[REBOL] Re: percent! - new datatype request
From: robbo1mark:aol at: 10-Jun-2002 12:49
To implement a percent! datatype or any other "shopping list" of new datatypes requires
one to write an extended version of the LOAD function to parse script input and correctly
identify and make new object! instances of the percent! and other new datatypes.
You also have to extend the TYPE? function to correctly handle your special new object!
datatype representations and return your intended percent! or whatever.
Any other new methods such as arithmetic, print / output formatting etc also have to
be defined.
Basically your write another interpreter and functions on top of REBOL to handle your
new datatypes, which is certainly do-able and REBOL/Core has loads of useful functions
for implementing this.
A reader macro function like the lisp / scheme 'extend-syntax and 'syntax-rules functions
for REBOL would make this so much easier and allow for easier extensions of REBOL at
the mezzanine level as Joel would like.
Maybe it would be better if REBOL like Lisp, Scheme, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, TCL, OCAML,
to name but a few, could be extended at ALL levels and not just the mezzanine level but
we've done this to death before - sigh!
Mark Dickson
