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+ is a function, there are no operators in Clojure. That allows for some nifty tricks like: (reduce + [1 2 3]) ; returns 6

• globular-toast 2y ago
  Another neat thing is that these functions are n-ary, and that includes 0 args. So (+) => 0 (additive identity) and (*) => 1 (multiplicative identity). Little things like this are missing from languages like Python and make functional programming worse than it should be.
  • tasuki 2y ago
    Oh wow, this is truly great! Would you have a link to the code behind `(+)` and `(*)` ? (In my functional programming languages, `reduce` also requires passing an initial value, like `foldl (+) 0 [1, 2, 3]`. But surely it should get a monoid instead of two separate arguments for the operation and the starting value!)
    • ReleaseCandidat 2y ago
      Of course `+` and `*` are special, but defining such functions yourself is possible: https://clojure.org/guides/learn/functions#_multi_arity_functions https://clojure.org/guides/learn/functions#_multi_arity_func... https://clojure.org/guides/learn/functions#_variadic_functions https://clojure.org/guides/learn/functions#_variadic_functio...
    • globular-toast 2y ago
      Yeah, it always annoys me to have to pass an initial argument. The idea of identities is built into Lisps and seems conspicuously missing from other languages and I don't know why. In Python and JS people have to write stuff like `lambda x: x` over and over again. The identity function is surely special enough to get its own name.
      • tasuki 2y ago
        This does not involve an identity function? It's just a textbook monoid: an operation on two elements which produces another (+ or *), with a "neutral" element provided (0 or 1).
        • globular-toast 2y ago
          I know this isn't the identity function, but it's the same idea and a feeling I get when using Lisps that the language is kind of "complete". Including the identity function and having built in 0-ary functions where it makes sense are examples of this.
    • kolme 2y ago
      Source code: +: https://github.com/clojure/clojure/blob/clojure-1.11.1/src/clj/clojure/core.clj#L986 https://github.com/clojure/clojure/blob/clojure-1.11.1/src/c... *: https://github.com/clojure/clojure/blob/clojure-1.11.1/src/clj/clojure/core.clj#L1010 https://github.com/clojure/clojure/blob/clojure-1.11.1/src/c... Docs: +: https://clojuredocs.org/clojure.core/%2B https://clojuredocs.org/clojure.core/%2B *: https://clojuredocs.org/clojure.core/ https://clojuredocs.org/clojure.core/*