[r6rs-discuss] [Formal] Rename on export considered harmful

From: John Cowan <cowan>
Date: Mon Jan 22 08:04:32 2007

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This message is a formal comment which was submitted to formal-comment_at_r6rs.org, following the requirements described at: http://www.r6rs.org/process.html
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Submitter: John Cowan
Email address: cowan_at_ccil.org
Issue type: Defect
Priority: Major
Component: Libraries
Report version: 5.92
Summary:  Renaming identifiers on export should be strongly justified
or abandoned.
Report section 6.1 provides a facility for renaming identifiers on export
from a library, but no explanation is given for it.  The need to rename
identifiers on import is plain, as they may need to change to avoid
conflicts with other imported or local identifiers.  At export time,
however, such conflicts are not known.
Having two different "native" identifiers in a library is overkill.  It is
the very simplest of refactorings to globally change all the instances
of identifiers in a given module, and that ought to be sufficient.
Either remove the facility or give a strong justification for it, please.
-- 
As you read this, I don't want you to feel      John Cowan
sorry for me, because, I believe everyone       cowan_at_ccil.org
will die someday.                               http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
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Received on Sat Jan 20 2007 - 16:58:24 UTC

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