Using ASDF as part of an interactive app framework - storing components in memory?

[Andrew Sengul]

I'm interested in using ASDF to build interactive applications. Here's
an example of the kind of thing I'd like to do. Imagine creating a
Web-based multiple choice poll. When someone submits an entry to the
poll, a data file containing all the responses is updated with the new
entry. Two SVG graphics, a bar chart and a pie chart of the answers, are
also updated according to the updated data set.

If I wanted to implement something like this in Common Lisp, ASDF seems
like a good foundation to build on, since it allows me to create a
complex dependency graph of code and data files. In the example above,
the SVG visualizations are dependent on the answers data set, and they
get updated when the answer data is updated.

However, I don't know how well this approach would scale because in
order to use ASDF this way, a file needs to be written to disk and other
files must be loaded from disk and compiled each time an entry is made
to the poll. Would it make sense to create a new component type that
represents a quoted piece of code stored as a variable in a running
program rather than a file? If the poll is implemented with a persistent
Web server, it could keep the answer data and the graphics in its memory
instead of on disk, and use some means to periodically back up the
contents of those variables to disk.

I'm still new to ASDF so I'm not sure if there's a simple way I could
add in this functionality or if it's a good idea. I know that the Web
poll example I gave above would work better if the graphics generation
and answer storage was just written into the Web server instead of using
ASDF, but the poll is just an example; my goal is to develop a system
that can handle much more complex code/data graphs.

Any feedback appreciated. Thanks,

Andrew