[R6RS] Scripts and toplevel code

[Anton van Straaten]

Matthew Flatt wrote:
> Do you mean to attach an initial "language" to the code, expand the
> language spec plus code to a `library' form with a fixed body syntax,
> and then have tools process only expanded code? 

Exactly.

> In that case, you need
> a reliable way to specify languages, but maybe the library system
> itself could help with that. 

I was thinking that to allow brand-new top-level forms, the language 
would really need to be specified at the level of the expansion tool, so 
you might execute a shell command like this:

   expand-scheme -lang mylang-macros.scm myprogram.scm

...which would expand the top-level forms of myprogram.scm, using 
whatever macros are defined in mylang-macros.scm, stopping expansion 
when a library form is reached.

> In any case, it sounds plausible to me. :)

Are you seconding my retroactive motion to add this to R6RS? ;)

Anton