Re: Thoughts on the simplification of CLISP

[Sam S. <sd...@gn...>]

> *  <Wbret-Plevy.Ubruyr@g-flfgrzf.pbz> [2017-01-10 12:48:40 +0000]:
>
> Blake McBride wrote:
>
>>As a person with more than 25 years C experience, approaching the .d files
>>is an unnecessary barrier.  When a C programmer wants to look at CLISP, the
>>first thing he sees is this wacko, foreign .d stuff.   I'd say:
>
>>Use as many macros as needed, but don't use .d files and processors.
> Python and Java have annotations which are truly a means to preprocess the
> code before it goes through the regular, old fashioned compiler.

and OCaml too.

> Why not do the same with C? Because nobody else does it?

yep.

> What exactly is the problem with the .d files?

They scare and confuse a newcomer.

Compare them with the C files in Emacs.

They also have crazy DEFUN and DEFVAR macros (CLISP has LISPFUN* in core
and DEFUN in modules), but the simple fact that they are called *.c and
do not use gratuitous syntax alterations like "#" comments and "var"
prefixes makes them much more palatable.

I bet that if we rename *.d to *.c and remove varbrace and comment5
preprocessors, the whole conversation will go away.

> Is it a matter of tool support, e.g. your favourite editor not able to
> perform syntax highlighting?

clisp comes with
https://sourceforge.net/p/clisp/clisp/ci/tip/tree/emacs/d-mode.el

> CLISP is not the only project that puts the preprocessor to fancy uses.

Yes, but CLISP is the only project which does gratuitous syntax
modifications.

> IOW, the problem is not surface rather than content.

You mean, "the problem is surface rather than content".
I agree.

However, there is a Russian proverb: "One is greeted according to one's
dress, one is sent off according to one's intelligence".
Yes, intelligence (=="substance") is more important, but if you wear
rugs, people won't even talk to you and will never discover your
intelligence.

I think we need to drop the gratuitous preprocessors (varbrace &
comment5) and rename all files to *.c.
We need to preprocess them into *.m.c behind the scenes.
lisbpbibl.d should be lisbpbibl.h and not preprocessed.
&c.

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