Re: An optional arguments interface

[Jim Blandy <jimb@red-bean.com>]

>* DSSSL isn't R4RS compatible for a number of reasons which are not
>likely to change (e.g. no mutation), so preserving compatability with
>it shouldn't be that high a goal

Yes.  Full compatibility isn't the goal.  However, this doesn't mean
we need to invent new syntaxes.  It's still a useful mental shortcut
for people to say "Oh, yeah, Guile argument lists are just like DSSSL
arg lists" or vice versa.  And that's certainly better than making
them remember arbitrary differences.

>* Removing #! as the block comment token would break the ability to specify
>an interpreter under Unix by putting #!/usr/bin/guile on the first line,
>unless you special-case that instance, which seems inelegant to me.

#! is already a bizarre little special case to help people write
script files.  Making the comment introducer #!/ isn't going to cause
too many tears.

>* Brackets are pretty universally understood to mean something
>optional in a specifiction. I found it really cute to use that for the
>declaration syntax as well.

Indeed, I didn't mean to imply that your syntax was unmotivated ---
just not very Scheme-like.  (There's a slippery term for you!)