something happened during these three years...

Ah, thanks! Well it's definitely a verb then.

Rupert

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From: Kaz Kylheku
Subject: Re: [OT] Etymology of cons
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:19:07 +0000
Message-ID: <20080907211756.282@gmail.com>

On 2008-09-06, Rupert Swarbrick <··········@gmail.com> wrote:
> Ah, thanks! Well it's definitely a verb then.

It's also definitely a noun. ``The list (1 2 3) has three conses.''

From: Rob Warnock
Subject: Re: [OT] Etymology of cons
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:53:16 +0000
Message-ID: <pqWdnbnSqMpBVlnVnZ2dnUVZ_jadnZ2d@speakeasy.net>

Kaz Kylheku  <········@gmail.com> wrote:
+---------------
| Rupert Swarbrick <··········@gmail.com> wrote:
| > Ah, thanks! Well it's definitely a verb then.
| 
| It's also definitely a noun. ``The list (1 2 3) has three conses.''
+---------------

It's *both*, of course!! ;-}

   ;; Note: Each call to FOO conses three conses.
   (DEFUN FOO ()
     (LIST 1 2 3))


-Rob

-----
Rob Warnock			<····@rpw3.org>
627 26th Avenue			<URL:http://rpw3.org/>
San Mateo, CA 94403		(650)572-2607

From: namekuseijin
Subject: Re: Etymology of cons
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:43:21 +0000
Message-ID: <2ace79d9-b066-4406-aebf-31fc31be4de3@c65g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>

On Sep 6, 6:23 pm, ····@informatimago.com (Pascal J. Bourguignon)
wrote:
> In the sources of LISP 1.5 dated 1962, we find this line:
>
>        TRA     $CONS              CONSTRUCT A LIST
>
> Before that, in the AIM-8 memo (dated 1959), it was called "combine".
>
> Something happened during these three years...

Good it happened.  Writing (comb hair women) sounds a bit too
feminine.

From: Benjamin L. Russell
Subject: Re: Etymology of cons
Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:04:48 +0000
Message-ID: <o8bcc4he176av3hes2pu4i1qiin55npfnv@4ax.com>

On Mon, 8 Sep 2008 08:43:21 -0700 (PDT), namekuseijin
<············@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Sep 6, 6:23?pm, ····@informatimago.com (Pascal J. Bourguignon)
>wrote:
>> In the sources of LISP 1.5 dated 1962, we find this line:
>>
>> ? ? ? ?TRA ? ? $CONS ? ? ? ? ? ? ?CONSTRUCT A LIST
>>
>> Before that, in the AIM-8 memo (dated 1959), it was called "combine".
>>
>> Something happened during these three years...
>
>Good it happened.  Writing (comb hair women) sounds a bit too
>feminine.

Also, writing (cons on ants 'b 'c 'd 'f 'g 'h 'j 'k 'l 'm 'n 'p 'q 'r
's 't 'v 'w 'x 'y 'z) in DrScheme doubles in teaching consonants, too.

-- Benjamin L. Russell