Syntax:

identity object => object

Arguments and Values:

object---an object.

Description:

Returns its argument object.

Examples:

 (identity 101) =>  101
 (mapcan #'identity (list (list 1 2 3) '(4 5 6))) =>  (1 2 3 4 5 6)

Side Effects: None.

Affected By: None.

Exceptional Situations: None.

See Also: None.

Notes:

identity is intended for use with functions that require a function as an argument.

(eql x (identity x)) returns true for all possible values of x, but (eq x (identity x)) might return false when x is a number or character.

identity could be defined by

(defun identity (x) x)