PicoLisp sets the value of the variable (symbol) '@' to the result of conditional and controlling expressions in flow- and logic-functions (cond, if, and, when, while, etc.). Within a function or method '@' behaves like a local variable, i.e. its value is automatically saved upon function entry and restored at exit. For example, to read the current input channel until EOF, and print the square of every item which is a number: