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From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:
cons /konz/ or /kons/ [from LISP]
1. vt. To add a new element to a specified list, esp. at the top. "OK, cons picking a replacement for the console TTY onto the agenda." 2. 'cons up': vt. To synthesize from smaller pieces: "to cons up an example".
In LISP itself, 'cons' is the most fundamental operation for building structures. It takes any two objects and returns a 'dot-pair' or two-branched tree with one object hanging from each branch. Because the result of a cons is an object, it can be used to build binary trees of any shape and complexity. Hackers think of it as a sort of universal constructor, and that is where the jargon meanings spring from.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
CONS {connection-oriented network service}
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
cons /konz/ or /kons/ [LISP, "construct"] A {Lisp} function which takes an element H and a list T and returns a new list whose head is H and whose tail is T. In {Lisp}, "cons" is the most fundamental operation for building structures. It actually takes any two objects and returns a "{dotted-pair}" or two-branched tree with one object hanging from each branch. Because the result of a cons is an object, it can be used to build {binary tree}s of any shape and complexity. [{Jargon File}]
From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) [vera]:
CONS Connection Oriented Networking Service
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |