From: ยทยทยทยท@hpfclp.UUCP
Subject: Re: Against the Tide of Common Lisp
Date:
Message-ID: <6950002@hpfclp.HP.COM>
>>Well, the times they are a changin'... Of course, if you understood lexical
>>variables, you would understand why you can't compute a variable name at run
>>time and then reference it.
>B.S! All the compiled code for SET need do is check that the first argument
>be lexically equivalent to a lexically apparent variable and change
>the appropriate cell, stack location, or whatever. Easy for a compiler
>to do!
I don't see how it's possible to do this (excuse my potential ignorance).
Once the target argument for SET is evaluated and you have some symbol,
how does the compiled code decide whether or not the symbol identifies
a lexical variable? It seems to me that the information identifying the
names of lexical variables (and their place on the stack) has been compiled
away. It seems like this can't be done for the same reason that you
can't EVAL a form that contains a reference to a lexical variable.
Anyway, if you're keeping track, I prefer to ride the wave rather than
go against the tide. Hang Ten!
-- Chan Benson
{ihnp4 | hplabs}!hpfcla!chan
Hewlett-Packard Company
Fort Collins, CO
As usual, HP has nothing to do with what I say here.