frontpage.
newsnewestaskshowjobs

Open Source @Github

fp.

Open in hackernews

Extending a Language – Writing Powerful Macros in Scheme

https://mnieper.github.io/scheme-macros/README.html
92•textread•1y ago

Comments

neilv•1y ago
A few formatting changes might make this advanced example easier to understand:

    (define-syntax trace-let
      (syntax-rules ()
        [(trace-let name ([var expr] ...) body1 ... body2)
         (let f ([depth 0] [var expr] ...)
           (define name
             (lambda (var ...)
               (f (+ depth 1) var ...)))
           (indent depth)
           (display "(")
           (display 'name)
           (begin
             (display " ")
             (display var))
           ...
           (display ")")
           (newline)
           (call-with-values
               (lambda ()
                 body1 ... body2)
             (lambda val*
               (indent depth)
               (fold-left
                (lambda (sep val)
                  (display sep)
                  (display val)
                  " ")
                "" val*)
               (newline)
               (apply values val*))))]))
The biggest one is to make the rule template pattern variables all-uppercase. I also made a few other tweaks, including using indentation a little more, and naming the named-`let` variable as "loop" (I usually name it `loop` or prefix the name with `loop-` if there's more than one):

    (define-syntax trace-let
      (syntax-rules ()
        ((trace-let NAME ((VAR EXPR) ...) BODY1 ... BODY2)
         (let loop ((depth 0)
                    (VAR   EXPR) ...)
           (define NAME
             (lambda (VAR ...)
               (loop (+ depth 1) VAR ...)))
           (indent depth)
           (display "(")
           (display (quote NAME))
           (begin (display " ")
                  (display VAR)) ...
           (display ")")
           (newline)
           (call-with-values (lambda ()
                               BODY1 ... BODY2)
             (lambda val*
               (indent depth)
               (fold-left (lambda (sep val)
                            (display sep)
                            (display val)
                            " ")
                          ""
                          val*)
               (newline)
               (apply values val*)))))))
Incidentally, all-uppercase Scheme pattern variables is one of the all-time best uses of all-uppercase in any language. Second only to all-uppercase for the C preprocessor, where a preprocessor macro can introduce almost arbitrary text. Using all-uppercase for constants in some language that has constants, however, is an abomination.

(My suspicion of why Java did all-caps is that they were developing a language for embedded systems developers who were currently using C and C++, and they wanted to make it superficially look similar, even though it was an entirely different language. And then, ironically, the language ended up being used mostly by the analogue of a very different developer of the time: corporate internal information systems developers, who, as a field, didn't use anything like C. It's too late to save Java, but to all other language and API developers, please stop the insanity of all-caps constants, enum values, etc. It's not the most important thing that needs to jump out from the code above all other things.)

Y_Y•1y ago
FWIW, all-caps makes this look much worse to me. I understand that people like things like Hungarian notation, arrows over vector names, and shouting Common Lisp symbols. I understand the argument that it can make reading easier. I just can't appreciate that benefit, and it seems to me an ugly hack which obscures the abstract and general symbolic manipulation going on.

This is all highly subjective of course, de gustibus non disputandem.

neilv•1y ago
You mean aesthetically, in that interspersed all-caps makes the code visually less soothingly sensual?

I can sympathize, but let me make a non-aesthetic argument...

In large blocks of code, with all-caps, you can see at a glance where all the template substitutions are happening, and also instantly know as you're reading code what are variables and what are template substitutions?

I'm asking because one of my realizations in recent years is that not everyone reads or sees code the same way.

For example, maybe some people are stronger "visual" and some people are stronger "verbal".

For another example of a different in how people perceive and think, some people can visualize an object in their mind almost as if they're looking at it, but other people can only know and describe what it looks like without bringing a visual of it into their head.

With the benefit of the all-caps, I can glance at this and immediately see much of the structure of the template. Without all-caps, I'd have to work harder to find all the pattern variables, and the structure would be obscured.

For a bit kludgy practical matter, as I'm quickly looking at pieces of code in a template, with all-caps, I can look at a fragment of code in isolation and know what are and aren't pattern variables. Without that, I have to go read the top of the template clause (and read through any syntactic scopes of `let-syntax`) and get that in my head, until I get to the fragment of code I originally wanted to look at.

IDE support can make this unnecessary, with a hypothetical great IDE, with familiar syntax coloring. But still, if there is one thing that all-caps should be reserved for, it's something like this.

With all-caps, your code can be sensual, and the jolting all-caps bits are look out, potentially arbitrary code gets pasted into here.

mnemenaut•1y ago
https://github.com/rogerturner/scheme-macros/blob/main/examp... shows stepwise development of a trace-let [the `(example: (fn arg) => result)` forms are tests - see check-examples library]
Y_Y
•
1y ago
Since you asked, my objection is both aesthetic and semantic, though I was really referring to the semantic part above.

I think you've hit the nail on the head with this visual vs. verbal distinction.

I can add a few clarifying details. I don't use IDEs as much as basic text editors maybe with highlighting, and I try not to rely on any fancy features. It does worry me that the allcaps use you describe is (afaik) not known to the editor or interpreter, so if you make a mistake or the symbol gets out of sync with its meaning (re: pattern variables) you may have a false signal. Finally I'll say that in the end I can't suggest a good way to treat these special variables, and so maybe I don't get it, or tastes like mine would be better served by a different formalism for macros.

The End of an Era

https://hughhowey.com/the-end-of-an-era/
131•harscoat•1h ago•123 comments

DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 Intelligence, Performance and Price Analysis

https://artificialanalysis.ai/models/deepseek-v4-flash-ga
145•theanonymousone•5h ago•53 comments

The session you cannot take with you

https://earendil.com/posts/session-portability/
523•apitman•9h ago•139 comments

JEP 401: Value Objects (Preview) merged to OpenJDK master

https://github.com/openjdk/jdk/pull/31120
167•mfiguiere•8h ago•91 comments

IMAX vs. IMAX 70mm: The difference between these two cinema formats

https://www.engadget.com/2220571/differences-between-imax-70mm/
40•ksec•5d ago•40 comments

Google fixed more Chrome bugs in June than over the past two years, thanks to AI

https://blog.google/security/chrome-stronger-with-every-update/
200•Garbage•5h ago•209 comments

How A Gang of Thieves Pulled Off a Multimillion-Dollar Data Center Heist

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/12/magazine/data-center-heist.html
24•chirau•5d ago•16 comments

Stacked PRs are now live on GitHub

https://github.blog/changelog/2026-07-30-stacked-pull-requests-are-now-in-public-preview/
705•tomzorz•20h ago•245 comments

Tasklet (YC P26) Is Hiring a Customer Success Engineer

https://tasklet.ai/careers/customer-success-engineer
1•mayop100•1h ago

DeepSeek-V4-Flash Update

https://api-docs.deepseek.com/updates/
408•dnhkng•7h ago•207 comments

Show HN: Gander, an Android file viewer that asks for no permissions at all

https://github.com/mokshablr/gander
112•mokshablr•7h ago•56 comments

Gemini Robotics 2 brings whole body intelligence to robots

https://deepmind.google/blog/gemini-robotics-2-brings-whole-body-intelligence-to-robots/
585•ai2027•22h ago•468 comments

I flagged two research papers for fake authors and both were accepted as orals

https://geospatialml.com/posts/reviewing-ai-slop/
239•volumes94•14h ago•108 comments

The mean means nothing: data visualization to debug a latency problem

https://fzakaria.com/2026/07/27/the-mean-means-nothing
65•fanf2•2d ago•14 comments

Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/07/read-this-before-you-buy-that-tv-streaming-stick/
748•speckx•20h ago•456 comments

The Religion of Speed

https://graybeard.ing/the-religion-of-speed/
213•MobiusHorizons•13h ago•106 comments

We shall dwell amidst wonder and glory for ever: On weird fiction

https://clereviewofbooks.com/we-shall-dwell-amidst-wonder-and-glory-for-ever-on-weird-fiction/
18•plimp•1d ago•0 comments

Where USB Memory Sticks are Born (2013)

https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/2013/where-usb-memory-sticks-are-born/
72•jacquesm•3d ago•3 comments

Premier league bans gambling sponsors

https://www.footyheadlines.com/2646571793/betting-ban-takes-effect-no-more-gambling-sponsors-in-t...
76•paoliniluis•13h ago•15 comments

Simulating TCP loss and congestion in browser using Go/WASM

https://ccsim.fly.dev
41•dilyevsky•2d ago•1 comments

The Economic Benefit of Refactoring

https://martinfowler.com/articles/exploring-gen-ai/refactoring-economic-benefit.html
256•javaeeeee•22h ago•111 comments

GCC steering committee announces AI policy

https://lwn.net/Articles/1086041/
316•arto•1d ago•357 comments

Ruby Central's Destructive Legacy

https://andre.arko.net/2026/07/30/ruby-centrals-destructive-legacy/
17•4d66ba06•1h ago•7 comments

Bad Apple but It's Traceroute

https://jssfr.de/2026-07-27-bad-apple-but-traceroute.html
138•jssfr•3d ago•44 comments

Memo-1: A 6502 computer built from scratch, using a Minitel as its terminal

https://github.com/MemoireMorte/Memo-1
88•sciences44•2d ago•12 comments

The lost civic life of movie rental stores

https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-lost-civic-life-of-movie-rental-stores/
187•facundo_olano•23h ago•246 comments

Show HN: Distilling DeepSeek into GPT-OSS doesn't transfer censorship. Try it

https://www.ctgt.ai/research/distillation-censorship-transfer
143•cgorlla•19h ago•69 comments

UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions

https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/02a7-213a92896eb0-54dfbf454e3b-1000--statement-on-behalf-of-...
1117•dickfickling•18h ago•599 comments

The AI Aesthetic

https://blog.jim-nielsen.com/2026/ai-aesthetic/
338•montroser•14h ago•152 comments

Why is everyone trying to build a solid-state battery?

https://www.construction-physics.com/p/why-is-everyone-trying-to-build-a
206•crescit_eundo•1d ago•262 comments