Value of function from a group NOT in the message path

[Dar Scott]

On Jun 15, 2004, at 11:12 PM, Troy Rollins wrote:

> Funny, for an "easy" syntax language, I sure get fouled up in it every 
> time I've been away a while working with... well, all those dot-syntax 
> languages. Anytime Transcript acts like one the "()" above, I slap my 
> forehead, and go duh!
>
> But then, of course, the function name IS in quotes. How weird is 
> that?  ;-)

The functional notation as in f(x) and g(x,y) is broader than in 
programming languages.

The quotes are there because a compiling is done every time.  The 
commands send, call and do all compile as well as the functions value() 
and merge().  These are not precompiled.  This allows the expression be 
be built at runtime.

The expression for value() may be fairly complex and need not refer to 
a function.  It might be something like "x > 5".

Values in Transcript are (virtually) strings, so it is natural for 
expressions and sequences of commands to be represented as strings.  In 
fact, a script is compiled in the simple act of setting the script 
property of some object to some string.

(Given that, I would like to have function-values of some sort, not 
pointers, but a sort of lambda value.  Maybe a sort of caching or 
partial compiling would help in that direction.)

Dar Scott