Re: Defgeneric affects methods?

[David A. Moon <Moon@STONY-BROOK.SCRC.Symbolics.COM>]

    Date: 6 Nov 87 13:31 PST
    From: Danny Bobrow <Bobrow.pa@Xerox.COM>

        RPG:
          ``Except it does affect existing methods if :method is
          specified, so....''

        Here is an issue brought up by wording problems: do you mean
        that defgeneric affects the set of existing methods (such as
        replacing some of them) or that defgeneric affects some individuals
        because when one is ``replaced'' a method is destructively modified?

    I think that this is an example where documentation indirection would
    pay off.  Describe what happens when one evaluates a defgeneric with no
    :method options, and thee is an existing generic function.  No existing
    methods on the existing generic function is changed.  

    Then state that defgeneric with :method options is equivalent to a
    defgeneric with no :method options follwoed by a set of defmethods.  We
    have said what happens there as well.  Similar methods get replaced.
  
I agree with this approach.  I think this is the same as what the document
already says, provided we remove the one offending remark.