Use of "list" vs. "vector" in Clojure Flatten Array exercise instructions

Programming Clojure
1

I found the instructions for the Clojure Flatten Array exercise confusing because of the terminology used. The instructions mention lists, yet the tests pass vectors to the user-defined function, which can mislead learners. These are different collections in Clojure. I propose the instructions be updated to clarify that vectors are provided.

Instructions

-Take a nested list and return a single flattened list with all values except nil/null.
 Take a nested vector and return a single flattened vector with all values except nil/null.

-The challenge is to write a function that accepts an arbitrarily-deep nested list-like structure and returns a flattened structure without any nil/null values.
 The challenge is to write a function that accepts an arbitrarily-deep nested vector and returns a flattened vector without any nil/null values.

For Example

input: [1,[2,3,null,4],[null],5]

output: [1,2,3,4,5]

I am happy to submit a pull request to update the instructions if it helps.

2

Generally, what’d you want here is an instructions append. That lets you add additional information to clarify the instructions. The reason you shouldn’t touch the instructions.md if possible is that the text comes from an upstream repo which all tracks share. Any changes made to the instructions file might get overwritten the next time that file is synced to the upstream repo. An instructions append would not get overwritten so it’s the preferred route.

3

Thank you. I didn’t realize the instructions are not standalone.

4

I’m not a Clojure maintainer, but a useful append in my eyes would mention that we’re using vectors and not arrays in this exercise and perhaps link to some documentation about vectors. For students who don’t know about vectors, that’ll give them some background information before starting the exercise.

5

See Suggesting Exercise Improvements | Exercism's Docs :smile: