[plt-scheme] Interacting w/ MzScheme

Quoth Robert Bruce Findler:
> I don't think that I suggested that this was false. But yes. The
> external format isn't documented. I have tried to explain this before,
> but I think that I'm just not doing a good job.
> 
> The way to manipulate these files is _not_ to write a tool that reads
> the binary format, but instead use the existing tool that reads the
> binary format (mred). MrEd gives you back an object you can manipulate
> directly to do whatever you want with the "file". It's the same
> information, but directly accessible. It's like writing a parser, to do
> whatever, but without actually having to write the parser. Code Re-use!
> Does it make any more sense this time?

I understood your argument the first time.  It sounds just like all the
other application developers that say "you can access the file all you
want, as long as you do it with our tools."  When Microsoft says stuff
like that, a lot of us argue that it's a bad thing.  Why should it be
okay when PLT says it?

With respect to the bug in ProfJ, that part's obviously not really your
fault.  And I haven't looked at this in a couple months, so I don't know
the deep inner workings of the system, so apologies if I've misanalysed:
it would be nice if what you had to do to register your snip class with
drscheme was the same as what you needed to register it with mred, to
prevent bugs like this one.  And the fact that the file format is
totally undocumented means that I can't, even as a workaround, just play
with the file directly.  Which is frustrating.

-- 
-=-Don Blaheta-=-dblaheta at knox.edu-=-=-<http://faculty.knox.edu/dblaheta/>-=-
"What matters in determining mortality and health in a society is less
the overall wealth of that society and more how evenly wealth is
distributed."					--British Medical Journal