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8.3: Kinds of Forms

A Lisp object that is intended to be evaluated is called a form. How Emacs evaluates a form depends on its data type. Emacs has three different kinds of form that are evaluated differently: symbols, lists, and ``all other types''. This section describes all three kinds, starting with ``all other types'' which are self-evaluating forms.

  • Self-Evaluating Forms Forms that evaluate to themselves.
  • Symbol Forms Symbols evaluate as variables.
  • Classifying Lists How to distinguish various sorts of list forms.
  • Function Indirection When a symbol appears as the car of a list, we find the real function via the symbol.
  • Function Forms Forms that call functions.
  • Macro Forms Forms that call macros.
  • Special Forms ``Special forms'' are idiosyncratic primitives, most of them extremely important.
  • Autoloading Functions set up to load files containing their real definitions.