"modifications", or extensions? a 2-bit misunderstanding

[Jon L White <JONL at MIT-MC>]

    Date: 25 October 1981 15:33-EDT
    From: Kent M. Pitman <KMP at MIT-MC>
    Subject:  Questionable "modifications" to LIBDOC;6BIT
    (1) I have never had an application for doing 6bit->ascii or vice 
	versa in real time. ... 
In LISP code, neither have I.  That's why there isn't any such function
in the extensions I added to 6BIT.  Do you really know what you're
talking about here?
				     Worrying about someone using BOOLE or
	LOGAND instead of LOAD-BYTE or whatever is like worrying about 
	someone using (PROG1 ...) instead of LET ... 
I suggested using DEPOSIT-BYTE to accumulate a result, rather than the
code you wrote, which did 6 cons's etc.   This is a significant speed
question;  your reply about sounds just like so much hot air directed
at the wrong thing.
    (3) My code uses advertised functions, not crufty internal things 
	with /| hanging off the end of them. 
I didn't make any changes to the action of the code you wrote -- my
extensions (e.g. the function SYMBOL-TO-SIXBIT) would use that internal
function only in cases you didn't cover.
    If you want to write your own package in such a form and propose it as 
    an alternative that's fine, but I don't think that the LIBDOC;6BIT KMP2 
    which you wrote qualifies as something simply "added to" LIBDOC;6BIT KMP1. 
Ok, I've created the package LIBDOC;6BIT JONL2.  Sorry.