[plt-scheme] Where is macroexpand in PLT Scheme?

Lo, on Wednesday, November 12, Joe Marshall did write:

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> 
> Bill Clementson <bill_clementson at yahoo.com> writes:
> 
> > --- Joe Marshall <jrm at ccs.neu.edu> wrote:
> >> 
> >> `macroexpand' would only be useful as a top-level
> >> debugging tool.  It
> >> would be quite difficult to make it work `correctly'
> >> with R5RS macros.
> >> I'm guessing that is one reason it is not in R5RS.
> >
> > Very interesting comment. Could you elaborate on this
> > please - how is expanding an R5RS macro different from
> > expanding a CL macro and why is it difficult to make
> > it work "correctly" with R5RS macros? 
> 
> The problem is hygiene.  Free variables in the macro are supposed to
> be bound to the lexical value apparent *at the macro*.
> 
> (define-syntax foo
>   (syntax-rules ()
>     ((foo x) (begin (display "Hello") x))))
> 
> (-test (let ((display 33)) (foo display)))
> (-test :expand)
> --> (let-values (((display) (#%datum . 12))) (#%app (#%top . display) (#%datum . "hi")) display)

Joe is correct, but this phenomenon is typically called "referential
transparency;" hygiene is something different.  Briefly, hygiene is what
makes the following work right:

(define-syntax or
  (syntax-rules ()
    ((or a b) (let ((t a)) (if t t b)))))

(let ((t #f))
  (or 3 t))
;; evaluates to 3

The basic idea: since the macro introduces a new binding for t, where
the name t was not supplied by the user, this binding is supposed to be
kept separate from any bindings that may be in scope at the invocation
of the macro.

Richard