Compiling forms

Hi all,

Great feedback on this topic. Many thanks to all who responded!

I hear you that compiler macros are highly non-portable (user  
beware!). Seeing that Larry's example works just fine if one puts the  
symbol function into a defparameter or defvar first, is interesting.  
That tells me that Lisp adds a little init routine to the tail end of  
every FASL file whose job after load-time is to pre-initialize all the  
vars. That seems the only way that one could have complicated initial  
values for these vars too. Interesting...

I also found a way to accomplish this sort of stuff by using yet  
another level of indirection (even slower!). But this is going in  the  
wrong direction for runtime performance. Mine was to compile a  
(PERFORM <index> args...) in place of every function call where that  
function was defined with a defun-eb. At compile time that function  
name is stored into a table of symbols that on reload get converted  
into their corresponding symbol-functions.

But now, after having written that paragraph, I see that Larry's use  
of var forms to hold the function value and my indirection are  
essentially the same -- an extra level of indirection. And both get  
filled in after load-time by that secret init routine provided at the  
tail of the FASL files. So all I have to do is find a way to make  
these patch-up locations apparent to that secret initializer.  
Interesting...

Dr. David McClain
Chief Technical Officer
Refined Audiometrics Laboratory
4391 N. Camino Ferreo
Tucson, AZ  85750