On Thu, 4 May 2006, soo wrote:

>I wonder why a new data type such as keyword object is necessary to
>implement named optional parameters.
>Aren't simple symbols enough to use as keywords?

Yes, absolutely.  The keyword is a redundant concept.

Of course, to use symbols that way now, you have to either quote
them (which I usually do) or make sure that they self-evaluate,
presumably by making them variables whose value is the symbol
that is the name of the variable, as done in Common Lisp.

				Bear