Origin of eval()-ing in separate namespace object

[rusi]

On Sunday, December 8, 2013 8:09:39 PM UTC+5:30, Jussi Piitulainen wrote:
> rusi writes:

> > On Sunday, December 8, 2013 4:05:54 PM UTC+5:30, Kalinni Gorzkis wrote:
> > > By which languages(s) Python was inspired to support evaluating
> > > expressions and executing statements in a separate "namespace"
> > > object?
> > > This syntax:
> > > eval(expression,globals) or exec(code,globals)
> > > What is the origin of the functionality provided by the globals
> > > argument?
> > Been here since the days of scheme at least
> > http://docs.racket-lang.org/guide/eval.html#%28part._namespaces%29
> > For the record lisp was conceptualized in the late 50s and
> > implemented by 1960.  By the 80s it was widely regarded as the
> > premier AI language but it was also clear to users that the scoping
> > rules were terribly wrong.  So a number of the then lisps coalesced
> > and re-separated into 2 major dialects -- scheme and common lisp.
> > I expect it -- 2 argument eval -- goes all the way back to the
> > earliest lisp but Ive not access to the history.

> Yes. From p. 13 of LISP 1.5 Programmer's Manual (the preface is dated
> in 1962):

> # _evalquote_ is defined by using two main functions, called _eval_
> # and _apply_. _apply_ handles a function and its arguments, while
> # _eval_ handles forms. Each of these functions also has another
> # argument that is used as an association list for storing the values
> # of bound variables and function names.

Heh – I am nostalgia-fied!

Wrote a Lisp interpreter as a student degree project in 1986.
Tried to use the Lisp 1.5 manual then but it was too archaic for me to
understand.  So mostly chewed on the UCI Lisp manual.  Took me some
years to understand that dynamic scoping was not my mistake but Lisp's!!