Re: request: libguile to wrap getsid(2)

[Thien-Thi Nguyen]

() Neil Jerram <address@hidden>
() Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:11:03 +0000

   recasting at runtime [...]  also supports writing out recast
   code - although perhaps at the cost of losing some formatting
   and comments.

A good start!  In my mind, the formatting and comments are part
of the essence.

   Can you give an example of what grok-db might say?

I envision grok-db not as program, but a data structure (database).
As such, the compiler (and other tools) would add/update/zonk bits of
knowledge in the form of:

 (ID GIVEN RESULT...)

tuples, where GIVEN may be one of:

 ID          ; reference
 LOCATION
 (LOCATION CONTEXT)

where LOCATION is some (FILENAME FORM-NODE-ID ETC...) form;
CONTEXT is (STATIC [DYNAMIC...]); and RESULT is something that
the compiler can use in its transforms.

   Also note that grok-db is in a sense already present, in the
   source code of the compiler.

Exactly.  We want to teach the compiler to share its thoughts,
and perhaps learn from the thoughts of others.  If the programmer
(or other tool) has insight that the compiler lacks, there is no
reason to deny it access.  Obviously, it goes the other way, too!

thi