INTERN and "intern" -- the unwise choice of terminology

[Rob MacLachlan <RAM@CMU-CS-C.ARPA>]

    I don't think that a home-package-setting operation is well
defined, at least without some constraints.  The system would
certainly get confused if you set the home package to a package that
the symbol was not accessible in, and it would be dubious to set the
home package to a package where the symbol is not present (as opposed
to inherited).

    If you impose these requirements, setting the home package starts
to sound a great deal like IMPORT.  I think that the proposal to have
IMPORT set the home package if there is none makes a great deal of
sense.  The effect of IMPORT is really about the same as old-style
intern on a symbol.  I don't really like the idea of INTERN having
obscure side-effects such as setting the home package, since it is
something that the system often does without an explicit request.

  Rob