autoload, javadot, symbol-macrolet, define-symbol-macro

Jamie Stephens <[email protected]> Sat, 11 Dec 2004 07:14:21 -0800 (PST)
Newsgroups gmane.comp.java.sisc.devel
Message-ID <[email protected]>
Folks,

Has anybody added a little (?) facility that invokes
a procedure on a symbol when that symbol is evaluated
and found to be unbound?  Say VAR is evaluated.
Before the code reports an unbound variable error,

  Try to get a binding for GETVALFORM, which should
    be a procedure if it is bound;
  Call that procedure on VAR, which should result 
    in an expression;
  Evaluate that expression, set! VAR to the result
    of that evaluation, and return that result as
    value of the evaluated symbol.

  If GETVALFORM isn't bound, then the unbound error 
  is reported as usual.

Or something like that.  Then users could define
GETVALFORM to implement Emacs-style autoloading,
JScheme's Javadot notation, CL's define-symbol-macro, 
etc.

Would be very handy and flexible.

Anybody done that?  I'll see what I can come up with
if not.

--Jamie



		
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