1. [n]  a schematic or preliminary plan
2. [n]  an elaborate and systematic plan of action
3. [n]  an internal representation of the world; an organization of concepts and actions that can be revised by new information about the world
4. [n]  a statement that evades the question by cleverness or trickery
5. [v]  form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner
6. [v]  devise a system or form a scheme for

1. \Scheme\, n. [L. schema a rhetorical figure, a shape,
   figure, manner, Gr. ?, ?, form, shape, outline, plan, fr. ?,
   ?, to have or hold, to hold out, sustain, check, stop; cf.
   Skr. sah to be victorious, to endure, to hold out, AS. sige
   victory, G. sieg. Cf. {Epoch}, {Hectic}, {School}.]
   1. A combination of things connected and adjusted by design;
      a system.
            The appearance and outward scheme of things.
                                                  --Locke.
            Such a scheme of things as shall at once take in
            time and eternity.                    --Atterbury.
            Arguments . . . sufficient to support and
            demonstrate a whole scheme of moral philosophy. --J.
                                                  Edwards.
            The Revolution came and changed his whole scheme of
            life.                                 --Macaulay.
   2. A plan or theory something to be done; a design; a
      project; as, to form a scheme.
            The stoical scheme of supplying our wants by lopping
            off our desires, is like cutting off our feet when
            we want shoes.                        --Swift.
   3. Any lineal or mathematical diagram; an outline.
            To draw an exact scheme of Constantinople, or a map
            of France.                            --South.
   4. (Astrol.) A representation of the aspects of the celestial
      bodies for any moment or at a given event.
            A blue silk case, from which was drawn a scheme of
            nativity.                             --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.
   Syn: Plan; project; contrivance; purpose; device; plot.
   Usage: {Scheme}, {Plan}. Scheme and plan are subordinate to
          design; they propose modes of carrying our designs
          into effect. Scheme is the least definite of the two,
          and lies more in speculation. A plan is drawn out into
          details with a view to being carried into effect. As
          schemes are speculative, they often prove visionary;
          hence the opprobrious use of the words schemer and
          scheming. Plans, being more practical, are more
          frequently carried into effect.
                He forms the well-concerted scheme of mischief;
                'T is fixed, 't is done, and both are doomed to
                death.                            --Rowe.
                Artists and plans relieved my solemn hours; I
                founded palaces, and planted bowers. --Prior.
   

2. \Scheme\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Schemed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Scheming}.]
   To make a scheme of; to plan; to design; to project; to plot.
         That wickedness which schemed, and executed, his
         destruction.                             --G. Stuart.
   

3. \Scheme\, v. i.
   To form a scheme or schemes.
   

(Originally "Schemer", by analogy with Planner and Conniver). A small, uniform Lisp dialect with clean semantics, developed initially by Guy Steele and Gerald Sussman in 1975. Scheme uses applicative order reduction and is lexically scoped. It treats both functions and continuations as first-class objects.

One of the most used implementations is DrScheme, others include Bigloo, Elk, Liar, Orbit, Scheme86 (Indiana U), SCM, MacScheme (Semantic Microsystems), PC Scheme (TI), MIT Scheme, and T.

See also Kamin's interpreters, PSD, PseudoScheme, Schematik, Scheme Repository, STk, syntax-case, Tiny Clos, Paradigms of AI Programming.

There have been a series of revisions of the report defining Scheme, known as RRS (Revised Report on Scheme), R2RS (Revised Revised Report ..), R3RS, R3.899RS, R4RS.

Scheme resources.

Mailing list: [email protected].

[IEEE P1178-1990, "IEEE Standard for the Scheme Programming Language", ISBN 1-55937-125-0].