context-sensitive keywords, revisited

[Ben Elliston <bje at au1 dot ibm dot com>]

I would like to raise the idea of implementing a new patch for
context-sensitive keywords for Altivec support in GCC.  This thread from
late 2003 discusses a way forward for various Altivec features, much of
which has been thrashed out:

   http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc/2003-12/msg01440.html

There were two degrees of opposition to context-sensitive keywords:

  (1) outright opposition to it in principle;
  (2) agreement in principle, but conditional on a 
      clean and simple implementation

Geoff Keating wrote back then:

  "Item (2), the context-sensitive vector keyword, as a
   standalone patch, as simple and clean as possible, and
   including clear and precise documentation on exactly when
   'vector' gets treated as a keyword.  This patch might be
   integrated into the mainline, if it's sufficiently clean; if
   not, it can go into contrib/ and Apple will keep it as a
   local patch."

I would like to ask the relevant maintainers if such a patch,
sufficiently well written, would be accepted into GCC during the next
stage 1 period?  If so, are there any preferred approaches to the
implementation?  I gather that the conditional macro technique was not
very popular.

Thanks, Ben

-- 
Ben Elliston <bje@au.ibm.com>
Australia Development Lab, IBM