Scheme standarization

[Chris Haynes <chaynes@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu>]

On March 25, 1988, a majority of the authors of the "Revised^3 Report
on the Algorithmic Language Scheme" (SIGPLAN Notices, December, 1986),
together with representatives of IEEE and X3 standardization
committees, met at Indiana University as a study group to consider
initiation of a formal standardization effort for Scheme.  It was
concluded that a formal standard was desirable to improve code
portability, publication uniformity, and language visibility.  It was
recommended that a PAR be submitted through the IEEE Microprocessor
Standards Committee to initiate the formal standardization effort and
establish a Scheme Working Group.  Christopher Haynes and William
Clinger were nominated for Chair and Vice-Chair of the Working Group,
respectively.  It is expected that the Working Group will meet
approximately twice a year, with the first meeting to be held on July
27, 1988, following the ACM Conference on Lisp and Functional
Programming at Snowbird, Utah.

The study group felt strongly that the informal group that produced
the existing Scheme reports should continue its language design work
by holding workshops and publishing further revised reports.  While
these reports are likely to form the basis for future revisions of the
standard, they will probably be less conservative than is appropriate
for a standards document and may, for example, include experimental
features that should be withheld from standardization.

The study group also concluded that Scheme standardization does
not conflict in any way with existing or contemplated standardization
efforts for other members of the Lisp family, such as X3J13.  It was
recommended that liaison be maintained with these efforts, and in
particular that the views of the Scheme community be taken into
account by the ANSI delegate to the ISO ISLISP standardization
meetings, and that an observer from the Scheme community be present at
such meetings if possible.


-- Chris Haynes
   chaynes@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu