Programming languages were at one point a flourishing research area.  In some areanas, they still are.
It is difficult to get a programming language "right."  Parenscript is fortunate in that it is 
modelled after a language to which many people have contributed a great deal over many decades.

Most of the links and notes below refer to ideas about Common Lisp.  Some are about Javascript,
the target programming language and environment for Parenscript.


Strange Javascript Semantics
===========================================================================
var x = 1;
function foo() {
 if (x == ONE_OR_NOT_ONE) { var x = 3; }
 return "bleck: " + x;
};
foo();

This code returns "bleck: undefined" when ONE_OR_NOT_ONE is 1 or 2.  See
http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/files/ecma-st/ECMA-262.pdf
page 37 for an explanation of the semantics of variable scope.


var x = 1; function foo(a) { return foo; var foo=5; } foo(3);

=> 'undefined'

var x = 1; function foo(a) { return foo; } foo(3);

=> thee function foo




Reference material
===========================================================================
Macro Expansion in Lisp:
   Common Lisp the Language, 2nd Edition.
   http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Groups/AI/html/cltl/clm/node99.html

File Compilation:
   http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/HyperSpec/Body/03_bca.htm

Special forms in Lisp:
   CLHS
   http://www.lisp.org/HyperSpec/Body/sec_3-1-2-1-2-1.html

block      let*                  return-from      
catch      load-time-value       setq             
eval-when  locally               symbol-macrolet  
flet       macrolet              tagbody          
function   multiple-value-call   the              
go         multiple-value-prog1  throw            
if         progn                 unwind-protect   
labels     progv                                  
let        quote