About CLOS

[Barry Margolin <barmar@THINK.COM>]

    Date: Tue, 26 Sep 89 12:37:15+0900
    From: dhlee%csd.kaist.ac.kr@relay.cs.net (DongHyeon Lee)

    According to the syntax of `defgeneric` or `defmethod`,
    The `function-specifier` is required to be `symbol` or `(setf symbol)`
    but I can't find description of the effect when `(setf symbol)` is selected
    by user.

(SETF <symbol>) is used for naming the function and methods run when
executing (SETF (<symbol> <arg1> <arg2> ...) <value>), when <symbol> is
not one of the special cases described in CLtL.  In this case, the SETF
form expands into (FUNCALL #'(SETF <symbol>) <value> <arg1> <arg2> ...)
(actually, it must use temporary variables so that <value> is evaluated
after all the <argN> forms).

Symbolics Common Lisp uses this (SETF <symbol>) function specifier for
essentially the same thing, except that the order of the arguments is
reversed; in Genera, the expansion of (SETF (<symbol> <object>) <value)
is (FUNCALL #'(SETF <symbol>) <object> <value>).

      2. I wonder if new version of CLOS Doc. has been published recently.
	    if it has, please, send it to me.

There have been some minor changes to CLOS since that documentation was
published.  However, no new version of that documentation has been
produced; the changes are being made in the corresponding sections of
the ANSI Common Lisp draft specification.

      4. Also, I want to know about implemented system of CLOS. 

There is a portable implementation that is pretty close to CLOS called
PCL.  It is available via anonymous FTP from the Internet host
ARISIA.XEROX.COM.  I'm not sure how you get a copy if you aren't on the
Internet.

As David Moon said, Symbolics will be including CLOS in the next release
of Genera.  I suspect that Lucid and Franz will also be providing CLOS
around the same time.

     Do I have too many requist?
    If you needed, bill me please.

If I had a dime for every question I answered on this list....