[SAFIER%cgi.csnet: proposed modification to common lisp]

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

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 87 14:25 ???
From: Scott <SAFIER%cgi.csnet at RELAY.CS.NET>
To:   fahlman
Re:   proposed modification to common lisp

Proposal: the following functions be modified to include a parameter which
          specifies a package:
read, read-delimited-list, read-preserving-white-space

This additional parameter could either be a keyword argument, or an optional
argument.  If the package is not specified, the current package (*package*)
will be used as the default.

Each of these three input functions can have the effect of creating symbols. 
All other common lisp functions which create symbols (intern, gentemp) have
an optional package argument.  It is inconsistent for some functions
which create symbols to have a package argument, and others not. Also, it is
burdensome for the common lisp programmar to create a local lexical
environment around input functions, simply to insure that any symbols created
during input are interned in the proper package.  A package argument for these
input functions removes this burden.

This change is upward compatible.  Current programs which rebind *package*
during input will behave exactly as before.

-Scott