Cannot create apply function with static language?

Question

I have read that with a statically typed language like Scala or Haskell there is no way to create or provide a Lisp apply function:

(apply #\'+ (lis         


        

Answer 1

On this page, I read that "Apply is just like funcall, except that its final argument should be a list; the elements of that list are treated as if they were additional arguments to a funcall."

In Scala, functions can have varargs (variadic arguments), like the newer versions of Java. You can convert a list (or any Iterable object) into more vararg parameters using the notation :_* Example:

//The asterisk after the type signifies variadic arguments
def someFunctionWithVarargs(varargs: Int*) = //blah blah blah...

val list = List(1, 2, 3, 4)
someFunctionWithVarargs(list:_*)
//equivalent to
someFunctionWithVarargs(1, 2, 3, 4)

In fact, even Java can do this. Java varargs can be passed either as a sequence of arguments or as an array. All you'd have to do is convert your Java List to an array to do the same thing.