Re: Some starter guidance?

Peter Stirling wrote:
> * (clsql:query "update client_details set date_of_birth = '1981-05-07'")

This seems to be a no-return-data query. So clsql:execute-command is
more appropriate.

> [1] I tried to make a macro for locally enabling the syntax:
> 
> (defmacro with-sql-syntax (&body body)
>   `(progn
>      (clsql:locally-enable-sql-reader-syntax)
>      ,@body
>      (clsql:locally-disable-sql-reader-syntax)))
> 
> but it doesn't seem to do anything (i.e. compile errors), neither where
> I was intending to use it (wrapping (clsql:select inside functions), nor
> as wrapped around top-level defuns. 

Unfortunately, reader-syntax is deeper than macros.. Macro gets already
parsed body, and the parsing stage is where all the reader-syntax work
has to happen. To make the reader itself evaluate a form, there is "#."
reader macro.

#.(clsql:locally-enable-sql-reader-syntax)
(clsql:select [*] :from [some-table])
#.(clsql:restore-sql-reader-syntax-state)

The good news is that you can define simple functions with shorter names
for these operations without any trouble, as #. can use any function
that is defined in the packages you have already loaded. You can even
define the helper functions in the same file using eval-when.

(eval-when (:load-toplevel :execute :compile-toplevel)
  (defun sql-on () (clsql:locally-enable-sql-reader-syntax))
  (defun sql-off () (clsql:restore-sql-reader-syntax-state)))
#.(sql-on)
(clsql:select [*] :from [some-table])
#.(sql-off)

If you insist, you can even define a reader-macro to enable sql syntax
for one form (instead of your macro), but that seems an overcomplicated
solution.