EVAL proposal

["Guillermo J. Rozas" <jinx@martigny.ai.mit.edu>]

   Date: 	Tue, 19 May 1992 14:38:44 -0400
   From: oz@sis.yorku.ca

   In a message dated Mon, 18 May 1992 10:26:29, Bill Rozas outlined
   a "compromise" proposal for eval. It seems to me that this is basically
   the first installment of a two-part effort to get first-class environments
   into a R^nRS, sort of like laying down the tracks before the locomotive
   rumbles by. I am *not* suggesting that there is anything wrong with this
   approach, but I would prefer to see this proposal be considered within
   its appearent context, rather than as if it has been made independent
   of the particulars of first-class environments.

You are missing the point of the proposal entirely, and misjudging my
intentions as well.  I have _NO_ intent, whether current or future, of
asking for the inclusion of first class environments in the Scheme
reports.  In fact, I am willing to comit to never raising the issue of
first-class environments except to prevent changes that make the
dialect in the reports or standard incompatible with them.

I like first-class environments, but I am not trying IN ANY WAY to ram
them down other people's throats.  I too would like to see what I
called "Pascal-like" implementations, and I can understand how
supporting first-class environments for them would be painful at best.

My proposal is not a "covert" attempt to push for first-class
environments.  Please take the proposal for what it says, nothing more
or less, and I assure you that I presented and worded it with no
intention whatsoever of pushing for first-class environments at a
later stage.