Michael Sperber wrote:
> Per Bothner <xxxxxx@bothner.com> writes:
>
>
>>If ports are required to support byte operations, then there
>>is little point in a separate primitive byte i/o layer.
>
> The primitive I/O layer, besides offering more control over
> performance, also allows you to create access to arbitrary data
> sources easily.  Scheme systems have traditionally done this at the
> ports level, but it is difficult to get right there.

I don't buy this at all.  Why can't I replace:
   (make-simple-reader id descriptor etc ...)
by
   (make-simple-input-port id descriptor etc ...)
I.e. why can't I merge the functionality of readers into input-ports?
That would *reduce* overhead for programs that use the port interface
(most of them) and would not add any extra overhead for programs that
want byte-level access.
--
	--Per Bothner
xxxxxx@bothner.com   http://per.bothner.com/