Re: new slib and guile 1.6.7

[Greg Troxel]

Kevin Ryde <address@hidden> writes:

> Greg Troxel <address@hidden> writes:
> >
> > (define-module (ice-9 slib)
> >   :export (slib:load
> >        implementation-vicinity
> >        library-vicinity
> >        home-vicinity
> >        scheme-implementation-type
> >        scheme-implementation-version
> 
> I would worry very much that these are specific to slib, and when it
> adds a few more the module will stop working.  The addition of new
> stuff in slib was what broke the existing ice-9/slib.scm.

You are right, but if you object to going from what we have to what I
posted, I don't see your point.  The current ice-9/slib.scm is tied to
specific slib versions.   If you are feeling that integrating slib
into a module system is messy, then I agree.

sorry if i'm being redundant here:

Slib has an internal API that all scheme impls must meet, and init
files for each impl.  I did not come across documentation of that API;
perhaps we should suggest that to Audrey and also to make a note in
the slib NEWS file :-)

Further complicating things, slib has the notion of 'adding slib to
one's scheme implementation' by modifying the default startup path to
include in our case slib's guile.init.  This is problematic from the
viewpoint of a system where some users/programs want slib and some
don't.  Guile solves this the slib module where if you haven't
(use-modules (ice-9 slib)) then you don't see any bindings.

So, I think the only fully satisfactory solution from a both
functional and software maintenance view is that slib needs to define
the API that guile.init has to provide for users for slib.  There are
of course a lot of internal procedures, but we don't have to export
those.  I'm afraid that the file I sent fails to export some
procedures, but it was enough to make gnucash work with slib.

Looking over the docs and code, it seems that the texinfo manual
defines a bunch of procedures/variables that the user can use.  They
seem to be present, so I looked at slib's guile.init, and it was the
following cool/sick code:

(define base:define define)
(define define
  (procedure->memoizing-macro
   (lambda (exp env)
     (cons (if (= 1 (length env)) 'define-public 'base:define) (cdr exp)))))

which I think results in all the defines in the file being
define-public.
For example, (scheme-implementation-home-page) works, so perhaps we
don't have to explicitly export things, and we can just load
guile.init after doing define-module.


-- 
        Greg Troxel <address@hidden>