[asdf-devel] compile-with-nicknames (a possible compromise?)

[Robert Goldman]

On 10/17/11 Oct 17 -3:58 AM, Juan Jose Garcia-Ripoll wrote:
> 2011/10/17 Gábor Balázs <gabalz at gmail.com <mailto:gabalz at gmail.com>>
> 
> 
>     Hm, I like the idea of having multiple classes for cl-source-file
>     objects. But I wouldn't do it through CLOS.
> 
> 
> I tend to agree on this, for CLOS is not declarative. It would become
> very hard to automatically deciphering defsystem files, and what they do.

I sympathize with this, but I guess I also wonder how feasible this goal
is, and whether we will break the world trying to reach it.

ASDF was a step beyond DEFSYSTEM, because it permitted extensibility
through the use of CLOS.  If one wants to do away with extensibility by
CLOS, I'm inclined to say that's the job of XCVB or some other ASDF
successor.

I think it's a worthy goal, but I don't think it's the ASDF goal.

At some point this becomes like trying to create a declarative version
of "make."  It's a worthwhile goal, but it should be something else ---
trying to smoothly deform "make" into a declarative thing isn't a
feasible goal.  There are discontinuities on the way.

Remember "the better is the enemy of the good"!

best,
r