Re: DEFMACRO incompatible

[Moon at MIT-AI (David A. Moon)]

    Date: 1 February 1981 07:53-EST
    From: Robert W. Kerns <RWK at MIT-MC>
    
	Date: 28 JAN 1981 0913-EST
	From: RMS at MIT-AI (Richard M. Stallman)
	
	On the Lisp machine, a list as the first argument to DEFMACRO
	is a function spec saying where to put the macro.
	In Maclisp, a list as the first argument to DEFMACRO specifies
	hairy options for how the macro should work.
    Might I humbly suggest that the MacLisp form is more flexible, and
    documented, whereas the LISPM one is not?  I have no idea as to the
    relative difficulty of conversion.  The LISPM option could be subsumed
    by a :WHERE option in the MacLisp scheme.
It would be unreasonable to change the Lisp machine one, since that would
make DEFMACRO incompatible with DEFUN and all other function-defining special
forms.  Why can't DEFMACRO put its declarations in the body where all other
function-defining things put them?

I'm not sure in what sense the Maclisp one is documented and the Lisp machine
one is not.  I know of no published Maclisp documentation that mentions
DEFMACRO.  If you are talking about on-line files, of course the Lisp machine
one is documented.