[Nickle] global

[Bart Massey]

In message <E19LOIi-0002cs-00@localhost> you wrote:
> Hmm.  Global (and static) initializers that are defined inside functions 
> are placed in an anonymous lambda which is evaluated when the appropriate 
> function declaration is evaluated.  Global initializers not inside a 
> function are simply evaluated in place.  That's clearly broken, but 
> somewhat difficult to fix as there isn't a 'hook' to hang the initializer 
> code onto.  I'll have to rework the compiler a bit to provide a place for 
> this initializer code to sit in this case.  Fortunately the virtual machine
> won't have to change at all.

This brings up the related issue that I again had to work
around the fact that since each top-level statement is
evaluated in its own thread, I had to work around using
continuations at top level.  Pretty clearly we have some
issues here we'll have to think about.  I think my vote is
to execute each whole input in script mode, or each
interactive statement in interactive mode, in an anonymous
top-level "global" scope.  Does this make sense?

>   $ nickle
>   > for(int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
>   +   static int[2] x = { 1, (printf("init\n"), 2) };
>   + }
>   <stdin>:2: Invalid storage class static
> 
> Somehow static is no longer a synonym for global at top level.  Is there 
> any reason for it not to be?

Not that I can think of.

	Bart