Top Level Forms, etc.

[Billy Joel <riedesel@daneel.den.mmc.com>]

Help!

Can someone give me some clues regarding AKCL's compilation of top-level
forms.  I have a file with stuff like this:
(in-package :constraints)
(use-package '(:foo :bar))
(import '(mumble::define-condition mumble::make-condition))

...
(define-condition ...)

First, when I try to compile my file I get lots of complaints about
these first three forms being in a bad place.  What?  I've never heard
of this and one can even see examples of this in Steele.  What do
these messages mean in AKCL?

Second, define-condition is definitely defined from everything that
I look at (actually from the conditions package which I load first).
However when the compiler gets to the define-condition form it complains
about it being undefined.  Another "What?".  Is this related to my first
bit of non-understanding above?

If anyone can give me suggestions for a better way to do these sorts
of things in AKCL I would be glad to hear them.  I haven't yet experimented
with shadowing-import and the like (that's next).  I don't seem to
be able to use-package on :conditions since I get conflicts between
conditions:error and error, etc.  Somehow I would like to be able to
use a package and have the symbols in it shadow any others already 
visible.  I don't want to have to find out what they all are beforehand
and use a big shadowing-import.  Any suggestions?

Joel Riedesel
jriedesel@den.mmc.com