Issue: RETURN-VALUES-UNSPECIFIED (Version 3)

[masinter.pa@Xerox.COM]

I had agreed with GLS. So I changed the discussion. (Depersonalized it,
too.)

!
Issue:        RETURN-VALUES-UNSPECIFIED
References:   CLOSE (p 332), IN-PACKAGE (p 183), RENAME-PACKAGE (p 184),
	      TRACE (p 440), UNTRACE (p 440), INSPECT (p 442), 
	      SET-SYNTAX-FROM-CHAR (p 361),
	      LOCALLY (p 156), PROVIDE (p 188), REQUIRE (P 188)
Category:     CLARIFICATION
Edit history: 26-Aug-88, Version 1 by Chapman
	      19-Sept-88, Version 2 by Chapman
		 6-Oct-88, Version 3 by Masinter
 
Problem Description:
 
The descriptions of CLOSE, IN-PACKAGE, RENAME-PACKAGE, TRACE, UNTRACE,
INSPECT, SET-SYNTAX-FROM-CHAR, LOCALLY, PROVIDE, and REQUIRE 
are not clear about the values returned from those constructs.
 
Proposal (RETURN-VALUES-UNSPECIFIED:SPECIFY)
 
Clarify that the return values for the listed constructs are as follows:
 
CLOSE -- the stream argument.
IN-PACKAGE -- the new package, i.e. the value of *PACKAGE* after the
execution
	of IN-PACKAGE.
RENAME-PACKAGE -- the renamed package.
TRACE (when called with arguments) -- implementation-dependent.
UNTRACE -- implementation-dependent.
INSPECT -- implementation-dependent.
SET-SYNTAX-FROM-CHAR -- T
LOCALLY -- the return values of the last form of its body, i.e. the body is
	surrounded by an implicit PROGN.
PROVIDE -- implementation-dependent.
REQUIRE -- implementation-dependent.
 
Rationale:
 
This clarification allows users to know when they can and can not
count on the values returned from
these constructs. 
 
Current Practice:
 
 
Adoption Cost:
 
 
Benefits:
 
This clarification will assist users in writing portable code.
 
Conversion Cost:
 
 
Aesthetics:
 
None.
 
Discussion:
 
PROVIDE and REQUIRE are not likely to appear except in the "top level" of
files, and so their return value is possibly moot. There is also some
sentiment for leaving unspecified the values of the debugging/environment
features such as TRACE and UNTRACE, to allow for experimentation and
growth.