[plt-scheme] detecting duplicate internal definitions

Eli Barzilay writes:
 > Thanks.  However, changing this doesn't work -- the second `defmethod'
 > gets a syntax-local-context of 'expression...

I've found this macro useful for making expressions usable in
internal-definition position (or anywhere else):

  ;; Helper macro for making an expression usable in any lexical context.
  (define-syntax (define-dummy stx)
    (syntax-case stx ()
      ((_ sym exp)
       (if (list? (syntax-local-context))
	   ;; Internal definition position; generate a dummy binding.
	   #`(define #,(car (generate-temporaries #'(sym))) exp)
	   ;; Otherwise, don't clutter the namespace.
	   #'exp))))

Then both `defmethod's will turn into `define's, but neither will
define a generic.

 > *sigh*, as I said, I don't think that this is too reliable, but I
 > tried something that seems like it might work.  The idea is to keep a
 > mapping from the definition context to things that were already
 > defined as generics.

Heh, I was going to suggest this idea, but I thought it was too crazy
to bring up.  :)

--dougo at place.org

P.S. Slightly different topic, but is it possible to use the new
`normalize-definition' function from (lib "define.ss" "syntax") to
allow things like this?

    (defmethod ((f x y) z) (+ z (- x y)))
    ((f 5 3) 2) ; => 4

I think this won't work for arguments with specializers, though,
because it checks that each argument is an identifier.  But perhaps
that part could be factored out.