[r6rs-discuss] Issues with section 8.2. Port I/O, a.k.a. (rnrs io ports (6))

From: William D Clinger <will>
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 21:32:40 -0400

John Cowan wrote:
> > When you actually implement this stuff, you will discover
> > quite a few dark corners that make the above issues look
> > simple.
>
> Please tell us about them.

I (and many others) have already described quite a
few. After the official R6RS document is published,
when it will be easier to tell the difference between
typos and deliberate mistakes, I will compile a list
of the deliberate mistakes, including those that have
already been described. I'll have to do this anyway
when I make a list of the R6RS misfeatures that are
deprecated in Larceny.

As a concrete example, let me refer you to the editors'
response to formal comment #148. If you still don't
understand what is wrong with the editors' response,
I suggest you write a few programs that use the R6RS
API for string output ports, and compare them against
the same programs modified to use SRFI-6 string output
ports. You will discover that the SRFI-6 API composes
elegantly with the R6RS's own call-with-port, while
the R6RS API for string output ports does not.

That is one of the less important examples, of course,
but it illustrates the editors' tendency to make design
decisions without actual experience, systematic thought,
or attention to the principles laid down by the opening
sentences of the R6RS introduction, meanwhile ignoring
well-established SRFIs that are widely implemented,
widely used, and known to work well.

Will
Received on Mon Aug 27 2007 - 21:32:40 UTC