COMPLR bug

[Jeffrey P. Golden <JPG at MIT-MC>]

From:    JONL@MIT-MC
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 81 04:59:19 GMT
Original-Date: 08/27/81 00:59:19 EDT
Subject:
   To: GJC at MIT-MC
   CC: (BUG LISP) at MIT-MC, GCOOK at MIT-MC, JPG at MIT-MC,
   CC: MACSYMA-I at MIT-MC
   I'm aware of the limitation in COMPLR, whereby you can't
   nest a local variables with differing declarations.  
   
Apart from the fact that it would be nice if the above bug were fixed,
GJC's first example did not exhibit "differing declarations":

From:    GJC@MIT-MC
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 81 03:08:46 GMT
Original-Date: 08/26/81 23:08:46 EDT
Subject: 
   Let us look at a simple case:
   (defun f (x)
     ((lambda (x)
        (declare (flonum x))
        (times x ((lambda (x)
   		 (declare (flonum x))
   		 (times x x))
   	       x)))
      (sin x)))
   
The declarations here are the same.  But the compiler still gives an error:
   
   (COMMENT **ERROR**  (FLONUM G0001) 
   		Local declaration occurs too late in function in function F)
   ; DATA ERROR - TO PROCEED TYPE $P 

I think it would be REALLY nice if THIS bug were fixed.  It seems to me 
that one would expect a code generator to generate cases involving 
consistent declarations, and it is a shame that even that does not 
work.  This really adds to the burden of the code generator.  
Furthermore, the error message given by the compiler involves a G0001.
I don't think that is a good example of human engineering.  
(Again, I am not saying there is anything wrong (except in terms of 
clarity of code) with "inconsistent nested local declarations" and that 
the whole bug shouldn't be fixed.  I am just more concerned that the 
bug also happens when the declarations are consistent.)