Abstract
LISP has built-in functions that deal with certain composite data objects constructed out of atoms. These data objects are called nonatomic S-expressions. They are binary trees whose terminal nodes are atoms. Some of these trees can be interpreted as lists, and these are a very popular form in LISP. Indeed, as mentioned earlier, LISP derives its name from the phrase “list processing.” Atoms and nonatomic S-expressions, taken together, form the class of data objects whose members are called S-expressions. The term S-expression is short for the phrase symbolic expression.
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© 2017 Gary D. Knott
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Knott, G.D. (2017). S-Expressions. In: Interpreting LISP. Apress, Berkeley, CA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-2707-7_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-2707-7_5
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Publisher Name: Apress, Berkeley, CA
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