Question

I am wondering if there is a way to write a test framework (a very small one, just as an interesting example of Scheme code) that uses neither APPLY nor macros. I suppose not, since any test framework would need to at least get a list of arguments and apply procedures to them.

Answer 1

You could do that if you only use thunks for computations that you want to test. But both macros and apply will generally make it more convenient to use and to implement. (You should probably also have a look at the number of lightweight testing frameworks floating around.)