Re: [Kawa-commonlisp-dev] [PATCH] Type refactoring.

[Charles Turner]

On 20 August 2012 11:16, Jamison Hope <address@hidden> wrote:
> Actually it is there already:
> http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/kawa-commonlisp-dev/2012-08/msg00055.html

Oh, good. Well I diverged from r7274 for the record.

>> There were changes between
>> the stuff I've checked in officially and what's in that patch (Per's
>> recommendations). Should I merge these changes to my changes back into
>> my repository and send that instead?
>
>
> If that seems like it would be quick then yes, otherwise the older all.patch
> can serve the purpose.

It would be quite awkward, and if it's not absolutely necessary, I
personally don't think enough has changed for my repository to
misrepresent the work I've done. The opportunity cost is quite high
for this one.

> How about a checklist showing what's been checked in already and what
> remains?
> Something like:
>
> [•] ...
> [•] functionality mods to let.java to support FLET
> [•] FLET form
> [•] FUNCALL
> [•] DECLARE
> [-] moving type mapping from Scheme.java to LispLanguage.java
> [ ] ...

I'm terrible at forward-planning like this (it's on my TODO list of
things to get better at :-)), but I had a go. I've put it in my
webspace so that it's easier to reference/update.
http://chturner.com/checkin.txt

> Were there bits you found easier than you expected? Harder?

I thought lisp packages would be harder to implement, and I didn't
think symbols would cause me so much pain, I never expected to have so
many problems with case issues, namespaces, interning, etc... Actually
exporting things correctly was a pig, as was/is the bootstrapping
issues.

> Anything you would've done differently a second time?

In hindsight, I always think I  could have planned/prepared better..
I'd read an introductory text on CL, which naturally glossed over a
lot of fine detail, and the hubris of youth misguided my expectations
of the expected difficulty in implementing some ideas. So with the
knowledge I have now, I would have approached things differently, but
I don't have any great regrets in my approach.

As mentors, what did I do that you thought was misguided? Any words on
how I could have better approached the problem for posterity?

> Advice for a newcomer who wants to start hacking on Kawa?

Just get stuck in and don't be afraid to make mistakes, the people on
these lists are very welcoming and patient from my personal
experience. Don't resent yourself if you find parts of the source code
hard to understand, ask questions and keep at it. Don't try to
understand too much too quickly. Try to have fun!

> Most importantly, did you have fun?

An emphatic yes! I learned a lot too :-).

My thanks extend to everyone for the patient guidance and sharing of
information which made my summer  both edifying and enjoyable.

Charles.