'if' as a _function_, in Scheme and Python

[Barry Margolin]

In article <37bc9dd6.11041486 at 90.0.0.40>,
Steve Schafer <pandeng at telepath.com> wrote:
>On Thu, 19 Aug 1999 22:31:49 GMT, oleg at pobox.com wrote:
>
>>To show it clearer, let me re-write my-if as
>>
>>        (define (my-if condition then-branch else-branch)
>>           ((cdr (assq (eq? condition #f)
>>                (list (cons #t else-branch) (cons #f then-branch))))))
>>
>>This definition is _purely_ functional
>
>Not only is it purely functional, it also unconditionally evaluates
>both branches (in Scheme). Therefore, it is not equivalent to IF.

No.  Remember that then-branch and else-branch are thunks.  It doesn't
matter whether you evaluate them, they don't do anything until you *call*
them.  The above expression selects one of them and then calls it (notice
the extra level of parentheses before "cdr").

The subject of a functional "if" comes up in the Scheme group every 6-9
months, I think.  The above implementation is clever.  A more common
implementation involves replacing #t and #f with functions:

(define (if-true then-branch else-branch)
  (then-branch))
(define (if-false then-branch else-branch)
  (else-branch))

Predicates return if-true or if-false instead of #t or #f, respectively (we
could define that these special values actually evaluate to these
functions).  Then "if" is defined as:

(define (if condition then-branch else-branch)
  (condition then-branch else-branch))

-- 
Barry Margolin, barmar at bbnplanet.com
GTE Internetworking, Powered by BBN, Burlington, MA
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