[m-rev.] for review: delete RTTI predicates from std_util

[Julien Fischer]

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006, Ian MacLarty wrote:

> On 3/16/06, Zoltan Somogyi <zs at cs.mu.oz.au> wrote:
> > Remove from std_util.m the predicates that merely call predicates in
> > the type_desc, construct and deconstruct modules, to reduce clutter
> > in std_util.m.
> >
>
> Perhaps these should be pragma obsoleted first.

There isn't really much point to that - these predicates are all fairly
obscure to begin with, furthermore the aim of this change was to reduce
clutter; leaving them there wouldn't do that.

> Just removing them may break user code.

Only in a very minor way.

For the record, we had a discussion about the standard library the other
day based on Doug Auclair's requests for 0.14.  (We, in this case, being
Ralph, Peter Ross, Zoltan and myself).  The main outcome of this was the
following proposals (most of which are intended to make it into 0.13)

	* delete the duplicate RTTI access preds from std_util.

	* break up std_util, so that related pieces of functionality
          are moved to separate modules.

	* make svmap duplicate all the functionality of map except that
 	  it will have argument orders around the correct way and omit
	  predicate versions of procedures that commonly cause ambiguity
	  errors.  (Do the same for svset).

	* add a new poly_type `t' so that the format predicates can
   	  operate on arbitrary terms - also a variation on this that allow
	  the user to provide a predicate to format the term.

Julien.
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