Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utai!jeem From: jeem@utai.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.lang.scheme Subject: Re: data structures <--> functions Message-ID: <4171@utai.UUCP> Date: Fri, 4-Dec-87 04:14:50 EST Article-I.D.: utai.4171 Posted: Fri Dec 4 04:14:50 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 6-Dec-87 20:24:13 EST References: <9597@mimsy.UUCP> Reply-To: jeem@ai.UUCP (Jim des Rivieres) Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto Lines: 12 Summary: meta-level facilities are critical, albeit rarified In article <9597@mimsy.UUCP>, Greg Johnson asks how much of a loss would it be to not have a mechanism for a lisp program to build a data structure and then use it as an executable function? An analogous question: How much of a loss would it be if all of a standard stored-program computer's instructions had to reside in read-only memory? The answer in both cases is that, while the vast majority of programmers would not be directly inconvenienced by the lack of meta-level facilities , it would be absolutely crippling to the system programmers that have to supply the editors, compilers, linkers, and debuggers for that system.