# SRFI 17: Generalized set!

by Per Bothner

status: final (2000-07-24)

keywords: Assignment

## Abstract

This is a proposal to allow procedure calls that evaluate to the "value of a location" to be used to set the value of the location, when used as the first operand of set!.For example:

(set! (car x) (car y))

becomes equivalent to
(set-car! x (car y))


Many programming languages have the concept of an lvalue. that is an "expression" that "evaluates" to a location, and which can appear on the left-hand-side of an assignment. Common Lisp has a related concept of "generalized variables" which can be used in setf and some other special forms. However, the Common Lisp concept is based on the idea of compile-time recognition of special "location-producing" functions; this does not seem to be in the "spirit of Scheme".

This SRFI proposes an extension of set! so that it provides similar functionality as Common Lisp's setf, except that the updater is associated with a procedure value, rather than a name.