Re: Scott's comments on extensions

[Alan Snyder <snyder%hplsny@hplabs.ARPA>]

    Let's say in VAX LISP we have a LISP package with pure Common LISP and
    a VAXLISP package with our extensions.  Which packages should the
    USER package use?

My model is that portable code will always define its own package, i.e., it
will not live in the USER package.  The USER package is where you type in
commands and test expressions and perhaps build prototypes.  Therefore, I
don't think the language definition particularly needs to constrain what
packages the USER package uses.  In your case, I would guess that users would
prefer that it use both LISP and VAXLISP (I'm reading your statement to mean
that VAXLISP exports ONLY your extensions).

The situation becomes interesting if there are conflicts between LISP and
VAXLISP (which I would expect, if VAXLISP extends the definitions of LISP
functions).  In this case, I think users would want VAXLISP to use LISP and
export all of its non-shadowed symbols; then the USER package would use only
VAXLISP.

  Alan
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