Re: [Maxima-users] What is special about the variable c ?

Raymond Toy wrote:

>>>>>>"Richard" == Richard Fateman <fateman@cs.berkeley.edu> writes:
>>>>>>            
>>>>>>
>
>    Richard> Realizing eventually that the world outside MIT PREFERRED
>    Richard> upper and lower case, some effort was made to allow Macsyma
>    Richard> to use both cases (a global symbol bothcases  was introduced).
>    Richard> But the effort was half-hearted and incomplete.
>
>I personally wish maxima didn't allow upper and lower case, and
>converted everything to lower case. :-)  I never have variables named
>n and N and really expect them to be different.
>
>Another annoying side effect of the prompt changes is that I can no
>longer refer to the output as easily as I used to when I'm in lisp.  I
>used to be able to say $D8 to get the Lisp representation of the
>output D8.  Now I have to say |$%o8|.  Rather annoying.  $%o8 is
>annoying enough but having to remember to escape just adds to it.
>
If you were using Allegro Common Lisp in its "Modern" setting, and if 
Maxima could
be run in this setting (non-ANSI), then you could write %o8  without 
escapes.

The preference for lower case was established, at least in my mind, by 
UNIX, circa 1972 or
so.

>
>Oh well.  That's progress, I guess.
>
>Ray
>
>  
>