(LOAD ... :VERBOSE T)

[Daniel L. Weinreb <DLW@SCRC-QUABBIN.ARPA>]

    Date: Thu, 13 Mar 86 03:06 EST
    From: Christopher Fry <cfry@OZ.AI.MIT.EDU>


	It's too bad we chose those names, because they are confusing.  :verbose
	isn't very verbose and is not the most verbose of the available options.
	I think we followed Maclisp in this.  If the world were young, I would
	suggest that :verbose print a comment for each item loaded, that the
	default be to print just the "Loading FOO ...done." message, and that
	there be a :silent keyword when you want to suppress all printout.  But
	this is probably not important enough to be worht an incompatible
	change.

	-- Scott
    Another possibility is to eliminate the :print arg, and have
    :verbose take the values of :silent :file  :forms .
    I agree with Scott that the default should be to print
    something like: "Loading FOO ...done."  [my ":file" option]
    I can't stand getting the *silent-treatment* for long computations,
    as is conventional in UNIX.

In our programming environment, we have other ways to tell the user how
far along a computation has gotten than to type out on standard output.
These ways involve graphics and text in other windows.  (Some of what I
am referring to is software that will be in the next release, also.)
The point is that this is a programming environment issue, not a
language issue.  We cannot standardize on things like this, and so
Common Lisp should not attempt to address these issues.

The line between language and programming environment is not
razor-sharp, and certainly "load" falls in the gray zone.  But let's be
quick to realize when it is that we are debating programming environment
issues, and let's admit that there is no way that Common Lisp can do a
satisfactory job in this area, rather than letting Common Lisp be drawn
hopelessly further and further into the programming environment world.