I wrote:
> 3. Make scm_nullstr into a mutable string. After all, it can't be
> changed anyway, and the _only_ reference to it is from
> scm_from_stringn, so the result should always be mutable.
For the record: my statement above was in error; scm_nullstr is actually
used in several files. However, I looked at each use, and in all cases
a mutable string is appropriate. Also, it is SCM_INTERNAL. So I
committed the change.
However, I wonder if we should also remove this optimization from
scm_from_stringn, as Bruce suggested. The R5RS says that `string' and
`make-string' should return "a newly allocated string", which implies
that the new string should not be `eq?' to any existing object.
Although our docs for scm_from_stringn et al do not explicitly specify
that the string is newly allocated, an argument could be made that we
should follow the behavior of `string'.
What do other people think?
Mark
