RE: rightTree[tree[_, _, right_]] := right Hu?
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg38026] RE: [mg37993] rightTree[tree[_, _, right_]] := right Hu?
- From: "David Park" <djmp at earthlink.net>
- Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 00:49:11 -0500 (EST)
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
Steve, The header "tree" is not a function call but a wrapper for three objects. Is the following code as much of a mystery? pick3rdOnListOf3[List[_, _, third_]]:= third David Park djmp at earthlink.net http://home.earthlink.net/~djmp/ From: Steven T. Hatton [mailto:hattons at globalsymmetry.com] To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net I found this: rightTree[tree[_, _, right_]] := right in Dr. Mäder's Computer Science with Mathematica. I understand the spirit of the statement, but it looks rather strange to me. Is there a way of describing, in a language such as English, exactly what this definition means? The part that I find confusing is the inclusion of what looks like a function call in the parameter list. This simply defies my sense of how programming languages work. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing. It just means that I don't feel comfortable with the syntax. Is there somewhere in the Mathematica Book , or Help which discusses such arcana? -- STH Hatton's Law: "There is only One inviolable Law."