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Issue LOCALLY-TOP-LEVEL Writeup

Issue:         LOCALLY-TOP-LEVEL

References: None

Related issues: EVAL-WHEN-NON-TOP-LEVEL, DECLARATION-SCOPE

Category: CLARIFICATION / ADDITION

Edit history: Version 1, 9-Mar-89, by Moon

Version 2, 16-Mar-89, by Moon, fix referenced proposal name

Problem description:

It is desirable to be able to wrap LOCALLY around one or more

top-level forms and have them continue to be treated as top-level

forms. Three examples of how this is useful:

- to put an OPTIMIZE or INLINE declaration into force around

several related forms.

- to put declarations into force around DEFCLASS, or any other

top-level form that lacks a syntax for embedded declarations.

- DECLARATION-SCOPE:NO-HOISTING, which passed in January,

removed the ability to use a DECLARE at the head of the body of a

DEFUN or DEFMACRO to make a declaration that applies to the entire

form, including the lambda-list. We are supposed to use LOCALLY

instead, but forms in the body of LOCALLY are not top-level,

and that changes the semantics of DEFMACRO.

Issue EVAL-WHEN-NON-TOP-LEVEL could not define LOCALLY to treat

its body as top-level forms, because only a special form can do

that and LOCALLY is a macro.

Proposal (LOCALLY-TOP-LEVEL:SPECIAL-FORM):

Change LOCALLY from a macro to a special form, and change the

definition of compiler processing (in EVAL-WHEN-NON-TOP-LEVEL)

so that when a LOCALLY form appears at top level the forms in

its body are processed at top level.

Examples:

(locally (declare (optimize (safety 3) (space 3) (speed 0)))

(defmacro frob (&environment e x y &optional (z (foo x y)))

(mumble x y z e)))

Without this proposal, this would have to be written

(defmacro frob (&environment e x y &optional (z (locally

(declare

(optimize

(safety 3)

(space 3)

(speed 0)))

(foo x y))))

(locally (declare (optimize (safety 3) (space 3) (speed 0)))

(mumble x y z e)))

Rationale:

Wrapping LOCALLY around a form should not change its semantics except

as specified by the declarations, hence the body of a top-level

LOCALLY should be top-level.

A macro cannot have a top-level body unless it expands into a special

form that has a top-level body; otherwise the macro invocation and

the macro expansion would not have identical semantics as top-level

forms. There is no available special form for LOCALLY to macroexpand

into (CLtL doesn't say, but presumably the intent was to expand into

a LET with an empty binding list).

Current practice:

The Zetalisp equivalent of LOCALLY worked to surround top-level forms,

because it was a macro that expanded into COMPILER-LET (stashing the

declarations in a special variable the compiler would look at). This

is of course the wrong way to do declarations, but it shows that the

idea was that you could wrap declarations around a bunch of top-level

forms.

Symbolics Genera 7.4.0 does not implement the proposal (but it does

not implement DECLARATION-SCOPE:NO-HOISTING either). I did

not survey any other implementations.

Cost to Implementors:

A half dozen lines of code in the compiler and a smaller amount

in the interpreter and any program-analyzing programs.

Cost to Users:

None.

Cost of non-adoption:

See the horrible example above.

Performance impact:

None.

Benefits:

More consistent language.

Esthetics:

Improved.

Discussion:

None.


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