[r6rs-discuss] "Unspecified"

[Jason Orendorff]

Does anyone else feel a little weird about the phrase "the unspecified value"?

"Unspecified" is very often used in programming language
specifications as an adjective with a particular meaning.  R5.91RS
still uses it in that sense, but it also uses it in the phrase "the
unspecified value", which refers to a particular value.  I don't think
the two meanings sit well together in the same document.

For example, on page 81 of R5.91RS, we see "For all other readers, the
result is an unspecified value."  By this time I'm so used to reading
"the unspecified value" that I have to wonder if this is a typo.  As
it turns out, it's not--which I hope proves my point.   The amount of
weight the word "an" has to carry in this sentence is a signal that
something is wrong.

Suppose someone tells you that "all the graphics routines return
unspecified".  What exactly does he mean?

In fact, the definite article "the" and the adjective "unspecified"
are so thoroughly at odds that "the unspecified value" sounds like
broken English if you're not already in the clique.

I would rather have two separate terms.  "Unspecified" can retain its
usual meaning.  For the unspecified value, we can use "void" or
something else.

-j