Re: SCM_VALIDATE_...

[Russell McManus <russell dot mcmanus at msdw dot com>]

Mikael Djurfeldt <mdj@mdj.nada.kth.se> writes:

> Dirk Herrmann <dirk@ida.ing.tu-bs.de> writes:
> 
> > I'm a little sceptical about whether it makes sense to freeze integer.  I
> > understand the point about fixnums and bignums, because these are leaves
> > in the class tree corresponding to implementations.  As I understand it, a
> > class tree might then look as follows:
> > 
> > <number>
> >   <complex>
> >     <comp-rep*>
> >     <real>
> >       <float*>
> >       <double*>
> >       <rational>
> >         <rat-rep*>
> >         <integer>
> >           <bignum*>
> >           <fixnum*>
> > 
> > Types with * denote representations, some of which don't even exist
> > yet.
> 
> We *could* do it like that, but it seems so complex.  I think I'd
> prefer it if <complex> and <comp-rep*> was the same class, etc.
> 
> I'd like to postpone this decision, though.

This is a place where close examination of the Common Lisp Hyperspec
would serve us well.  The CL community has already thought through the
tradeoffs involved with designing the number type hierarchy; we should
at the very least consider that design first.

-russ

--
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to
pause and reflect."
             -- Mark Twain