Compilation Procedures (MIT/GNU Scheme 11.2)

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### 4.1 Compilation Procedures

procedure: cf filename [destination]

  This is the program that transforms a source-code file into native-code binary form. If destination is not given, as in

      (cf "foo")

  `cf` compiles the file `foo.scm`, producing the file `foo.com`. It will also produce `foo.bin`, `foo.bci`, and possibly `foo.ext`. The corresponding names for R7RS libraries are `foo.sld`, `foo.comld`, `foo.binld`, and `foo.bcild` (libraries never generate `.ext` files). If you later evaluate

      (load "foo")

  `foo.com` (or `foo.comld`) will be loaded.

  If destination is given, it says where the output files should go. If this argument is a directory, they go in that directory, e.g.:

      (cf "foo" "../bar/")

  will take `foo.scm` and generate the file `../bar/foo.com`. If destination is not a directory, it is the root name of the output:

      (cf "foo" "bar")

  takes `foo.scm` and generates `bar.com`.

About the `.bci` files: these files contain the debugging information that Scheme uses when you call `debug` to examine compiled code. When you load a `.com` file, Scheme remembers where it was loaded from, and when the debugger (or `pp`) looks at the compiled code from that file, it attempts to find the `.bci` file in the same directory from which the `.com` file was loaded. Thus it is a good idea to leave these files together.

variable: load-debugging-info-on-demand?

  If this variable is `#f`, then printing a compiled procedure will print the procedure’s name only if the debugging information for that procedure is already loaded. Otherwise, it will force loading of the debugging information.

  The default value is `#f`.

procedure: sf filename [destination]

  `sf` is the program that transforms a source-code file into binary SCode form; it is used on machines that do not support native-code compilation. It performs numerous optimizations that can make your programs run considerably faster than unoptimized interpreted code. Also, the binary files that it generates load very quickly compared to source-code files.

  The simplest way to use `sf` is just to say:

      (sf filename)

  This will cause your file to be transformed, and the resulting binary file to be written out with the same name, but with the suffix `.bin`. If you do not specify a suffix on the input file, `.scm` is assumed.

  Like `load`, the first argument to `sf` may be a list of filenames rather than a single filename.

  `sf` takes an optional second argument, which is the filename of the output file. If this argument is a directory, then the output file has its normal name but is put in that directory instead.

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