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(slib.info)Syntax-Case Macros

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Syntax-Case Macros
==================

  `(require 'syntax-case)'

 - Function: macro:expand expression
 - Function: syncase:expand expression
     Returns scheme code with the macros and derived expression types of
     EXPRESSION expanded to primitive expression types.

 - Function: macro:eval expression
 - Function: syncase:eval expression
     `macro:eval' returns the value of EXPRESSION in the current top
     level environment.  EXPRESSION can contain macro definitions.
     Side effects of EXPRESSION will affect the top level environment.

 - Procedure: macro:load filename
 - Procedure: syncase:load filename
     FILENAME should be a string.  If filename names an existing file,
     the `macro:load' procedure reads Scheme source code expressions and
     definitions from the file and evaluates them sequentially.  These
     source code expressions and definitions may contain macro
     definitions.  The `macro:load' procedure does not affect the
     values returned by `current-input-port' and `current-output-port'.

  This is version 2.1 of `syntax-case', the low-level macro facility
proposed and implemented by Robert Hieb and R. Kent Dybvig.

  This version is further adapted by Harald Hanche-Olsen <hanche @
imf.unit.no> to make it compatible with, and easily usable with, SLIB.
Mainly, these adaptations consisted of:

   * Removing white space from `expand.pp' to save space in the
     distribution.  This file is not meant for human readers anyway...

   * Removed a couple of Chez scheme dependencies.

   * Renamed global variables used to minimize the possibility of name
     conflicts.

   * Adding an SLIB-specific initialization file.

   * Removing a couple extra files, most notably the documentation (but
     see below).

  If you wish, you can see exactly what changes were done by reading the
shell script in the file `syncase.sh'.

  The two PostScript files were omitted in order to not burden the SLIB
distribution with them.  If you do intend to use `syntax-case',
however, you should get these files and print them out on a PostScript
printer.  They are available with the original `syntax-case'
distribution by anonymous FTP in
`cs.indiana.edu:/pub/scheme/syntax-case'.

  In order to use syntax-case from an interactive top level, execute:
     (require 'syntax-case)
     (require 'repl)
     (repl:top-level macro:eval)
  See the section Repl (Note: Repl) for more information.

  To check operation of syntax-case get
`cs.indiana.edu:/pub/scheme/syntax-case', and type
     (require 'syntax-case)
     (syncase:sanity-check)

  Beware that `syntax-case' takes a long time to load - about 20s on a
SPARCstation SLC (with SCM) and about 90s on a Macintosh SE/30 (with
Gambit).

Notes
-----

  All R4RS syntactic forms are defined, including `delay'.  Along with
`delay' are simple definitions for `make-promise' (into which `delay'
expressions expand) and `force'.

  `syntax-rules' and `with-syntax' (described in `TR356') are defined.

  `syntax-case' is actually defined as a macro that expands into calls
to the procedure `syntax-dispatch' and the core form `syntax-lambda';
do not redefine these names.

  Several other top-level bindings not documented in TR356 are created:
   * the "hooks" in `hooks.ss'

   * the `build-' procedures in `output.ss'

   * `expand-syntax' (the expander)

  The syntax of define has been extended to allow `(define ID)', which
assigns ID to some unspecified value.

  We have attempted to maintain R4RS compatibility where possible.  The
incompatibilities should be confined to `hooks.ss'.  Please let us know
if there is some incompatibility that is not flagged as such.

  Send bug reports, comments, suggestions, and questions to Kent Dybvig
(dyb @ iuvax.cs.indiana.edu).

Note from maintainer
--------------------

  Included with the `syntax-case' files was `structure.scm' which
defines a macro `define-structure'.  There is no documentation for this
macro and it is not used by any code in SLIB.