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Re: IEEE Standard


In the midst of all the "yeah" and "nay" (well, so far, it's just "yeah")
about reaffirming the standard...I have a question.

The R4RS has a minor bug in 7.1.5, "Programs and definitions" in that:

<definition> -> [...]
  | (define (<variable> <def formals>) <body>)
  [...]

<def formals> -> <variable>*
  | <variable>+ . <variable>


doesn't allow:

(define (foo . args) ...)

This could be fixed by changing the last production to:

<def formals> -> <variable>*
  | <variable>* . <variable>

This bug was discovered by John Cumming (reachable by: johnc@idc.com),
while he was working for SoftQuad Inc.

Questions:

1)  Is this bug in the IEEE standard, or just the R4RS?
2)  A fix would be nice, but does it open the doors too much to other changes?
3)  Surely other minor bugs have been found; wouldn't it be nice to incorporate
    *just those* in a revised standard?

Pardon me if I'm being naive, I haven't been able to participate in the 
standardization process other than occasional net presence.

Dak