When slots :type are used

       Hi again,

Section "2.23.2 Slot Type Checking" continues to puzzle me, especially
the fact that you have to be within *methods* for the :type slot option
to be taken in consideration when writing something to a slot. For
instance, with:

(defclass foo ()
  ((a :type fixnum)))

(defvar *object* (make-instance 'foo))
(setf (slot-value *object* 'a) 3.5)    ;; this works like a charm


but: 

(defmethod setslot ((foo foo) val)
    (setf (slot-value foo 'a) val))

(setslot *object* 3.5) ;; triggers a type error


Can somebody provide a rationale for this ??

Thanks.

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