wiki:WG1Ballot1Russel
Last modified 18 months ago Last modified on 11/20/2010 07:23:15 PM

WG1 New Ballot Items

Notes about voting:

  • you may list as many of the options as you want in order of preference
  • options are comma-delimited (ignoring space) and case-insensitive
  • you may write in your own option if you announce it to the list first
  • everything but the preferences line is free-form, and may be used for a rationale
  • module means "yes, but I want it in a separate module"
  • wg2 means "no, but I think it should go in WG2"
  • undecided means I want to discuss this issue further
  • abstain by leaving the preferences blank
  • items up for final vote will be marked as such (none are final now)

WG1 - Core

37 transcript-on and transcript-off

These were relegated to a compatibility library in R6RS. Do we want to keep them, drop them, or move them to a library?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: yes

38 letrec*

R6RS added letrec* and defined the semantics of internal define to be equivalent. Do we want to add this?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: module

41 Should we adopt the SRFI-1 extension to MAP and FOR-EACH?

This extension allows the list arguments to be of unequal length, and stops the procedure whenever any of them run out. R5RS says the lists must be of the same length, R6RS says they should be.

Yes to allow unequal length.

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: yes

42 Should we adopt the SRFI-1 extension to ASSOC and MEMBER?

This extension accepts a third argument, the equality predicate to be used. Alternatively we could use the R6RS predicates ASSP and MEMP.

  • Options: srfi-1,r6rs,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: srfi-1

40 SRFI vs. R6RS precedence

Given equal technical merit and compatible extensibility for WG2, should WG1 prefer SRFIs or standardized behaviors from R6RS when faced with the choice. For example, a version of syntax-violation vs. syntax-error.

  • Options: srfi,r6rs,undecided
  • Preferences: srfi

32 user-define types

Do we support any means of creating disjoint user-defined types, such as in SRFI-9, SRFI-99 or the R6RS record system?

33 dynamic-wind

New to R5RS, do we reaffirm the sometimes debated dynamic-wind?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: undecided

34 multiple values

New to R5RS, do we reaffirm multiple values, specifically the procedures call-with-values and values?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: undecided

51 support for cyclic structures in primitives

list?, length, equal? and other fundamental primitives may diverge when given cyclic data. In the former two cases, avoiding this is simple and not inefficient, and the equivalents are already provided in SRFI-1. In the latter case a proposal was made and rejected on the R6RS list.

Do we want to specify the behavior when these primitives encounter cyclic data?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: undecided

54 optional arguments

Scheme's primitive mechanism of improper lambda-lists allows for optional arguments, but only with extra machinery. CL, DSSSL, and some Schemes provide a special word such as #!optional in lambda-lists, showing that the arguments which follow are optional and may have default values. SRFI-89 provides both optional and keyword arguments via lambda* and define* and without introducing #!foo special tokens.

Note the original ticket description mentions case-lambda, but this is easily provided as a separate module, and will be a separate item.

  • Options: dsssl,srfi-89,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: undecided

57 Simple randomness

Student programs often want a small amount of randomness, not necessarily of very high quality. Shall we provide a simple interface to a random variables in WG1 Scheme?

  • Options: srfi-27,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: wg2

58 exact-integer-sqrt

Should WG1 include exact-integer-sqrt from R6RS? It allows square root operations in Schemes that don't provide inexact arithmetic, and has different semantics from sqrt, as it rounds its argument down to the nearest exact square.

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: module

59 current-error-port

Pretty much all Schemes except embedded ones provide a notion of current error distinct from current output. Should this be exposed as a Scheme output port?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: yes

60 Simple file operations

Should WG1 provide a module equivalent to the (rnrs files) module? This provides delete-file and file-exists?, which are pretty much necessities for any file-driven programming.

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: module

61 finite? nan?

Shall we add these numeric predicates?

  • Options: finite,nan,both,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: both

63 call/cc short name

Should we allow call/cc as an equivalent to call-with-current-continuation?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: yes

64 Consistency in sequence procedures

Should we add the 10 procedures mentioned at CompleteSequenceCowan in order to make the Scheme sequence types consistent? They are `make-list copy-list list-set! string-map string-for-each string->vector copy-vector vector-map vector-for-each vector->string`, all with the obvious interface and semantics.

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: module

65 Precision indicators

R5RS requires that Scheme support five indicators for the precision of floating-point values, not only the default e but also s, f, d, and l. Only a few Schemes actually support more than one precision, so this is mostly noise. Shall we make it an optional feature?

  • Options: required,optional,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: required

66 Add EXACT-INTEGER?

Should we add an EXACT-INTEGER? predicate? Currently, to determine whether a number is both an integer and exact, we must test for both, which requires some hackery or poor pattern matching to optimize in existing Scheme implementations.

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: yes

44 Testing function arity

We would like a standard for checking function arity. SRFI-102 proposes a way to check function arity:

  • Options: srfi-102,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: srfi-102

53 Implicit BEGIN to implicit LET-NIL

In general, in places where an implict BEGIN occurs, it is possible to change this to an implicit LET-NIL and remain backwards compatible. Should we do this?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: yes

WG1 - Exceptions

17 error

Do we support the near ubiquitous SRFI-23 error procedure?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: r6rs

WG1 - I/O

30 string ports

Do we support SRFI-6 string ports, reaffirmed by R6RS?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: undecided

52 read/write cyclic data

SRFI-38 standardizes the #0=(1 . #0#) shared structure notation for read/write. In the case of write, this can be expensive to compute, but otherwise the common case of the repl printing a cyclic structure results in an infinite loop.

Do we want to add support for this, as an option or separate set of procedures?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: undecided

WG1 - Libraries

36 hash-tables

R6RS and SRFI-69 both provide hash-table interfaces. Do we provide either of these, or try to provide some primitives on which efficient hash-tables can be implemented?

  • Options: srfi-69,r6rs,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: undecided

WG1 - Macros

6 syntax-rules _ and ... patterns

R6RS adds _ as a wild-card pattern, breaking some existing R5RS macros. Do we keep the _?

  • Options: yes,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: yes

7 (... ...) ellipse escaping in syntax patterns

A popular extension, formalized in the R6RS, is to allow "(... <templ>)" in a syntax-rules template to be an escape for "<templ>". Do we use this, and if so what does (... <t1> <t2>) mean?

  • Options: yes,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: yes

8 SRFI-46 ellipse specifier in syntax-rules

As an alternative to #7, SRFI-46 proposed allowing an optional ellipse specified as an identifier before the literals list in syntax-rules:

(syntax-rules ::: ()

<ellipse now represented as ::: instead of ...>)

Do we allow this?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: no

9 tail patterns in syntax-rules

SRFI-46 and R6RS both allow a fixed number of tail patterns following an ellipsis in a syntax-rules pattern:

(P1 ... Pk Pe <ellipsis> Pm+1 ... Pn)

R6RS further allows dotted tail patterns

(P1 ... Pk Pe <ellipsis> Pm+1 ... Pn . Px)

where Px only matches a dotted list.

Do we allow either or both of these extensions?

  • Options: tail,dotted-tail,both,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: both

39 syntax-error

Should we have syntax-error parallel to SRFI-23 error? This is evoked when macros are expanded.

There is a definition in JRM's Syntax-Rules Primer using syntax-rules, but it relies on the syntax-rules implementation reporting an unmatchable pattern with a complaint that includes the pattern.

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: yes

5 syntax-rules

Do we keep syntax-rules in the core, relegate it to a standard module, or leave it out entirely (possibly letting WG2 specify it).

Yes to keep in core, no to remove from Scheme entirely.

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: module

10 identifier syntax

R6RS introduced identifier syntax as a way to expand identifiers in non-macro positions.

Orthogonal to the overall macro system and what types of expanders are provided, do we provide a means to specify identifier syntax?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: undecided

47 internal define-syntax

R6RS extends define-syntax to be allowed in local lexical contexts. Do we allow this as well?

  • Options: yes,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: no

WG1 - Numerics

20 inexact infinities

R6RS provides support for inexact infinities and NaN objects. Do we keep these, and if so do we use the same literal syntax and arithmetic as in R6RS?

  • Options: yes,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: undecided

21 limited type arithmetic

R6RS provides libraries for limited type arithmetic on fixnums only and flonums only. Do we want these?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: wg2

22 mantissa widths

R6RS introduced the concept of mantissa widths as an alternative to the R5RS #s in numbers. Do we want either or both of these?

  • Options: r5rs,r6rs,both,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: undecided

WG1 - Reader Syntax

11 case-sensitivity

Does the reader fold case by default, and if so how?

Yes to fold-case (R5RS) no to preserve case (R6RS), additional votes to come later from specific proposals.

  • Options: yes,no,undecided
  • Preferences: yes

15 #\foo character names

R6RS greatly extends the list of character names, as well as allowing #\xNN numeric escapes for characters. Do we allow any or all of these names?

  • Options: numeric,mnemonic,both,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: both

13 [brackets] as (parens)

R6RS allows [] brackets as identical to parenthesis, with the condition that they must balance. Do we accept this extension, propose some other use for brackets, or leave them unspecified?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: yes

14 alternate comment syntax

R6RS provides support for #; nested sexp comments, and #| ... |# nested block comments. Do we include either or both of these?

  • Options: sexp,block,both,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: sexp

16 symbol escapes

[This ticket was originally about string escapes, but commentators have been talking about symbol escapes instead.]

R6RS provides character escapes in symbols of the form \xnnnn;, where nnnn is 1-5 hex digits. Do we accept this extension? Do we also allow |...| to escape a whole symbol or a part of one?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: numeric

67 string escapes

R6RS provides character escapes in symbols of the form \xnnnn;, where nnnn is 1-5 hex digits, as well as \n, \t etc. C-like escapes for common control characters. Do we accept either or both of these extensions?

  • Options: numeric,mnemonic,both,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: both

WG1 - Strings and Chars

24 char and string folding

R6RS provided operations to alter the case of strings and characters (upcase, downcase, titlecase and foldcase) using locale-independent Unicode mappings. Do we provide equivalent mappings?

  • Options: strings,chars,both,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: both

26 string normalization

R6RS provides procedures to explicitly convert strings back and forth between the four Unicode normalization forms. Do we provide any sort of string normalization?

  • Options: yes,no,module,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: module

27 string-ref/set! access time

R6RS suggests string-ref and string-set! work in O(1) time, implying strings are implemented as character arrays. Do we reaffirm this?

Yes for required constant time.

  • Options: yes,no,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: no

23 character set

R5RS said almost nothing about character sets. R6RS specified full Unicode. Do we specify a character set, or limit the options in any way?

  • Proposals:
  • Options: cowan,r5rs,wg2,undecided
  • Preferences: cowan

Working Group 1

1 Which VCS do we use?

There is the question of the right VCS to use. I prefer Monotone. Currently we are having an email vote on the list. I have entered this ticket to play with the Trac ticketing system. We can finalize the ticket once we have chosen a VCS.

  • Options: bzr,darcs,git,hg,monotone,svn,undecided
  • Preferences: undecided, bzr | git | hg | monotone | svn