CLHS: Issue DATA-TYPES-HIERARCHY-UNDERSPECIFIED Writeup

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## Issue DATA-TYPES-HIERARCHY-UNDERSPECIFIED Writeup

    Issue:         DATA-TYPES-HIERARCHY-UNDERSPECIFIED

    References:    CLtL 33-35 (data types)
    	       CLtL 312 (DEFSTRUCT :INCLUDE option)

    Category:      CHANGE

    Edit history:  24-Mar-88, version 1 by Steele
    		 4-Sep-88, version 2 by X3J13 June 88

    Problem description:

    The types HASH-TABLE, READTABLE, PACKAGE, PATHNAME, STREAM, and
    RANDOM-STATE currently are not required to be disjoint from CONS, SYMBOL,
    ARRAY, NUMBER, or CHARACTER.  The same is true of DEFSTRUCT types.  With
    the arrival of CLOS, lack of disjointness will be inconvenient because one
    cannot reliably use generic function dispatch on these types.

    Proposal (DATA-TYPES-HIERARCHY-UNDERSPECIFIED:DISJOINT):

    Remove the third and antepenultimate bulleted items from section 2.15 is
    CLtL and replace with the following:

      * The types CONS, SYMBOL, ARRAY, NUMBER, CHARACTER, HASH-TABLE, READTABLE,
      PACKAGE, PATHNAME, STREAM, RANDOM-STATE, and any single other type created
      by DEFSTRUCT [or DEFCLASS] are pairwise disjoint.

    Also, in the discussion of the DEFSTRUCT :INCLUDE option, it is an error for
    the type given to the :INCLUDE option to be CONS, SYMBOL, ARRAY, NUMBER,
    CHARACTER, HASH-TABLE, READTABLE, PACKAGE, PATHNAME, STREAM, or
    RANDOM-STATE.

    Rationale:

    It would be useful to extend sequence functions to operate on streams
    or hash tables, for example, through the CLOS generic function mechanism.
    This is not possible under the current specification.

    Current practice:

    Some implementations in effect use DEFSTRUCT to define data structures
    such as hash tables and random-states.

    Cost to Implementors:

    Small or nonexistent.  The main reason this disjointness was not specified
    in CLtL was the possibility that structures might not be easily
    distinguishable: a stupid concern over a slight efficiency.  This
    implementation freedom apparently has not been exploited in practice.

    Cost to Users:

    None.

    Cost of non-adoption:

    CLOS will be less useful.

    Benefits:

    CLOS will be more useful.

    Esthetics:

    This makes the type system simpler and easier to understand.

    Discussion:

    This suggestion originated in the CLOS committee.

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