A memorial day issue

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

Send a specific proposal for PARSE-INTEGER and then we can consider it.
My specific proposal is that we flush it.  I still don't see any
function in here that would be broadly and generally useful and not
trivial for the user to write, but you've written more user interfaces
than I, and if there's a good idea in here trying to get out, I'd like
to see it.

I note in passing that a lot of interfaces from MIT have been strongly
influenced by the syntactic style of TECO and DDT: 123x, etc.  This
style has its place (in programs like TECO and DDT), but there are much
better user interface styles around for most things, or at least a lot
of variety in people's taste.  So if the proposed PARSE-INTEGER were
primarily intended to make it easier to parse the "abutted numeric
prefix" style of argument, I think it would be a great candidate for the
yellow pages but I would oppose its inclusion in the white pages.

-- Scott