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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>cons</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="../../jargon.css" type="text/css"/><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.61.0"/><link rel="home" href="../index.html" title="The Jargon File"/><link rel="up" href="../C.html" title="C"/><link rel="previous" href="connector-conspiracy.html" title="connector conspiracy"/><link rel="next" href="considered-harmful.html" title="considered harmful"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">cons</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="connector-conspiracy.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">C</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="considered-harmful.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="cons"/><dt xmlns="" id="cons"><b>cons</b>: <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="pronunciation">/konz/</span>, <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="pronunciation">/kons/</span></dt></dt><dd><p> [from LISP] </p></dd><dd><p> 1. <span class="grammar">vt.</span> To add a new element to a
specified list, esp. at the top. &#8220;<span class="quote">OK, cons picking a replacement
for the console TTY onto the agenda.</span>&#8221; </p></dd><dd><p> 2. <span class="firstterm">cons up</span>: <span class="grammar">vt.</span> To synthesize from smaller pieces: &#8220;<span class="quote">to
cons up an example</span>&#8221;.</p></dd><dd><p>In LISP itself, <b class="command">cons</b> is the most
fundamental operation for building structures. It takes any two objects
and returns a <span class="firstterm">dot-pair</span> 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.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="connector-conspiracy.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../C.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="considered-harmful.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">connector conspiracy </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> considered harmful</td></tr></table></div></body></html>