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    Hey Wait! Is ACL2 Typed or Untyped(Q)

    Hey Wait! Is ACL2 Typed or Untyped?

    The example

    ACL2 !>(app 7 27) 
 
ACL2 Error in TOP-LEVEL:  The guard for the function symbol ENDP, which 
is (OR (CONSP X) (EQUAL X NIL)), is violated by the arguments in the 
call (ENDP 7).

    illustrates the fact that while ACL2 is an untyped language the ACL2 evaluator can be configured so as to check ``types'' at runtime. We should not say ``types'' here but ``guards.'' See Guards in ACL2 for a discussion of guards.

    The guard on endp requires its argument to be a true list. Since 7 is not a true list, and since ACL2 is checking guards in this example, an error is signaled by ACL2. How do you know ACL2 is checking guards? Because the prompt tells us (click here) with its ``!''.