Re: Packages & Compiling

[Robert W. Kerns <RWK@YUKON.SCRC.Symbolics.COM>]

    Date: Monday, 12 January 1987 19:15:36 EST
    From: Timothy.Freeman@theory.cs.cmu.edu

       Date: Mon, 12 Jan 87 15:12 EST
       From: Daniel L. Weinreb <DLW@ALDERAAN.SCRC.Symbolics.COM>

       It's also true that if the value of *read-base* is different when you do
       the compilation, or if the read table has been altered in any way, all
       bets are off.

   If I start having problems with these variables having the wrong
   value, I can always write a little function or macro that sets or
   binds them to standard values.

In fact, the problem is not unique to the compiler.

We have a macro, WITH-STANDARD-IO-ENVIRONMENT,
which does this for all the read/print controls.  The
idea is that you wrap this around anything which prints
with an expectation that something will later read it
with the same interpretation, and also around the
code which reads it.

Unfortunately, in a fit of blinding stupidity (and
there's AT LEAST a 50% chance it was MY stupidity)
we made it use ZL-USER instead of USER, thus saddling
ourselves with somewhat of a compatibility problem.
So I'd appreciate it if someone could come up with
a better name for a CL-standard version of this.