Re: Map, List
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg55103] Re: [mg55066] Map, List
- From: DrBob <drbob at bigfoot.com>
- Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 02:36:53 -0500 (EST)
- References: <200503110920.EAA02174@smc.vnet.net>
- Reply-to: drbob at bigfoot.com
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
>> What general principle applies that makes all such things functions?
Two principles:
1) Just about anything can be used as a function. 1[2] is valid syntax, for instance.
2) Nothing is strictly a function.
f[x] isn't a function f applied to an argument x; it's an expression which, if it matches a stored pattern for f, is replaced by a new expression. The new expression may do many things, aside from returning a value. Side-effects can keep f from mimicking a function at all, in the usual sense.
Mathematica's pattern-matching paradigm is far richer and more varied than a simple function-argument situation.
Bobby
On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 04:20:42 -0500 (EST), Steve Gray <stevebg at adelphia.net> wrote:
> I wanted to convert
>
> {a,b,c} to
> {{a},{b},{c}}, (just an example)
>
> and it occured to me that since List[xx] = {xx}, I could do
>
> ml=Map[List,{a,b,c}] and get
> ml={{a},{b},{c}},
>
> making List in this case the inverse of Flatten. Now,assuming a,b,c have appropriate integer values,
> I can do
>
> Delete[ggon, ml]
>
> where ggon is a list from which I want to delete an arbitrary set of list members.
>
> Of course this worked. My only problem is that I might not have thought of this obvious (in
> retrospect) operation. Using List as a function is not mentioned in any of my several books. What
> general principle applies that makes all such things functions?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Steve Gray
>
>
>
>
--
DrBob at bigfoot.com
- References:
- Map, List
- From: Steve Gray <stevebg@adelphia.net>
- Map, List