[plt-scheme] Okay, this is ugly

On Feb 18, 2006, at 7:50 AM, Shriram Krishnamurthi wrote:

> It's hard to even begin to explain why this code is awful,
> and almost certainly buggy, but aren't you just trying to say:
>
> (define (env-get-binding s env)
>   (unless (null? env)
>     (hash-table-get (car env) s
>                     (lambda ()
>                       (env-get-binding s (cdr env))))))
>
> ?
>
> Shriram

That was actually my first thought, but I didn't think I could call  
env-get-binding in the failure thunk of hash-table-get.

I'm unhappy with this code for other reasons, too. Once concern  
(though not one with which I was going to trouble the list) is that  
I'm afraid I might be introducing dynamic scope. The point of the  
code is to facilitate evaluation of expressions like

(let ((x 2))
     (let ((y 3))
       (+ x y))

but I should statically know I only have two lets here, so I'm  
actually rethinking my evaluation strategy.


===
Gregory Woodhouse
gregory.woodhouse at sbcglobal.net

"Doubt may be uncomfortable,
but certainty is absurd."  --Voltaire