Re: User-reserved element in byte code vectors

[Miles Bader]

On Mon, May 17, 2004 at 12:30:05PM -0400, Stefan Monnier wrote:
> > My idea is that it would say where to fit the new args around the old
> > args.  For instance, you might want to curry args 2 and 3.  This would
> > be easy if the first slot has a list saying where the curried args go.
> > For instance, a list of integers saying which positions to use
> > the curried args in.
> 
> We already have a very simple way to express such things:

I think the case where using `lambda' becomes annoying is when you have a
variable-length arglist, which with lambda would require using &rest or
something, and so do lots of run-time consing.

It's probably true that at this point it's over-engineering, but perhaps
Richard's stance of just leaving a single nil slot available for future
exploration is reasonable.  A single vector slot is not very expensive.

On the other hand, I'm not sure it's really better than omitting the slot
now, and later adding a `super-curry' funvec-kind that has the slot -- code
that cares about funvec layout would have to be amended to deal with non-nil
values of the slot anyay, so making it understand `super-curry' isn't much
different, right?  If Stefan's intuition proves right, and `super-curry'
never gets added, then it will represent a small savings.

Oh bother, I'm not sure what to do...

[Well, actually since it's Richard's decision in the end, and he currently
wants the slot, I'll add it unless you guys convince him it's a bad idea...]

-Miles
-- 
`The suburb is an obsolete and contradictory form of human settlement'