Re: [epsilon-devel] Questions

[amz3]

I need answer right now because I would like to have the answers 
tomorrow when I will wake up (probably very late), anyway feel free to 
answer when you want.

On 2013-12-30 02:46, Luca Saiu wrote:
> On 2013-12-29 at 21:54, address@hidden wrote:

> > 2) How are defined procedures in e0?
>
> There's no way, by design.  (this is explained in chapter 3 of my 
> thesis,
> near the beginning; that part should be very easy to read.)
>
> In theory you could use buffer:set! from epsilon0 expression to alter a
> symbol component, thus building globals and procedures.  But this
> "surgical" technique of defining global objects would be a masochistic
> exercise: for a procedure you'd have to build a list of symbols to
> represent the formal parameters, an epsilon0 expression as a data
> structure to represent the body, and write those into the correct 
> fields
> of the symbol naming the procedure.
>
> e1:define is a friendly macro which permits you to automatically use
> macros and transforms: it builds the corresponding data structures
> including the epsilon0 expression from the s-expression you provide, 
> and
> then does that buffer:set! call for you.

I don't see buffer:set! in epsilon0-in-scheme.scm but it's defined in 
core.e

> > 5) There is no e0:define procedure? Why?
>
> Because epsilon0 must be as simple as possible, and it doesn't need it.
> adding toplevel forms would be overkill because expressions alone are
> already powerful enough to modify any part of the global state,
> including globals and procedure definitions.

Through which procedure is it possible to modify the global state in 
epsilon0?

> Of course epsilon0 is not
> comfortable for humans to use, but that's why we have extensions.

Understood.

> Bootstrapping the first time was indeed very complicated, as you are
> thinking; but your project doesn't have to be: you can just use an
> unexeced image.  At least, I'd do that.

Ok, I will do that.