[plt-scheme] Re: Novice question: evaluating symbols

On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 09:05:03AM -0800, Mike G. wrote:

>Maybe I've been thinking about symbols in the wrong way all
>along.  What's your distinction between symbols and identifiers?
>>From my background, they're more or less synonymous.

I guess the simple answer is from the docs on identifier?

   Returns #t if v is a syntax object and (syntax-e stx) produces a
   symbol.

An identifier is a wrapper around a symbol with the lexical
information associated with it.  Symbols themselves are basically just
interned strings.  They don't have any meaning without a context to
have that meaning in.  The syntax object around the symbol provides
the context to give a symbol a particular meaning.

David