Lisps have been doing this since at least Common Lisp (c.f. http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/HyperSpec/Body/f_eq_sle.htm#LT http://www.lispworks.com/docum

Lisps have been doing this since at least Common Lisp (c.f. http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/HyperSpec/Body/f_eq_sle.htm#LT http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/HyperSpec/Body/f_eq_s...), and probably a lot longer than that. It's the natural way to do it!