FUNCTION-TYPE

["Scott E. Fahlman" <Fahlman@C.CS.CMU.EDU>]

I think the issues involved in FUNCTION-TYPE are now clearly drawn and
we may as well settle this whole package one way or the other, rather
than separating the issue into parts, settling the type cleanup now, and
letting the related questions hang in limbo for another six months.
It's a bit frightening to me personally to propose this, since I won't
be at the Boston meeting, but I'd rather have a clear decision in favor
of ANY of the three proposals than to let this hang indefinitely.

It is reasonable to let questions hang if we're waiting for some related
issues to be resolved or if technical work needs to be done (as in
solving the macro problem for Lisp-1) or if people really need time to
study the implications of a proposed change.  I don't see any of those
factors at work in the FUNCTION-TYPE issue -- it is a straightforward
question of whether we want to remove some ugly tangles from the
language at the expense of breaking some existing code.  This question
is not going to get any easier, and until it is decided we all have to
code defensively.

Shall I attempt to write up FUNCTION-TYPE as a three-option proposal
that can be debated and voted on in Boston?

-- Scott