package symbol

var intern_map map[string]*Symbol

type Symbol struct {
	ns     string
	symbol string
}

func Intern(ns string, symbol string) *Symbol {
	combined_str := ns + "/" + symbol
	existingSymbol, ok := intern_map[combined_str]
	if ok {
		return existingSymbol
	} else {
		newSymbol := new(Symbol)
		newSymbol.ns = ns
		newSymbol.symbol = symbol
		if intern_map == nil {
			intern_map = make(map[string]*Symbol)
		}
		intern_map[combined_str] = newSymbol
		return newSymbol
	}
}

func String(this *Symbol) string {
	if this.ns == "" {
		return this.symbol
	}
	return this.ns + "/" + this.symbol
}

func (this *Symbol) String() string {
	return String(this)
}