If all lisp functions can be defined or redefined by the user, then in order to make using those lisp functions readable to an editor in the end, the functions would need to be designed with extra functions that serve as in-line comments to their arguments
for example, wrapping a then() and else() function for an if-expression function, no matter if the symbol is 'if' or not when a symbol 'if' is used to do something else, the author could just use different functions to explain what is going on, and the software would just format it like any other lisp, the author controls what helper-text is generated when they author a function using defun or whatever is used to define functions in that lisp. however by removing the parentheses, adding in whitespace, etc, in an editor, these more complex definitions start to look like english one functionality that lisp may not have (I'm not sure) is the ability to make up a new function like "then()" without defining it, and automatically have it do nothing but return what's inside it (a "comment function") this might have to be implemented like they implemented "quote", for example prefixing a function with $then() would mean it just returns whats inside it (and evaluates it) but requires no function definition to use it in the general solution this would work like this, you create an if-expression function with the symbol 'if' its first argument is wrapped in this-is-true() function (or omitted if the context for 'if' is clear) its second argument is wrapped in a then() function its third argument is wrapped in an else() function but both of those functions are just returning what's inside them - they have no complex functionality, their purpose is to help a software editor auto-complete the symbol 'if' with its first two arguments, which are then() and else() anything written after "then" and before "else" goes inside the then() anything written after "else" goes inside the else() anything two lines down in the editor does not belong to either (closes the 'if') so it would look like this in practice: if this-is-true then else then the user writes if this-is-true 5 + x = 10 then save-file else close-file one empty line down, the 'if' symbol is closed... now if a user redefines 'if' to mean something else, they can wrap the function arguments in other function names to explain the arguments, or if there is only one argument, omit it for example a mouse-move-xy(x,y) function might look like mouse-move(x(int) y(int)) which in the editor would format as mouse-move x 10 y 5 one empty line down, the mouse-move is closed...
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