[Axiom-developer] Re: interpreter and with-expression

[Gabriel Dos Reis]

On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 address@hidden wrote:

| > The interpreter (in particular pf2Sex) does not handle category
| > definitions (with-expression). Is that by design or an "unfinished part"
|
| I'm not sure that it is possible to create categories at the
| interpreter level. Well, in theory it is since a category is
| simply a lisp expression, but in practice I don't think it works.
| Categories are a compile-time concept.

I'm unsure about the meaning you give to "compile-time" here.

Types are compile-time concepts too.  Yet, the interpreter has no
problem handing

   Foo == Record(f: Integer, b: Boolean)

or

   Bar := Record(f: Integer, b: Boolean)


Furthermore within an axiom session, it is possible to )compile a file
and have the result available in the working frame.

I tripped over this while working on new packages for Axiom, and
it really is confusing.  I would like to know whether there are
deep reasons for this, or whether it is because it was not
finished.


-- Gaby