GET-SETF-METHOD

[Dick Gabriel <RPG@SAIL.STANFORD.EDU>]

This issue comes up every 6-12 months. Most recently, on December 13,
1985, Steele proposed a clarification, which he lists as `serious':

   (*) 107 Clarify that GET-SETF-METHOD and GET-SETF-METHOD-MULTIPLE-VALUE do
   not perform macro-expansion on the given form, and that in most contexts
   the usage should be (GET-SETF-METHOD (MACROEXPAND form env)).  Indeed,
   the simplified example version of SETF given on page 108 should be
   changed to: <you don't want to see it>

Nine hours and 31 minutes later, Rob MacLachlan pointed out that this
would not work because of setf methods.

Two days, 11 hours, and 49 minutes later, Steele agreed.

In the meantime, on December 14, 1985, Eric Benson pointed out that
DEFINE-SETF-METHOD also needed an environment passed.  On July 19 Plummer
noticed it himself, and MacLachlan affirmed this observation.

Several vendors made the change because it seemed a clear case of a
mistake in the language rather than a clarification.

I would say that VaxLisp and ExCL are not in error, but the usefulness
of MACROLET is limited without this change.

			-rpg-