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Re: question about comments in eval.c
- To: sen_ml at eccosys dot com
- Subject: Re: question about comments in eval.c
- From: Marius Vollmer <mvo at zagadka dot ping dot de>
- Date: 07 Aug 2000 21:20:26 +0200
- Cc: guile at sourceware dot cygnus dot com
- References: <20000807195511Y.1001@eccosys.com>
sen_ml@eccosys.com writes:
> in libguile/eval.c, i found the following comment:
>
> Memoization of variables and special forms is done while executing
> the code for the first time.
>
> i think i understand what memoization of procedures and special forms
> means, but i don't understand what memoization of variables is
> supposed to mean.
Memoization in the context of the Guile evaluator means "converting
into a more efficient internal form". You might be thinking of
"caching previously computed values of a function", like ice/poe.scm
provides.
For example, memoizing a reference to a global variable means
replacing the symbol in the code with a special construct that points
directly to the cell that holds the binding of the global variable.