slightly off topic: LISP

["Darryl Röthering" <drothering@hotmail.com>]

OK, all you LISPers got me off my duffus to take a LISP tutorial. So, can 
you please email me off-list with answers to this question?

I don't understand something, but I'm not sure what I am missing: it seems 
to be either the QUOTE or the REST function. I will show you what I think 
ought to be the evaluation of this function, (which is NOT what the LISP 
evaluator yields) and you tell me what I am missing:



(REST (REST '(1 2 3 4)))
|(REST '(1 2 3 4))
| '(1 2 3 4)
| --> (1 2 3 4)
|--> (2 3 4)
--> Error, 2 is not a function

Of course, the lisp evaluator yields the following:

(REST (REST '(1 2 3 4)))
|(REST '(1 2 3 4))
| '(1 2 3 4)
| --> (1 2 3 4)
|--> (2 3 4)
--> (3 4)
(3 4)

In other words, why does the outer REST accept the return of the inner REST 
without an intervening QUOTE? Is the quote passed on? Or, does the QUOTE 
serve to type the inner list as a non-function, after which time, the return 
value of REST is typed as non-function?

I just don't get the proper conceptualization on this point.

TIA,

James Rothering


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