experts disagree on "call-by-reference"

[Greg Weeks]

Paul Foley (see at below) wrote:
: Greg Weeks has consistently failed to understand that the meaning he
: wants to apply to the terms "call by value" and "call by reference"
: seems to be somewhat at odds with what everyone else means by those
: terms; I'm sure the authors he quoted wouldn't actually disagree at
: all if you asked them (i.e., I'm quite confident that each and every
: one of them understands what's actually going on)

Of course.  We *all* know how the various programming languages behave.
(Well, most of us anyway.)  My main point was that what some people call
one thing (eg, "call by reference") is called by others something else (eg,
"call by reference").

: Yes, exactly.  "Pass by whatever" has never really applied to
: Lisp-like call semantics, Greg Weeks' protestations about "the old way
: of speaking" notwithstanding.

Again, these are words that you like to use.  Winston and Sussman like
different words (eg, that Lisp is call by value).  Are you saying that they
are flat-out wrong to use those words?


Greg