[racket] Use of map and eval to evaluate symbol in namespace

From: Vincent St-Amour (stamourv at ccs.neu.edu)
Date: Mon Jul 28 14:21:26 EDT 2014

Maybe this should be linked to from the `eval' docs?

http://blog.racket-lang.org/2011/10/on-eval-in-dynamic-languages-generally.html

Vincent


At Sun, 27 Jul 2014 16:16:52 -0400,
Neil Van Dyke wrote:
> 
> Maybe there should be a periodic public service announcement about not
> using "eval".  This time I will communicate in FAQ format:
> 
> Q: How do I use eval?
> A: Don't use eval.
> 
> Q: But don't so many academic books feature eval prominently, so doesn't
> that mean I should use try to eval?
> A: Those books use eval for pedagogic reasons, or because the author is
> enamored of some theoretical appeal of eval, or because the author wants
> to watch the world burn.  Don't use eval.
> 
> Q: But, but, but, I am just starting to learn, and eval seems to do what
> I need.
> A: Eval is almost certainly not what you want.  Learn how to use the
> other basics effectively.  Don't use eval.
> 
> Q: I now am very comfortable with the language, I am aware that I should
> avoid eval in almost all cases, and I can tell you why eval is actually
> the right thing in this highly unusual case.
> A: Cool, that's why eval is there.
> 
> Neil V.
> 
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