Questions from M. Hagiya

["Scott E. Fahlman" <Fahlman@CMU-CS-C.ARPA>]

Actually, the Spice Lisp compiler is driven almost entirely by modular
transforms and code-generation functions that live on the property list
of the form in question.  The old Lisp Machine compiler was similar, and
I think that Symbolics, at least, has stuck with this style.  However,
if you mess with really fundamental things like IF and QUOTE, you'll
confuse an awful lot of macros and transforms that generate these
expecting the old meaning to hold.

Maybe instead of messing around with Lisp's IF special form, you should
put your embedded language in its own package.  Then you can do whatever
you want with FOOBAR:IF and not confuse anyone's compiler.  That's one
of the applications we had in mind when designing the Common Lisp
package system, and I think that all the necessary features are there
for this kind of hackery.

-- Scott