Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Let's draw a distinction between the syntax requirements of the language and those of things written in it.
I suspect AutoLISP uses RPN because it's easier to parse when evaluating.
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RPN is definitely easier to parse than standard notation but I don't think that's the reason for the layout. The whole language seems to be built around a simple list parser. If you're going to process the items in a list then you should say what you want to do with each item at the start. The advantage of building the whole language around a simple construct (like a list) is that it makes the language easier to learn and also straightforward to expand. In lisp at least, I don't think there is a distinction between the syntax, the programs and the data.