[plt-scheme] Re: Which library?

On Jul  2, Mark Engelberg wrote:
> What is the story behind Swindle?  It seems to have a great deal of
> overlap with other extensions, and yet it is definitely distinct.
> What niche does it serve?  Is it the best source of a CLOS style
> object system for PLT Scheme?

Swindle was started as an implementation of a CLOS like system, so it
could be used in a course in Cornell, replacing a crappy system that
was used before it.  Making a CLOS environment naturally lead to
further extensions for CL-ish features.  There are also features that
are just very useful which I added.

Originally there was very little overlap, since many features were
developed before (or roughly at the same time) as similar packages
(for example, the `collect' and related functionality precede srfi-42,
and is more capable in certain areas).  In other cases there is
shallow overlap with existing functionality, but things are really
different in subtle ways (eg, `andmap' vs `every'), or extensions that
the Swindle version adds (Swindle's `defmacro' is based on MzLib's
`define-macro', but is able to define "symbol macros" too.)

Most of these features should eventually migrate into MzLib or
disappear, but it's a slow process.

-- 
          ((lambda (x) (x x)) (lambda (x) (x x)))          Eli Barzilay:
                  http://www.barzilay.org/                 Maze is Life!