1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
2 @setfilename ../info/cl
3 @settitle Common Lisp Extensions
6 This file documents the GNU Emacs Common Lisp emulation package.
8 Copyright @copyright{} 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
9 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
12 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
13 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
14 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
15 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
16 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
17 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
18 License'' in the Emacs manual.
20 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
21 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
22 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
24 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
25 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
26 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
27 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
33 * CL: (cl). Partial Common Lisp support for Emacs Lisp.
40 @center @titlefont{Common Lisp Extensions}
42 @center For GNU Emacs Lisp
46 @center Dave Gillespie
47 @center daveg@@synaptics.com
49 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
53 @node Top, Overview, (dir), (dir)
57 This document describes a set of Emacs Lisp facilities borrowed from
58 Common Lisp. All the facilities are described here in detail. While
59 this document does not assume any prior knowledge of Common Lisp, it
60 does assume a basic familiarity with Emacs Lisp.
63 * Overview:: Installation, usage, etc.
64 * Program Structure:: Arglists, `eval-when', `defalias'
65 * Predicates:: `typep', `eql', and `equalp'
66 * Control Structure:: `setf', `do', `loop', etc.
67 * Macros:: Destructuring, `define-compiler-macro'
68 * Declarations:: `proclaim', `declare', etc.
69 * Symbols:: Property lists, `gensym'
70 * Numbers:: Predicates, functions, random numbers
71 * Sequences:: Mapping, functions, searching, sorting
72 * Lists:: `cadr', `sublis', `member*', `assoc*', etc.
73 * Structures:: `defstruct'
74 * Assertions:: `check-type', `assert', `ignore-errors'.
76 * Efficiency Concerns:: Hints and techniques
77 * Common Lisp Compatibility:: All known differences with Steele
78 * Old CL Compatibility:: All known differences with old cl.el
79 * Porting Common Lisp:: Hints for porting Common Lisp code
85 @node Overview, Program Structure, Top, Top
91 Common Lisp is a huge language, and Common Lisp systems tend to be
92 massive and extremely complex. Emacs Lisp, by contrast, is rather
93 minimalist in the choice of Lisp features it offers the programmer.
94 As Emacs Lisp programmers have grown in number, and the applications
95 they write have grown more ambitious, it has become clear that Emacs
96 Lisp could benefit from many of the conveniences of Common Lisp.
98 The @dfn{CL} package adds a number of Common Lisp functions and
99 control structures to Emacs Lisp. While not a 100% complete
100 implementation of Common Lisp, @dfn{CL} adds enough functionality
101 to make Emacs Lisp programming significantly more convenient.
103 @strong{Please note:} the @dfn{CL} functions are not standard parts of
104 the Emacs Lisp name space, so it is legitimate for users to define
105 them with other, conflicting meanings. To avoid conflicting with
106 those user activities, we have a policy that packages installed in
107 Emacs must not load @dfn{CL} at run time. (It is ok for them to load
108 @dfn{CL} at compile time only, with @code{eval-when-compile}, and use
109 the macros it provides.) If you are writing packages that you plan to
110 distribute and invite widespread use for, you might want to observe
113 Some Common Lisp features have been omitted from this package
118 Some features are too complex or bulky relative to their benefit
119 to Emacs Lisp programmers. CLOS and Common Lisp streams are fine
120 examples of this group.
123 Other features cannot be implemented without modification to the
124 Emacs Lisp interpreter itself, such as multiple return values,
125 lexical scoping, case-insensitive symbols, and complex numbers.
126 The @dfn{CL} package generally makes no attempt to emulate these
130 Some features conflict with existing things in Emacs Lisp. For
131 example, Emacs' @code{assoc} function is incompatible with the
132 Common Lisp @code{assoc}. In such cases, this package usually
133 adds the suffix @samp{*} to the function name of the Common
134 Lisp version of the function (e.g., @code{assoc*}).
137 The package described here was written by Dave Gillespie,
138 @file{daveg@@synaptics.com}. It is a total rewrite of the original
139 1986 @file{cl.el} package by Cesar Quiroz. Most features of the
140 Quiroz package have been retained; any incompatibilities are
141 noted in the descriptions below. Care has been taken in this
142 version to ensure that each function is defined efficiently,
143 concisely, and with minimal impact on the rest of the Emacs
147 * Usage:: How to use the CL package
148 * Organization:: The package's five component files
149 * Installation:: Compiling and installing CL
150 * Naming Conventions:: Notes on CL function names
153 @node Usage, Organization, Overview, Overview
157 Lisp code that uses features from the @dfn{CL} package should
158 include at the beginning:
165 If you want to ensure that the new (Gillespie) version of @dfn{CL}
166 is the one that is present, add an additional @code{(require 'cl-19)}
175 The second call will fail (with ``@file{cl-19.el} not found'') if
176 the old @file{cl.el} package was in use.
178 It is safe to arrange to load @dfn{CL} at all times, e.g.,
179 in your @file{.emacs} file. But it's a good idea, for portability,
180 to @code{(require 'cl)} in your code even if you do this.
182 @node Organization, Installation, Usage, Overview
183 @section Organization
186 The Common Lisp package is organized into four files:
190 This is the ``main'' file, which contains basic functions
191 and information about the package. This file is relatively
192 compact---about 700 lines.
195 This file contains the larger, more complex or unusual functions.
196 It is kept separate so that packages which only want to use Common
197 Lisp fundamentals like the @code{cadr} function won't need to pay
198 the overhead of loading the more advanced functions.
201 This file contains most of the advanced functions for operating
202 on sequences or lists, such as @code{delete-if} and @code{assoc*}.
205 This file contains the features of the packages which are macros
206 instead of functions. Macros expand when the caller is compiled,
207 not when it is run, so the macros generally only need to be
208 present when the byte-compiler is running (or when the macros are
209 used in uncompiled code such as a @file{.emacs} file). Most of
210 the macros of this package are isolated in @file{cl-macs.el} so
211 that they won't take up memory unless you are compiling.
214 The file @file{cl.el} includes all necessary @code{autoload}
215 commands for the functions and macros in the other three files.
216 All you have to do is @code{(require 'cl)}, and @file{cl.el}
217 will take care of pulling in the other files when they are
220 There is another file, @file{cl-compat.el}, which defines some
221 routines from the older @file{cl.el} package that are no longer
222 present in the new package. This includes internal routines
223 like @code{setelt} and @code{zip-lists}, deprecated features
224 like @code{defkeyword}, and an emulation of the old-style
225 multiple-values feature. @xref{Old CL Compatibility}.
227 @node Installation, Naming Conventions, Organization, Overview
228 @section Installation
231 Installation of the @dfn{CL} package is simple: Just put the
232 byte-compiled files @file{cl.elc}, @file{cl-extra.elc},
233 @file{cl-seq.elc}, @file{cl-macs.elc}, and @file{cl-compat.elc}
234 into a directory on your @code{load-path}.
236 There are no special requirements to compile this package:
237 The files do not have to be loaded before they are compiled,
238 nor do they need to be compiled in any particular order.
240 You may choose to put the files into your main @file{lisp/}
241 directory, replacing the original @file{cl.el} file there. Or,
242 you could put them into a directory that comes before @file{lisp/}
243 on your @code{load-path} so that the old @file{cl.el} is
246 Also, format the @file{cl.texinfo} file and put the resulting
247 Info files in the @file{info/} directory or another suitable place.
249 You may instead wish to leave this package's components all in
250 their own directory, and then add this directory to your
251 @code{load-path} and @code{Info-directory-list}.
252 Add the directory to the front of the list so the old @dfn{CL}
253 package and its documentation are hidden.
255 @node Naming Conventions, , Installation, Overview
256 @section Naming Conventions
259 Except where noted, all functions defined by this package have the
260 same names and calling conventions as their Common Lisp counterparts.
262 Following is a complete list of functions whose names were changed
263 from Common Lisp, usually to avoid conflicts with Emacs. In each
264 case, a @samp{*} has been appended to the Common Lisp name to obtain
268 defun* defsubst* defmacro* function*
269 member* assoc* rassoc* get*
270 remove* delete* mapcar* sort*
271 floor* ceiling* truncate* round*
275 Internal function and variable names in the package are prefixed
276 by @code{cl-}. Here is a complete list of functions @emph{not}
277 prefixed by @code{cl-} which were not taken from Common Lisp:
280 floatp-safe lexical-let lexical-let*
281 callf callf2 letf letf*
285 The following simple functions and macros are defined in @file{cl.el};
286 they do not cause other components like @file{cl-extra} to be loaded.
290 evenp oddp plusp minusp
292 list* ldiff rest first .. tenth
293 copy-list subst mapcar* [2]
294 adjoin [3] acons pairlis pop [4]
295 push [4] pushnew [3,4] incf [4] decf [4]
300 [2] Only for one sequence argument or two list arguments.
303 [3] Only if @code{:test} is @code{eq}, @code{equal}, or unspecified,
304 and @code{:key} is not used.
307 [4] Only when @var{place} is a plain variable name.
313 @node Program Structure, Predicates, Overview, Top
314 @chapter Program Structure
317 This section describes features of the @dfn{CL} package which have to
318 do with programs as a whole: advanced argument lists for functions,
319 and the @code{eval-when} construct.
322 * Argument Lists:: `&key', `&aux', `defun*', `defmacro*'.
323 * Time of Evaluation:: The `eval-when' construct.
330 @node Argument Lists, Time of Evaluation, Program Structure, Program Structure
331 @section Argument Lists
334 Emacs Lisp's notation for argument lists of functions is a subset of
335 the Common Lisp notation. As well as the familiar @code{&optional}
336 and @code{&rest} markers, Common Lisp allows you to specify default
337 values for optional arguments, and it provides the additional markers
338 @code{&key} and @code{&aux}.
340 Since argument parsing is built-in to Emacs, there is no way for
341 this package to implement Common Lisp argument lists seamlessly.
342 Instead, this package defines alternates for several Lisp forms
343 which you must use if you need Common Lisp argument lists.
345 @defspec defun* name arglist body...
346 This form is identical to the regular @code{defun} form, except
347 that @var{arglist} is allowed to be a full Common Lisp argument
348 list. Also, the function body is enclosed in an implicit block
349 called @var{name}; @pxref{Blocks and Exits}.
352 @defspec defsubst* name arglist body...
353 This is just like @code{defun*}, except that the function that
354 is defined is automatically proclaimed @code{inline}, i.e.,
355 calls to it may be expanded into in-line code by the byte compiler.
356 This is analogous to the @code{defsubst} form;
357 @code{defsubst*} uses a different method (compiler macros) which
358 works in all version of Emacs, and also generates somewhat more
359 efficient inline expansions. In particular, @code{defsubst*}
360 arranges for the processing of keyword arguments, default values,
361 etc., to be done at compile-time whenever possible.
364 @defspec defmacro* name arglist body...
365 This is identical to the regular @code{defmacro} form,
366 except that @var{arglist} is allowed to be a full Common Lisp
367 argument list. The @code{&environment} keyword is supported as
368 described in Steele. The @code{&whole} keyword is supported only
369 within destructured lists (see below); top-level @code{&whole}
370 cannot be implemented with the current Emacs Lisp interpreter.
371 The macro expander body is enclosed in an implicit block called
375 @defspec function* symbol-or-lambda
376 This is identical to the regular @code{function} form,
377 except that if the argument is a @code{lambda} form then that
378 form may use a full Common Lisp argument list.
381 Also, all forms (such as @code{defsetf} and @code{flet}) defined
382 in this package that include @var{arglist}s in their syntax allow
383 full Common Lisp argument lists.
385 Note that it is @emph{not} necessary to use @code{defun*} in
386 order to have access to most @dfn{CL} features in your function.
387 These features are always present; @code{defun*}'s only
388 difference from @code{defun} is its more flexible argument
389 lists and its implicit block.
391 The full form of a Common Lisp argument list is
395 &optional (@var{var} @var{initform} @var{svar})...
397 &key ((@var{keyword} @var{var}) @var{initform} @var{svar})...
398 &aux (@var{var} @var{initform})...)
401 Each of the five argument list sections is optional. The @var{svar},
402 @var{initform}, and @var{keyword} parts are optional; if they are
403 omitted, then @samp{(@var{var})} may be written simply @samp{@var{var}}.
405 The first section consists of zero or more @dfn{required} arguments.
406 These arguments must always be specified in a call to the function;
407 there is no difference between Emacs Lisp and Common Lisp as far as
408 required arguments are concerned.
410 The second section consists of @dfn{optional} arguments. These
411 arguments may be specified in the function call; if they are not,
412 @var{initform} specifies the default value used for the argument.
413 (No @var{initform} means to use @code{nil} as the default.) The
414 @var{initform} is evaluated with the bindings for the preceding
415 arguments already established; @code{(a &optional (b (1+ a)))}
416 matches one or two arguments, with the second argument defaulting
417 to one plus the first argument. If the @var{svar} is specified,
418 it is an auxiliary variable which is bound to @code{t} if the optional
419 argument was specified, or to @code{nil} if the argument was omitted.
420 If you don't use an @var{svar}, then there will be no way for your
421 function to tell whether it was called with no argument, or with
422 the default value passed explicitly as an argument.
424 The third section consists of a single @dfn{rest} argument. If
425 more arguments were passed to the function than are accounted for
426 by the required and optional arguments, those extra arguments are
427 collected into a list and bound to the ``rest'' argument variable.
428 Common Lisp's @code{&rest} is equivalent to that of Emacs Lisp.
429 Common Lisp accepts @code{&body} as a synonym for @code{&rest} in
430 macro contexts; this package accepts it all the time.
432 The fourth section consists of @dfn{keyword} arguments. These
433 are optional arguments which are specified by name rather than
434 positionally in the argument list. For example,
437 (defun* foo (a &optional b &key c d (e 17)))
441 defines a function which may be called with one, two, or more
442 arguments. The first two arguments are bound to @code{a} and
443 @code{b} in the usual way. The remaining arguments must be
444 pairs of the form @code{:c}, @code{:d}, or @code{:e} followed
445 by the value to be bound to the corresponding argument variable.
446 (Symbols whose names begin with a colon are called @dfn{keywords},
447 and they are self-quoting in the same way as @code{nil} and
450 For example, the call @code{(foo 1 2 :d 3 :c 4)} sets the five
451 arguments to 1, 2, 4, 3, and 17, respectively. If the same keyword
452 appears more than once in the function call, the first occurrence
453 takes precedence over the later ones. Note that it is not possible
454 to specify keyword arguments without specifying the optional
455 argument @code{b} as well, since @code{(foo 1 :c 2)} would bind
456 @code{b} to the keyword @code{:c}, then signal an error because
457 @code{2} is not a valid keyword.
459 If a @var{keyword} symbol is explicitly specified in the argument
460 list as shown in the above diagram, then that keyword will be
461 used instead of just the variable name prefixed with a colon.
462 You can specify a @var{keyword} symbol which does not begin with
463 a colon at all, but such symbols will not be self-quoting; you
464 will have to quote them explicitly with an apostrophe in the
467 Ordinarily it is an error to pass an unrecognized keyword to
468 a function, e.g., @code{(foo 1 2 :c 3 :goober 4)}. You can ask
469 Lisp to ignore unrecognized keywords, either by adding the
470 marker @code{&allow-other-keys} after the keyword section
471 of the argument list, or by specifying an @code{:allow-other-keys}
472 argument in the call whose value is non-@code{nil}. If the
473 function uses both @code{&rest} and @code{&key} at the same time,
474 the ``rest'' argument is bound to the keyword list as it appears
475 in the call. For example:
478 (defun* find-thing (thing &rest rest &key need &allow-other-keys)
479 (or (apply 'member* thing thing-list :allow-other-keys t rest)
480 (if need (error "Thing not found"))))
484 This function takes a @code{:need} keyword argument, but also
485 accepts other keyword arguments which are passed on to the
486 @code{member*} function. @code{allow-other-keys} is used to
487 keep both @code{find-thing} and @code{member*} from complaining
488 about each others' keywords in the arguments.
490 The fifth section of the argument list consists of @dfn{auxiliary
491 variables}. These are not really arguments at all, but simply
492 variables which are bound to @code{nil} or to the specified
493 @var{initforms} during execution of the function. There is no
494 difference between the following two functions, except for a
495 matter of stylistic taste:
498 (defun* foo (a b &aux (c (+ a b)) d)
506 Argument lists support @dfn{destructuring}. In Common Lisp,
507 destructuring is only allowed with @code{defmacro}; this package
508 allows it with @code{defun*} and other argument lists as well.
509 In destructuring, any argument variable (@var{var} in the above
510 diagram) can be replaced by a list of variables, or more generally,
511 a recursive argument list. The corresponding argument value must
512 be a list whose elements match this recursive argument list.
516 (defmacro* dolist ((var listform &optional resultform)
521 This says that the first argument of @code{dolist} must be a list
522 of two or three items; if there are other arguments as well as this
523 list, they are stored in @code{body}. All features allowed in
524 regular argument lists are allowed in these recursive argument lists.
525 In addition, the clause @samp{&whole @var{var}} is allowed at the
526 front of a recursive argument list. It binds @var{var} to the
527 whole list being matched; thus @code{(&whole all a b)} matches
528 a list of two things, with @code{a} bound to the first thing,
529 @code{b} bound to the second thing, and @code{all} bound to the
530 list itself. (Common Lisp allows @code{&whole} in top-level
531 @code{defmacro} argument lists as well, but Emacs Lisp does not
534 One last feature of destructuring is that the argument list may be
535 dotted, so that the argument list @code{(a b . c)} is functionally
536 equivalent to @code{(a b &rest c)}.
538 If the optimization quality @code{safety} is set to 0
539 (@pxref{Declarations}), error checking for wrong number of
540 arguments and invalid keyword arguments is disabled. By default,
541 argument lists are rigorously checked.
543 @node Time of Evaluation, , Argument Lists, Program Structure
544 @section Time of Evaluation
547 Normally, the byte-compiler does not actually execute the forms in
548 a file it compiles. For example, if a file contains @code{(setq foo t)},
549 the act of compiling it will not actually set @code{foo} to @code{t}.
550 This is true even if the @code{setq} was a top-level form (i.e., not
551 enclosed in a @code{defun} or other form). Sometimes, though, you
552 would like to have certain top-level forms evaluated at compile-time.
553 For example, the compiler effectively evaluates @code{defmacro} forms
554 at compile-time so that later parts of the file can refer to the
555 macros that are defined.
557 @defspec eval-when (situations...) forms...
558 This form controls when the body @var{forms} are evaluated.
559 The @var{situations} list may contain any set of the symbols
560 @code{compile}, @code{load}, and @code{eval} (or their long-winded
561 ANSI equivalents, @code{:compile-toplevel}, @code{:load-toplevel},
562 and @code{:execute}).
564 The @code{eval-when} form is handled differently depending on
565 whether or not it is being compiled as a top-level form.
566 Specifically, it gets special treatment if it is being compiled
567 by a command such as @code{byte-compile-file} which compiles files
568 or buffers of code, and it appears either literally at the
569 top level of the file or inside a top-level @code{progn}.
571 For compiled top-level @code{eval-when}s, the body @var{forms} are
572 executed at compile-time if @code{compile} is in the @var{situations}
573 list, and the @var{forms} are written out to the file (to be executed
574 at load-time) if @code{load} is in the @var{situations} list.
576 For non-compiled-top-level forms, only the @code{eval} situation is
577 relevant. (This includes forms executed by the interpreter, forms
578 compiled with @code{byte-compile} rather than @code{byte-compile-file},
579 and non-top-level forms.) The @code{eval-when} acts like a
580 @code{progn} if @code{eval} is specified, and like @code{nil}
581 (ignoring the body @var{forms}) if not.
583 The rules become more subtle when @code{eval-when}s are nested;
584 consult Steele (second edition) for the gruesome details (and
585 some gruesome examples).
587 Some simple examples:
590 ;; Top-level forms in foo.el:
591 (eval-when (compile) (setq foo1 'bar))
592 (eval-when (load) (setq foo2 'bar))
593 (eval-when (compile load) (setq foo3 'bar))
594 (eval-when (eval) (setq foo4 'bar))
595 (eval-when (eval compile) (setq foo5 'bar))
596 (eval-when (eval load) (setq foo6 'bar))
597 (eval-when (eval compile load) (setq foo7 'bar))
600 When @file{foo.el} is compiled, these variables will be set during
601 the compilation itself:
604 foo1 foo3 foo5 foo7 ; `compile'
607 When @file{foo.elc} is loaded, these variables will be set:
610 foo2 foo3 foo6 foo7 ; `load'
613 And if @file{foo.el} is loaded uncompiled, these variables will
617 foo4 foo5 foo6 foo7 ; `eval'
620 If these seven @code{eval-when}s had been, say, inside a @code{defun},
621 then the first three would have been equivalent to @code{nil} and the
622 last four would have been equivalent to the corresponding @code{setq}s.
624 Note that @code{(eval-when (load eval) @dots{})} is equivalent
625 to @code{(progn @dots{})} in all contexts. The compiler treats
626 certain top-level forms, like @code{defmacro} (sort-of) and
627 @code{require}, as if they were wrapped in @code{(eval-when
628 (compile load eval) @dots{})}.
631 Emacs includes two special forms related to @code{eval-when}.
632 One of these, @code{eval-when-compile}, is not quite equivalent to
633 any @code{eval-when} construct and is described below.
635 The other form, @code{(eval-and-compile @dots{})}, is exactly
636 equivalent to @samp{(eval-when (compile load eval) @dots{})} and
637 so is not itself defined by this package.
639 @defspec eval-when-compile forms...
640 The @var{forms} are evaluated at compile-time; at execution time,
641 this form acts like a quoted constant of the resulting value. Used
642 at top-level, @code{eval-when-compile} is just like @samp{eval-when
643 (compile eval)}. In other contexts, @code{eval-when-compile}
644 allows code to be evaluated once at compile-time for efficiency
647 This form is similar to the @samp{#.} syntax of true Common Lisp.
650 @defspec load-time-value form
651 The @var{form} is evaluated at load-time; at execution time,
652 this form acts like a quoted constant of the resulting value.
654 Early Common Lisp had a @samp{#,} syntax that was similar to
655 this, but ANSI Common Lisp replaced it with @code{load-time-value}
656 and gave it more well-defined semantics.
658 In a compiled file, @code{load-time-value} arranges for @var{form}
659 to be evaluated when the @file{.elc} file is loaded and then used
660 as if it were a quoted constant. In code compiled by
661 @code{byte-compile} rather than @code{byte-compile-file}, the
662 effect is identical to @code{eval-when-compile}. In uncompiled
663 code, both @code{eval-when-compile} and @code{load-time-value}
664 act exactly like @code{progn}.
668 (insert "This function was executed on: "
669 (current-time-string)
671 (eval-when-compile (current-time-string))
672 ;; or '#.(current-time-string) in real Common Lisp
674 (load-time-value (current-time-string))))
678 Byte-compiled, the above defun will result in the following code
679 (or its compiled equivalent, of course) in the @file{.elc} file:
682 (setq --temp-- (current-time-string))
684 (insert "This function was executed on: "
685 (current-time-string)
687 '"Wed Jun 23 18:33:43 1993"
693 @node Predicates, Control Structure, Program Structure, Top
697 This section describes functions for testing whether various
698 facts are true or false.
701 * Type Predicates:: `typep', `deftype', and `coerce'
702 * Equality Predicates:: `eql' and `equalp'
705 @node Type Predicates, Equality Predicates, Predicates, Predicates
706 @section Type Predicates
709 The @dfn{CL} package defines a version of the Common Lisp @code{typep}
712 @defun typep object type
713 Check if @var{object} is of type @var{type}, where @var{type} is a
714 (quoted) type name of the sort used by Common Lisp. For example,
715 @code{(typep foo 'integer)} is equivalent to @code{(integerp foo)}.
718 The @var{type} argument to the above function is either a symbol
719 or a list beginning with a symbol.
723 If the type name is a symbol, Emacs appends @samp{-p} to the
724 symbol name to form the name of a predicate function for testing
725 the type. (Built-in predicates whose names end in @samp{p} rather
726 than @samp{-p} are used when appropriate.)
729 The type symbol @code{t} stands for the union of all types.
730 @code{(typep @var{object} t)} is always true. Likewise, the
731 type symbol @code{nil} stands for nothing at all, and
732 @code{(typep @var{object} nil)} is always false.
735 The type symbol @code{null} represents the symbol @code{nil}.
736 Thus @code{(typep @var{object} 'null)} is equivalent to
737 @code{(null @var{object})}.
740 The type symbol @code{atom} represents all objects that are not cons
741 cells. Thus @code{(typep @var{object} 'atom)} is equivalent to
742 @code{(atom @var{object})}.
745 The type symbol @code{real} is a synonym for @code{number}, and
746 @code{fixnum} is a synonym for @code{integer}.
749 The type symbols @code{character} and @code{string-char} match
750 integers in the range from 0 to 255.
753 The type symbol @code{float} uses the @code{floatp-safe} predicate
754 defined by this package rather than @code{floatp}, so it will work
755 correctly even in Emacs versions without floating-point support.
758 The type list @code{(integer @var{low} @var{high})} represents all
759 integers between @var{low} and @var{high}, inclusive. Either bound
760 may be a list of a single integer to specify an exclusive limit,
761 or a @code{*} to specify no limit. The type @code{(integer * *)}
762 is thus equivalent to @code{integer}.
765 Likewise, lists beginning with @code{float}, @code{real}, or
766 @code{number} represent numbers of that type falling in a particular
770 Lists beginning with @code{and}, @code{or}, and @code{not} form
771 combinations of types. For example, @code{(or integer (float 0 *))}
772 represents all objects that are integers or non-negative floats.
775 Lists beginning with @code{member} or @code{member*} represent
776 objects @code{eql} to any of the following values. For example,
777 @code{(member 1 2 3 4)} is equivalent to @code{(integer 1 4)},
778 and @code{(member nil)} is equivalent to @code{null}.
781 Lists of the form @code{(satisfies @var{predicate})} represent
782 all objects for which @var{predicate} returns true when called
783 with that object as an argument.
786 The following function and macro (not technically predicates) are
787 related to @code{typep}.
789 @defun coerce object type
790 This function attempts to convert @var{object} to the specified
791 @var{type}. If @var{object} is already of that type as determined by
792 @code{typep}, it is simply returned. Otherwise, certain types of
793 conversions will be made: If @var{type} is any sequence type
794 (@code{string}, @code{list}, etc.) then @var{object} will be
795 converted to that type if possible. If @var{type} is
796 @code{character}, then strings of length one and symbols with
797 one-character names can be coerced. If @var{type} is @code{float},
798 then integers can be coerced in versions of Emacs that support
799 floats. In all other circumstances, @code{coerce} signals an
803 @defspec deftype name arglist forms...
804 This macro defines a new type called @var{name}. It is similar
805 to @code{defmacro} in many ways; when @var{name} is encountered
806 as a type name, the body @var{forms} are evaluated and should
807 return a type specifier that is equivalent to the type. The
808 @var{arglist} is a Common Lisp argument list of the sort accepted
809 by @code{defmacro*}. The type specifier @samp{(@var{name} @var{args}...)}
810 is expanded by calling the expander with those arguments; the type
811 symbol @samp{@var{name}} is expanded by calling the expander with
812 no arguments. The @var{arglist} is processed the same as for
813 @code{defmacro*} except that optional arguments without explicit
814 defaults use @code{*} instead of @code{nil} as the ``default''
815 default. Some examples:
818 (deftype null () '(satisfies null)) ; predefined
819 (deftype list () '(or null cons)) ; predefined
820 (deftype unsigned-byte (&optional bits)
821 (list 'integer 0 (if (eq bits '*) bits (1- (lsh 1 bits)))))
822 (unsigned-byte 8) @equiv{} (integer 0 255)
823 (unsigned-byte) @equiv{} (integer 0 *)
824 unsigned-byte @equiv{} (integer 0 *)
828 The last example shows how the Common Lisp @code{unsigned-byte}
829 type specifier could be implemented if desired; this package does
830 not implement @code{unsigned-byte} by default.
833 The @code{typecase} and @code{check-type} macros also use type
834 names. @xref{Conditionals}. @xref{Assertions}. The @code{map},
835 @code{concatenate}, and @code{merge} functions take type-name
836 arguments to specify the type of sequence to return. @xref{Sequences}.
838 @node Equality Predicates, , Type Predicates, Predicates
839 @section Equality Predicates
842 This package defines two Common Lisp predicates, @code{eql} and
846 This function is almost the same as @code{eq}, except that if @var{a}
847 and @var{b} are numbers of the same type, it compares them for numeric
848 equality (as if by @code{equal} instead of @code{eq}). This makes a
849 difference only for versions of Emacs that are compiled with
850 floating-point support. Emacs floats are allocated
851 objects just like cons cells, which means that @code{(eq 3.0 3.0)}
852 will not necessarily be true---if the two @code{3.0}s were allocated
853 separately, the pointers will be different even though the numbers are
854 the same. But @code{(eql 3.0 3.0)} will always be true.
856 The types of the arguments must match, so @code{(eql 3 3.0)} is
859 Note that Emacs integers are ``direct'' rather than allocated, which
860 basically means @code{(eq 3 3)} will always be true. Thus @code{eq}
861 and @code{eql} behave differently only if floating-point numbers are
862 involved, and are indistinguishable on Emacs versions that don't
865 There is a slight inconsistency with Common Lisp in the treatment of
866 positive and negative zeros. Some machines, notably those with IEEE
867 standard arithmetic, represent @code{+0} and @code{-0} as distinct
868 values. Normally this doesn't matter because the standard specifies
869 that @code{(= 0.0 -0.0)} should always be true, and this is indeed
870 what Emacs Lisp and Common Lisp do. But the Common Lisp standard
871 states that @code{(eql 0.0 -0.0)} and @code{(equal 0.0 -0.0)} should
872 be false on IEEE-like machines; Emacs Lisp does not do this, and in
873 fact the only known way to distinguish between the two zeros in Emacs
874 Lisp is to @code{format} them and check for a minus sign.
878 This function is a more flexible version of @code{equal}. In
879 particular, it compares strings case-insensitively, and it compares
880 numbers without regard to type (so that @code{(equalp 3 3.0)} is
881 true). Vectors and conses are compared recursively. All other
882 objects are compared as if by @code{equal}.
884 This function differs from Common Lisp @code{equalp} in several
885 respects. First, Common Lisp's @code{equalp} also compares
886 @emph{characters} case-insensitively, which would be impractical
887 in this package since Emacs does not distinguish between integers
888 and characters. In keeping with the idea that strings are less
889 vector-like in Emacs Lisp, this package's @code{equalp} also will
890 not compare strings against vectors of integers.
893 Also note that the Common Lisp functions @code{member} and @code{assoc}
894 use @code{eql} to compare elements, whereas Emacs Lisp follows the
895 MacLisp tradition and uses @code{equal} for these two functions.
896 In Emacs, use @code{member*} and @code{assoc*} to get functions
897 which use @code{eql} for comparisons.
899 @node Control Structure, Macros, Predicates, Top
900 @chapter Control Structure
903 The features described in the following sections implement
904 various advanced control structures, including the powerful
905 @code{setf} facility and a number of looping and conditional
909 * Assignment:: The `psetq' form
910 * Generalized Variables:: `setf', `incf', `push', etc.
911 * Variable Bindings:: `progv', `lexical-let', `flet', `macrolet'
912 * Conditionals:: `case', `typecase'
913 * Blocks and Exits:: `block', `return', `return-from'
914 * Iteration:: `do', `dotimes', `dolist', `do-symbols'
915 * Loop Facility:: The Common Lisp `loop' macro
916 * Multiple Values:: `values', `multiple-value-bind', etc.
919 @node Assignment, Generalized Variables, Control Structure, Control Structure
923 The @code{psetq} form is just like @code{setq}, except that multiple
924 assignments are done in parallel rather than sequentially.
926 @defspec psetq [symbol form]@dots{}
927 This special form (actually a macro) is used to assign to several
928 variables simultaneously. Given only one @var{symbol} and @var{form},
929 it has the same effect as @code{setq}. Given several @var{symbol}
930 and @var{form} pairs, it evaluates all the @var{form}s in advance
931 and then stores the corresponding variables afterwards.
935 (setq x (+ x y) y (* x y))
938 y ; @r{@code{y} was computed after @code{x} was set.}
941 (psetq x (+ x y) y (* x y))
944 y ; @r{@code{y} was computed before @code{x} was set.}
948 The simplest use of @code{psetq} is @code{(psetq x y y x)}, which
949 exchanges the values of two variables. (The @code{rotatef} form
950 provides an even more convenient way to swap two variables;
951 @pxref{Modify Macros}.)
953 @code{psetq} always returns @code{nil}.
956 @node Generalized Variables, Variable Bindings, Assignment, Control Structure
957 @section Generalized Variables
960 A ``generalized variable'' or ``place form'' is one of the many places
961 in Lisp memory where values can be stored. The simplest place form is
962 a regular Lisp variable. But the cars and cdrs of lists, elements
963 of arrays, properties of symbols, and many other locations are also
964 places where Lisp values are stored.
966 The @code{setf} form is like @code{setq}, except that it accepts
967 arbitrary place forms on the left side rather than just
968 symbols. For example, @code{(setf (car a) b)} sets the car of
969 @code{a} to @code{b}, doing the same operation as @code{(setcar a b)}
970 but without having to remember two separate functions for setting
971 and accessing every type of place.
973 Generalized variables are analogous to ``lvalues'' in the C
974 language, where @samp{x = a[i]} gets an element from an array
975 and @samp{a[i] = x} stores an element using the same notation.
976 Just as certain forms like @code{a[i]} can be lvalues in C, there
977 is a set of forms that can be generalized variables in Lisp.
980 * Basic Setf:: `setf' and place forms
981 * Modify Macros:: `incf', `push', `rotatef', `letf', `callf', etc.
982 * Customizing Setf:: `define-modify-macro', `defsetf', `define-setf-method'
985 @node Basic Setf, Modify Macros, Generalized Variables, Generalized Variables
986 @subsection Basic Setf
989 The @code{setf} macro is the most basic way to operate on generalized
992 @defspec setf [place form]@dots{}
993 This macro evaluates @var{form} and stores it in @var{place}, which
994 must be a valid generalized variable form. If there are several
995 @var{place} and @var{form} pairs, the assignments are done sequentially
996 just as with @code{setq}. @code{setf} returns the value of the last
999 The following Lisp forms will work as generalized variables, and
1000 so may appear in the @var{place} argument of @code{setf}:
1004 A symbol naming a variable. In other words, @code{(setf x y)} is
1005 exactly equivalent to @code{(setq x y)}, and @code{setq} itself is
1006 strictly speaking redundant now that @code{setf} exists. Many
1007 programmers continue to prefer @code{setq} for setting simple
1008 variables, though, purely for stylistic or historical reasons.
1009 The macro @code{(setf x y)} actually expands to @code{(setq x y)},
1010 so there is no performance penalty for using it in compiled code.
1013 A call to any of the following Lisp functions:
1016 car cdr caar .. cddddr
1017 nth rest first .. tenth
1019 symbol-function symbol-value symbol-plist
1025 Note that for @code{nthcdr} and @code{getf}, the list argument
1026 of the function must itself be a valid @var{place} form. For
1027 example, @code{(setf (nthcdr 0 foo) 7)} will set @code{foo} itself
1028 to 7. Note that @code{push} and @code{pop} on an @code{nthcdr}
1029 place can be used to insert or delete at any position in a list.
1030 The use of @code{nthcdr} as a @var{place} form is an extension
1031 to standard Common Lisp.
1034 The following Emacs-specific functions are also @code{setf}-able.
1037 buffer-file-name marker-position
1038 buffer-modified-p match-data
1039 buffer-name mouse-position
1040 buffer-string overlay-end
1041 buffer-substring overlay-get
1042 current-buffer overlay-start
1043 current-case-table point
1044 current-column point-marker
1045 current-global-map point-max
1046 current-input-mode point-min
1047 current-local-map process-buffer
1048 current-window-configuration process-filter
1049 default-file-modes process-sentinel
1050 default-value read-mouse-position
1051 documentation-property screen-height
1052 extent-data screen-menubar
1053 extent-end-position screen-width
1054 extent-start-position selected-window
1055 face-background selected-screen
1056 face-background-pixmap selected-frame
1057 face-font standard-case-table
1058 face-foreground syntax-table
1059 face-underline-p window-buffer
1060 file-modes window-dedicated-p
1061 frame-height window-display-table
1062 frame-parameters window-height
1063 frame-visible-p window-hscroll
1064 frame-width window-point
1065 get-register window-start
1067 global-key-binding x-get-cut-buffer
1068 keymap-parent x-get-cutbuffer
1069 local-key-binding x-get-secondary-selection
1070 mark x-get-selection
1074 Most of these have directly corresponding ``set'' functions, like
1075 @code{use-local-map} for @code{current-local-map}, or @code{goto-char}
1076 for @code{point}. A few, like @code{point-min}, expand to longer
1077 sequences of code when they are @code{setf}'d (@code{(narrow-to-region
1078 x (point-max))} in this case).
1081 A call of the form @code{(substring @var{subplace} @var{n} [@var{m}])},
1082 where @var{subplace} is itself a valid generalized variable whose
1083 current value is a string, and where the value stored is also a
1084 string. The new string is spliced into the specified part of the
1085 destination string. For example:
1088 (setq a (list "hello" "world"))
1089 @result{} ("hello" "world")
1092 (substring (cadr a) 2 4)
1094 (setf (substring (cadr a) 2 4) "o")
1099 @result{} ("hello" "wood")
1102 The generalized variable @code{buffer-substring}, listed above,
1103 also works in this way by replacing a portion of the current buffer.
1106 A call of the form @code{(apply '@var{func} @dots{})} or
1107 @code{(apply (function @var{func}) @dots{})}, where @var{func}
1108 is a @code{setf}-able function whose store function is ``suitable''
1109 in the sense described in Steele's book; since none of the standard
1110 Emacs place functions are suitable in this sense, this feature is
1111 only interesting when used with places you define yourself with
1112 @code{define-setf-method} or the long form of @code{defsetf}.
1115 A macro call, in which case the macro is expanded and @code{setf}
1116 is applied to the resulting form.
1119 Any form for which a @code{defsetf} or @code{define-setf-method}
1123 Using any forms other than these in the @var{place} argument to
1124 @code{setf} will signal an error.
1126 The @code{setf} macro takes care to evaluate all subforms in
1127 the proper left-to-right order; for example,
1130 (setf (aref vec (incf i)) i)
1134 looks like it will evaluate @code{(incf i)} exactly once, before the
1135 following access to @code{i}; the @code{setf} expander will insert
1136 temporary variables as necessary to ensure that it does in fact work
1137 this way no matter what setf-method is defined for @code{aref}.
1138 (In this case, @code{aset} would be used and no such steps would
1139 be necessary since @code{aset} takes its arguments in a convenient
1142 However, if the @var{place} form is a macro which explicitly
1143 evaluates its arguments in an unusual order, this unusual order
1144 will be preserved. Adapting an example from Steele, given
1147 (defmacro wrong-order (x y) (list 'aref y x))
1151 the form @code{(setf (wrong-order @var{a} @var{b}) 17)} will
1152 evaluate @var{b} first, then @var{a}, just as in an actual call
1153 to @code{wrong-order}.
1156 @node Modify Macros, Customizing Setf, Basic Setf, Generalized Variables
1157 @subsection Modify Macros
1160 This package defines a number of other macros besides @code{setf}
1161 that operate on generalized variables. Many are interesting and
1162 useful even when the @var{place} is just a variable name.
1164 @defspec psetf [place form]@dots{}
1165 This macro is to @code{setf} what @code{psetq} is to @code{setq}:
1166 When several @var{place}s and @var{form}s are involved, the
1167 assignments take place in parallel rather than sequentially.
1168 Specifically, all subforms are evaluated from left to right, then
1169 all the assignments are done (in an undefined order).
1172 @defspec incf place &optional x
1173 This macro increments the number stored in @var{place} by one, or
1174 by @var{x} if specified. The incremented value is returned. For
1175 example, @code{(incf i)} is equivalent to @code{(setq i (1+ i))}, and
1176 @code{(incf (car x) 2)} is equivalent to @code{(setcar x (+ (car x) 2))}.
1178 Once again, care is taken to preserve the ``apparent'' order of
1179 evaluation. For example,
1182 (incf (aref vec (incf i)))
1186 appears to increment @code{i} once, then increment the element of
1187 @code{vec} addressed by @code{i}; this is indeed exactly what it
1188 does, which means the above form is @emph{not} equivalent to the
1189 ``obvious'' expansion,
1192 (setf (aref vec (incf i)) (1+ (aref vec (incf i)))) ; Wrong!
1196 but rather to something more like
1199 (let ((temp (incf i)))
1200 (setf (aref vec temp) (1+ (aref vec temp))))
1204 Again, all of this is taken care of automatically by @code{incf} and
1205 the other generalized-variable macros.
1207 As a more Emacs-specific example of @code{incf}, the expression
1208 @code{(incf (point) @var{n})} is essentially equivalent to
1209 @code{(forward-char @var{n})}.
1212 @defspec decf place &optional x
1213 This macro decrements the number stored in @var{place} by one, or
1214 by @var{x} if specified.
1218 This macro removes and returns the first element of the list stored
1219 in @var{place}. It is analogous to @code{(prog1 (car @var{place})
1220 (setf @var{place} (cdr @var{place})))}, except that it takes care
1221 to evaluate all subforms only once.
1224 @defspec push x place
1225 This macro inserts @var{x} at the front of the list stored in
1226 @var{place}. It is analogous to @code{(setf @var{place} (cons
1227 @var{x} @var{place}))}, except for evaluation of the subforms.
1230 @defspec pushnew x place @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
1231 This macro inserts @var{x} at the front of the list stored in
1232 @var{place}, but only if @var{x} was not @code{eql} to any
1233 existing element of the list. The optional keyword arguments
1234 are interpreted in the same way as for @code{adjoin}.
1235 @xref{Lists as Sets}.
1238 @defspec shiftf place@dots{} newvalue
1239 This macro shifts the @var{place}s left by one, shifting in the
1240 value of @var{newvalue} (which may be any Lisp expression, not just
1241 a generalized variable), and returning the value shifted out of
1242 the first @var{place}. Thus, @code{(shiftf @var{a} @var{b} @var{c}
1243 @var{d})} is equivalent to
1248 (psetf @var{a} @var{b}
1254 except that the subforms of @var{a}, @var{b}, and @var{c} are actually
1255 evaluated only once each and in the apparent order.
1258 @defspec rotatef place@dots{}
1259 This macro rotates the @var{place}s left by one in circular fashion.
1260 Thus, @code{(rotatef @var{a} @var{b} @var{c} @var{d})} is equivalent to
1263 (psetf @var{a} @var{b}
1270 except for the evaluation of subforms. @code{rotatef} always
1271 returns @code{nil}. Note that @code{(rotatef @var{a} @var{b})}
1272 conveniently exchanges @var{a} and @var{b}.
1275 The following macros were invented for this package; they have no
1276 analogues in Common Lisp.
1278 @defspec letf (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1279 This macro is analogous to @code{let}, but for generalized variables
1280 rather than just symbols. Each @var{binding} should be of the form
1281 @code{(@var{place} @var{value})}; the original contents of the
1282 @var{place}s are saved, the @var{value}s are stored in them, and
1283 then the body @var{form}s are executed. Afterwards, the @var{places}
1284 are set back to their original saved contents. This cleanup happens
1285 even if the @var{form}s exit irregularly due to a @code{throw} or an
1291 (letf (((point) (point-min))
1297 moves ``point'' in the current buffer to the beginning of the buffer,
1298 and also binds @code{a} to 17 (as if by a normal @code{let}, since
1299 @code{a} is just a regular variable). After the body exits, @code{a}
1300 is set back to its original value and point is moved back to its
1303 Note that @code{letf} on @code{(point)} is not quite like a
1304 @code{save-excursion}, as the latter effectively saves a marker
1305 which tracks insertions and deletions in the buffer. Actually,
1306 a @code{letf} of @code{(point-marker)} is much closer to this
1307 behavior. (@code{point} and @code{point-marker} are equivalent
1308 as @code{setf} places; each will accept either an integer or a
1309 marker as the stored value.)
1311 Since generalized variables look like lists, @code{let}'s shorthand
1312 of using @samp{foo} for @samp{(foo nil)} as a @var{binding} would
1313 be ambiguous in @code{letf} and is not allowed.
1315 However, a @var{binding} specifier may be a one-element list
1316 @samp{(@var{place})}, which is similar to @samp{(@var{place}
1317 @var{place})}. In other words, the @var{place} is not disturbed
1318 on entry to the body, and the only effect of the @code{letf} is
1319 to restore the original value of @var{place} afterwards. (The
1320 redundant access-and-store suggested by the @code{(@var{place}
1321 @var{place})} example does not actually occur.)
1323 In most cases, the @var{place} must have a well-defined value on
1324 entry to the @code{letf} form. The only exceptions are plain
1325 variables and calls to @code{symbol-value} and @code{symbol-function}.
1326 If the symbol is not bound on entry, it is simply made unbound by
1327 @code{makunbound} or @code{fmakunbound} on exit.
1330 @defspec letf* (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1331 This macro is to @code{letf} what @code{let*} is to @code{let}:
1332 It does the bindings in sequential rather than parallel order.
1335 @defspec callf @var{function} @var{place} @var{args}@dots{}
1336 This is the ``generic'' modify macro. It calls @var{function},
1337 which should be an unquoted function name, macro name, or lambda.
1338 It passes @var{place} and @var{args} as arguments, and assigns the
1339 result back to @var{place}. For example, @code{(incf @var{place}
1340 @var{n})} is the same as @code{(callf + @var{place} @var{n})}.
1344 (callf abs my-number)
1345 (callf concat (buffer-name) "<" (int-to-string n) ">")
1346 (callf union happy-people (list joe bob) :test 'same-person)
1349 @xref{Customizing Setf}, for @code{define-modify-macro}, a way
1350 to create even more concise notations for modify macros. Note
1351 again that @code{callf} is an extension to standard Common Lisp.
1354 @defspec callf2 @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{place} @var{args}@dots{}
1355 This macro is like @code{callf}, except that @var{place} is
1356 the @emph{second} argument of @var{function} rather than the
1357 first. For example, @code{(push @var{x} @var{place})} is
1358 equivalent to @code{(callf2 cons @var{x} @var{place})}.
1361 The @code{callf} and @code{callf2} macros serve as building
1362 blocks for other macros like @code{incf}, @code{pushnew}, and
1363 @code{define-modify-macro}. The @code{letf} and @code{letf*}
1364 macros are used in the processing of symbol macros;
1365 @pxref{Macro Bindings}.
1367 @node Customizing Setf, , Modify Macros, Generalized Variables
1368 @subsection Customizing Setf
1371 Common Lisp defines three macros, @code{define-modify-macro},
1372 @code{defsetf}, and @code{define-setf-method}, that allow the
1373 user to extend generalized variables in various ways.
1375 @defspec define-modify-macro name arglist function [doc-string]
1376 This macro defines a ``read-modify-write'' macro similar to
1377 @code{incf} and @code{decf}. The macro @var{name} is defined
1378 to take a @var{place} argument followed by additional arguments
1379 described by @var{arglist}. The call
1382 (@var{name} @var{place} @var{args}...)
1389 (callf @var{func} @var{place} @var{args}...)
1393 which in turn is roughly equivalent to
1396 (setf @var{place} (@var{func} @var{place} @var{args}...))
1402 (define-modify-macro incf (&optional (n 1)) +)
1403 (define-modify-macro concatf (&rest args) concat)
1406 Note that @code{&key} is not allowed in @var{arglist}, but
1407 @code{&rest} is sufficient to pass keywords on to the function.
1409 Most of the modify macros defined by Common Lisp do not exactly
1410 follow the pattern of @code{define-modify-macro}. For example,
1411 @code{push} takes its arguments in the wrong order, and @code{pop}
1412 is completely irregular. You can define these macros ``by hand''
1413 using @code{get-setf-method}, or consult the source file
1414 @file{cl-macs.el} to see how to use the internal @code{setf}
1418 @defspec defsetf access-fn update-fn
1419 This is the simpler of two @code{defsetf} forms. Where
1420 @var{access-fn} is the name of a function which accesses a place,
1421 this declares @var{update-fn} to be the corresponding store
1422 function. From now on,
1425 (setf (@var{access-fn} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @var{arg3}) @var{value})
1432 (@var{update-fn} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @var{arg3} @var{value})
1436 The @var{update-fn} is required to be either a true function, or
1437 a macro which evaluates its arguments in a function-like way. Also,
1438 the @var{update-fn} is expected to return @var{value} as its result.
1439 Otherwise, the above expansion would not obey the rules for the way
1440 @code{setf} is supposed to behave.
1442 As a special (non-Common-Lisp) extension, a third argument of @code{t}
1443 to @code{defsetf} says that the @code{update-fn}'s return value is
1444 not suitable, so that the above @code{setf} should be expanded to
1448 (let ((temp @var{value}))
1449 (@var{update-fn} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @var{arg3} temp)
1453 Some examples of the use of @code{defsetf}, drawn from the standard
1454 suite of setf methods, are:
1457 (defsetf car setcar)
1458 (defsetf symbol-value set)
1459 (defsetf buffer-name rename-buffer t)
1463 @defspec defsetf access-fn arglist (store-var) forms@dots{}
1464 This is the second, more complex, form of @code{defsetf}. It is
1465 rather like @code{defmacro} except for the additional @var{store-var}
1466 argument. The @var{forms} should return a Lisp form which stores
1467 the value of @var{store-var} into the generalized variable formed
1468 by a call to @var{access-fn} with arguments described by @var{arglist}.
1469 The @var{forms} may begin with a string which documents the @code{setf}
1470 method (analogous to the doc string that appears at the front of a
1473 For example, the simple form of @code{defsetf} is shorthand for
1476 (defsetf @var{access-fn} (&rest args) (store)
1477 (append '(@var{update-fn}) args (list store)))
1480 The Lisp form that is returned can access the arguments from
1481 @var{arglist} and @var{store-var} in an unrestricted fashion;
1482 macros like @code{setf} and @code{incf} which invoke this
1483 setf-method will insert temporary variables as needed to make
1484 sure the apparent order of evaluation is preserved.
1486 Another example drawn from the standard package:
1489 (defsetf nth (n x) (store)
1490 (list 'setcar (list 'nthcdr n x) store))
1494 @defspec define-setf-method access-fn arglist forms@dots{}
1495 This is the most general way to create new place forms. When
1496 a @code{setf} to @var{access-fn} with arguments described by
1497 @var{arglist} is expanded, the @var{forms} are evaluated and
1498 must return a list of five items:
1502 A list of @dfn{temporary variables}.
1505 A list of @dfn{value forms} corresponding to the temporary variables
1506 above. The temporary variables will be bound to these value forms
1507 as the first step of any operation on the generalized variable.
1510 A list of exactly one @dfn{store variable} (generally obtained
1511 from a call to @code{gensym}).
1514 A Lisp form which stores the contents of the store variable into
1515 the generalized variable, assuming the temporaries have been
1516 bound as described above.
1519 A Lisp form which accesses the contents of the generalized variable,
1520 assuming the temporaries have been bound.
1523 This is exactly like the Common Lisp macro of the same name,
1524 except that the method returns a list of five values rather
1525 than the five values themselves, since Emacs Lisp does not
1526 support Common Lisp's notion of multiple return values.
1528 Once again, the @var{forms} may begin with a documentation string.
1530 A setf-method should be maximally conservative with regard to
1531 temporary variables. In the setf-methods generated by
1532 @code{defsetf}, the second return value is simply the list of
1533 arguments in the place form, and the first return value is a
1534 list of a corresponding number of temporary variables generated
1535 by @code{gensym}. Macros like @code{setf} and @code{incf} which
1536 use this setf-method will optimize away most temporaries that
1537 turn out to be unnecessary, so there is little reason for the
1538 setf-method itself to optimize.
1541 @defun get-setf-method place &optional env
1542 This function returns the setf-method for @var{place}, by
1543 invoking the definition previously recorded by @code{defsetf}
1544 or @code{define-setf-method}. The result is a list of five
1545 values as described above. You can use this function to build
1546 your own @code{incf}-like modify macros. (Actually, it is
1547 better to use the internal functions @code{cl-setf-do-modify}
1548 and @code{cl-setf-do-store}, which are a bit easier to use and
1549 which also do a number of optimizations; consult the source
1550 code for the @code{incf} function for a simple example.)
1552 The argument @var{env} specifies the ``environment'' to be
1553 passed on to @code{macroexpand} if @code{get-setf-method} should
1554 need to expand a macro in @var{place}. It should come from
1555 an @code{&environment} argument to the macro or setf-method
1556 that called @code{get-setf-method}.
1558 See also the source code for the setf-methods for @code{apply}
1559 and @code{substring}, each of which works by calling
1560 @code{get-setf-method} on a simpler case, then massaging
1561 the result in various ways.
1564 Modern Common Lisp defines a second, independent way to specify
1565 the @code{setf} behavior of a function, namely ``@code{setf}
1566 functions'' whose names are lists @code{(setf @var{name})}
1567 rather than symbols. For example, @code{(defun (setf foo) @dots{})}
1568 defines the function that is used when @code{setf} is applied to
1569 @code{foo}. This package does not currently support @code{setf}
1570 functions. In particular, it is a compile-time error to use
1571 @code{setf} on a form which has not already been @code{defsetf}'d
1572 or otherwise declared; in newer Common Lisps, this would not be
1573 an error since the function @code{(setf @var{func})} might be
1580 @node Variable Bindings, Conditionals, Generalized Variables, Control Structure
1581 @section Variable Bindings
1584 These Lisp forms make bindings to variables and function names,
1585 analogous to Lisp's built-in @code{let} form.
1587 @xref{Modify Macros}, for the @code{letf} and @code{letf*} forms which
1588 are also related to variable bindings.
1591 * Dynamic Bindings:: The `progv' form
1592 * Lexical Bindings:: `lexical-let' and lexical closures
1593 * Function Bindings:: `flet' and `labels'
1594 * Macro Bindings:: `macrolet' and `symbol-macrolet'
1597 @node Dynamic Bindings, Lexical Bindings, Variable Bindings, Variable Bindings
1598 @subsection Dynamic Bindings
1601 The standard @code{let} form binds variables whose names are known
1602 at compile-time. The @code{progv} form provides an easy way to
1603 bind variables whose names are computed at run-time.
1605 @defspec progv symbols values forms@dots{}
1606 This form establishes @code{let}-style variable bindings on a
1607 set of variables computed at run-time. The expressions
1608 @var{symbols} and @var{values} are evaluated, and must return lists
1609 of symbols and values, respectively. The symbols are bound to the
1610 corresponding values for the duration of the body @var{form}s.
1611 If @var{values} is shorter than @var{symbols}, the last few symbols
1612 are made unbound (as if by @code{makunbound}) inside the body.
1613 If @var{symbols} is shorter than @var{values}, the excess values
1617 @node Lexical Bindings, Function Bindings, Dynamic Bindings, Variable Bindings
1618 @subsection Lexical Bindings
1621 The @dfn{CL} package defines the following macro which
1622 more closely follows the Common Lisp @code{let} form:
1624 @defspec lexical-let (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1625 This form is exactly like @code{let} except that the bindings it
1626 establishes are purely lexical. Lexical bindings are similar to
1627 local variables in a language like C: Only the code physically
1628 within the body of the @code{lexical-let} (after macro expansion)
1629 may refer to the bound variables.
1633 (defun foo (b) (+ a b))
1634 (let ((a 2)) (foo a))
1636 (lexical-let ((a 2)) (foo a))
1641 In this example, a regular @code{let} binding of @code{a} actually
1642 makes a temporary change to the global variable @code{a}, so @code{foo}
1643 is able to see the binding of @code{a} to 2. But @code{lexical-let}
1644 actually creates a distinct local variable @code{a} for use within its
1645 body, without any effect on the global variable of the same name.
1647 The most important use of lexical bindings is to create @dfn{closures}.
1648 A closure is a function object that refers to an outside lexical
1649 variable. For example:
1652 (defun make-adder (n)
1653 (lexical-let ((n n))
1654 (function (lambda (m) (+ n m)))))
1655 (setq add17 (make-adder 17))
1661 The call @code{(make-adder 17)} returns a function object which adds
1662 17 to its argument. If @code{let} had been used instead of
1663 @code{lexical-let}, the function object would have referred to the
1664 global @code{n}, which would have been bound to 17 only during the
1665 call to @code{make-adder} itself.
1668 (defun make-counter ()
1669 (lexical-let ((n 0))
1670 (function* (lambda (&optional (m 1)) (incf n m)))))
1671 (setq count-1 (make-counter))
1674 (funcall count-1 14)
1676 (setq count-2 (make-counter))
1686 Here we see that each call to @code{make-counter} creates a distinct
1687 local variable @code{n}, which serves as a private counter for the
1688 function object that is returned.
1690 Closed-over lexical variables persist until the last reference to
1691 them goes away, just like all other Lisp objects. For example,
1692 @code{count-2} refers to a function object which refers to an
1693 instance of the variable @code{n}; this is the only reference
1694 to that variable, so after @code{(setq count-2 nil)} the garbage
1695 collector would be able to delete this instance of @code{n}.
1696 Of course, if a @code{lexical-let} does not actually create any
1697 closures, then the lexical variables are free as soon as the
1698 @code{lexical-let} returns.
1700 Many closures are used only during the extent of the bindings they
1701 refer to; these are known as ``downward funargs'' in Lisp parlance.
1702 When a closure is used in this way, regular Emacs Lisp dynamic
1703 bindings suffice and will be more efficient than @code{lexical-let}
1707 (defun add-to-list (x list)
1708 (mapcar (lambda (y) (+ x y))) list)
1709 (add-to-list 7 '(1 2 5))
1714 Since this lambda is only used while @code{x} is still bound,
1715 it is not necessary to make a true closure out of it.
1717 You can use @code{defun} or @code{flet} inside a @code{lexical-let}
1718 to create a named closure. If several closures are created in the
1719 body of a single @code{lexical-let}, they all close over the same
1720 instance of the lexical variable.
1722 The @code{lexical-let} form is an extension to Common Lisp. In
1723 true Common Lisp, all bindings are lexical unless declared otherwise.
1726 @defspec lexical-let* (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1727 This form is just like @code{lexical-let}, except that the bindings
1728 are made sequentially in the manner of @code{let*}.
1731 @node Function Bindings, Macro Bindings, Lexical Bindings, Variable Bindings
1732 @subsection Function Bindings
1735 These forms make @code{let}-like bindings to functions instead
1738 @defspec flet (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1739 This form establishes @code{let}-style bindings on the function
1740 cells of symbols rather than on the value cells. Each @var{binding}
1741 must be a list of the form @samp{(@var{name} @var{arglist}
1742 @var{forms}@dots{})}, which defines a function exactly as if
1743 it were a @code{defun*} form. The function @var{name} is defined
1744 accordingly for the duration of the body of the @code{flet}; then
1745 the old function definition, or lack thereof, is restored.
1747 While @code{flet} in Common Lisp establishes a lexical binding of
1748 @var{name}, Emacs Lisp @code{flet} makes a dynamic binding. The
1749 result is that @code{flet} affects indirect calls to a function as
1750 well as calls directly inside the @code{flet} form itself.
1752 You can use @code{flet} to disable or modify the behavior of a
1753 function in a temporary fashion. This will even work on Emacs
1754 primitives, although note that some calls to primitive functions
1755 internal to Emacs are made without going through the symbol's
1756 function cell, and so will not be affected by @code{flet}. For
1760 (flet ((message (&rest args) (push args saved-msgs)))
1764 This code attempts to replace the built-in function @code{message}
1765 with a function that simply saves the messages in a list rather
1766 than displaying them. The original definition of @code{message}
1767 will be restored after @code{do-something} exits. This code will
1768 work fine on messages generated by other Lisp code, but messages
1769 generated directly inside Emacs will not be caught since they make
1770 direct C-language calls to the message routines rather than going
1771 through the Lisp @code{message} function.
1773 Functions defined by @code{flet} may use the full Common Lisp
1774 argument notation supported by @code{defun*}; also, the function
1775 body is enclosed in an implicit block as if by @code{defun*}.
1776 @xref{Program Structure}.
1779 @defspec labels (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1780 The @code{labels} form is like @code{flet}, except that it
1781 makes lexical bindings of the function names rather than
1782 dynamic bindings. (In true Common Lisp, both @code{flet} and
1783 @code{labels} make lexical bindings of slightly different sorts;
1784 since Emacs Lisp is dynamically bound by default, it seemed
1785 more appropriate for @code{flet} also to use dynamic binding.
1786 The @code{labels} form, with its lexical binding, is fully
1787 compatible with Common Lisp.)
1789 Lexical scoping means that all references to the named
1790 functions must appear physically within the body of the
1791 @code{labels} form. References may appear both in the body
1792 @var{forms} of @code{labels} itself, and in the bodies of
1793 the functions themselves. Thus, @code{labels} can define
1794 local recursive functions, or mutually-recursive sets of
1797 A ``reference'' to a function name is either a call to that
1798 function, or a use of its name quoted by @code{quote} or
1799 @code{function} to be passed on to, say, @code{mapcar}.
1802 @node Macro Bindings, , Function Bindings, Variable Bindings
1803 @subsection Macro Bindings
1806 These forms create local macros and ``symbol macros.''
1808 @defspec macrolet (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1809 This form is analogous to @code{flet}, but for macros instead of
1810 functions. Each @var{binding} is a list of the same form as the
1811 arguments to @code{defmacro*} (i.e., a macro name, argument list,
1812 and macro-expander forms). The macro is defined accordingly for
1813 use within the body of the @code{macrolet}.
1815 Because of the nature of macros, @code{macrolet} is lexically
1816 scoped even in Emacs Lisp: The @code{macrolet} binding will
1817 affect only calls that appear physically within the body
1818 @var{forms}, possibly after expansion of other macros in the
1822 @defspec symbol-macrolet (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1823 This form creates @dfn{symbol macros}, which are macros that look
1824 like variable references rather than function calls. Each
1825 @var{binding} is a list @samp{(@var{var} @var{expansion})};
1826 any reference to @var{var} within the body @var{forms} is
1827 replaced by @var{expansion}.
1831 (symbol-macrolet ((foo (car bar)))
1837 A @code{setq} of a symbol macro is treated the same as a @code{setf}.
1838 I.e., @code{(setq foo 4)} in the above would be equivalent to
1839 @code{(setf foo 4)}, which in turn expands to @code{(setf (car bar) 4)}.
1841 Likewise, a @code{let} or @code{let*} binding a symbol macro is
1842 treated like a @code{letf} or @code{letf*}. This differs from true
1843 Common Lisp, where the rules of lexical scoping cause a @code{let}
1844 binding to shadow a @code{symbol-macrolet} binding. In this package,
1845 only @code{lexical-let} and @code{lexical-let*} will shadow a symbol
1848 There is no analogue of @code{defmacro} for symbol macros; all symbol
1849 macros are local. A typical use of @code{symbol-macrolet} is in the
1850 expansion of another macro:
1853 (defmacro* my-dolist ((x list) &rest body)
1854 (let ((var (gensym)))
1855 (list 'loop 'for var 'on list 'do
1856 (list* 'symbol-macrolet (list (list x (list 'car var)))
1859 (setq mylist '(1 2 3 4))
1860 (my-dolist (x mylist) (incf x))
1866 In this example, the @code{my-dolist} macro is similar to @code{dolist}
1867 (@pxref{Iteration}) except that the variable @code{x} becomes a true
1868 reference onto the elements of the list. The @code{my-dolist} call
1869 shown here expands to
1872 (loop for G1234 on mylist do
1873 (symbol-macrolet ((x (car G1234)))
1878 which in turn expands to
1881 (loop for G1234 on mylist do (incf (car G1234)))
1884 @xref{Loop Facility}, for a description of the @code{loop} macro.
1885 This package defines a nonstandard @code{in-ref} loop clause that
1886 works much like @code{my-dolist}.
1889 @node Conditionals, Blocks and Exits, Variable Bindings, Control Structure
1890 @section Conditionals
1893 These conditional forms augment Emacs Lisp's simple @code{if},
1894 @code{and}, @code{or}, and @code{cond} forms.
1896 @defspec case keyform clause@dots{}
1897 This macro evaluates @var{keyform}, then compares it with the key
1898 values listed in the various @var{clause}s. Whichever clause matches
1899 the key is executed; comparison is done by @code{eql}. If no clause
1900 matches, the @code{case} form returns @code{nil}. The clauses are
1904 (@var{keylist} @var{body-forms}@dots{})
1908 where @var{keylist} is a list of key values. If there is exactly
1909 one value, and it is not a cons cell or the symbol @code{nil} or
1910 @code{t}, then it can be used by itself as a @var{keylist} without
1911 being enclosed in a list. All key values in the @code{case} form
1912 must be distinct. The final clauses may use @code{t} in place of
1913 a @var{keylist} to indicate a default clause that should be taken
1914 if none of the other clauses match. (The symbol @code{otherwise}
1915 is also recognized in place of @code{t}. To make a clause that
1916 matches the actual symbol @code{t}, @code{nil}, or @code{otherwise},
1917 enclose the symbol in a list.)
1919 For example, this expression reads a keystroke, then does one of
1920 four things depending on whether it is an @samp{a}, a @samp{b},
1921 a @key{RET} or @kbd{C-j}, or anything else.
1927 ((?\r ?\n) (do-ret-thing))
1928 (t (do-other-thing)))
1932 @defspec ecase keyform clause@dots{}
1933 This macro is just like @code{case}, except that if the key does
1934 not match any of the clauses, an error is signaled rather than
1935 simply returning @code{nil}.
1938 @defspec typecase keyform clause@dots{}
1939 This macro is a version of @code{case} that checks for types
1940 rather than values. Each @var{clause} is of the form
1941 @samp{(@var{type} @var{body}...)}. @xref{Type Predicates},
1942 for a description of type specifiers. For example,
1946 (integer (munch-integer x))
1947 (float (munch-float x))
1948 (string (munch-integer (string-to-int x)))
1949 (t (munch-anything x)))
1952 The type specifier @code{t} matches any type of object; the word
1953 @code{otherwise} is also allowed. To make one clause match any of
1954 several types, use an @code{(or ...)} type specifier.
1957 @defspec etypecase keyform clause@dots{}
1958 This macro is just like @code{typecase}, except that if the key does
1959 not match any of the clauses, an error is signaled rather than
1960 simply returning @code{nil}.
1963 @node Blocks and Exits, Iteration, Conditionals, Control Structure
1964 @section Blocks and Exits
1967 Common Lisp @dfn{blocks} provide a non-local exit mechanism very
1968 similar to @code{catch} and @code{throw}, but lexically rather than
1969 dynamically scoped. This package actually implements @code{block}
1970 in terms of @code{catch}; however, the lexical scoping allows the
1971 optimizing byte-compiler to omit the costly @code{catch} step if the
1972 body of the block does not actually @code{return-from} the block.
1974 @defspec block name forms@dots{}
1975 The @var{forms} are evaluated as if by a @code{progn}. However,
1976 if any of the @var{forms} execute @code{(return-from @var{name})},
1977 they will jump out and return directly from the @code{block} form.
1978 The @code{block} returns the result of the last @var{form} unless
1979 a @code{return-from} occurs.
1981 The @code{block}/@code{return-from} mechanism is quite similar to
1982 the @code{catch}/@code{throw} mechanism. The main differences are
1983 that block @var{name}s are unevaluated symbols, rather than forms
1984 (such as quoted symbols) which evaluate to a tag at run-time; and
1985 also that blocks are lexically scoped whereas @code{catch}/@code{throw}
1986 are dynamically scoped. This means that functions called from the
1987 body of a @code{catch} can also @code{throw} to the @code{catch},
1988 but the @code{return-from} referring to a block name must appear
1989 physically within the @var{forms} that make up the body of the block.
1990 They may not appear within other called functions, although they may
1991 appear within macro expansions or @code{lambda}s in the body. Block
1992 names and @code{catch} names form independent name-spaces.
1994 In true Common Lisp, @code{defun} and @code{defmacro} surround
1995 the function or expander bodies with implicit blocks with the
1996 same name as the function or macro. This does not occur in Emacs
1997 Lisp, but this package provides @code{defun*} and @code{defmacro*}
1998 forms which do create the implicit block.
2000 The Common Lisp looping constructs defined by this package,
2001 such as @code{loop} and @code{dolist}, also create implicit blocks
2002 just as in Common Lisp.
2004 Because they are implemented in terms of Emacs Lisp @code{catch}
2005 and @code{throw}, blocks have the same overhead as actual
2006 @code{catch} constructs (roughly two function calls). However,
2007 the optimizing byte compiler will optimize away the @code{catch}
2009 not in fact contain any @code{return} or @code{return-from} calls
2010 that jump to it. This means that @code{do} loops and @code{defun*}
2011 functions which don't use @code{return} don't pay the overhead to
2015 @defspec return-from name [result]
2016 This macro returns from the block named @var{name}, which must be
2017 an (unevaluated) symbol. If a @var{result} form is specified, it
2018 is evaluated to produce the result returned from the @code{block}.
2019 Otherwise, @code{nil} is returned.
2022 @defspec return [result]
2023 This macro is exactly like @code{(return-from nil @var{result})}.
2024 Common Lisp loops like @code{do} and @code{dolist} implicitly enclose
2025 themselves in @code{nil} blocks.
2028 @node Iteration, Loop Facility, Blocks and Exits, Control Structure
2032 The macros described here provide more sophisticated, high-level
2033 looping constructs to complement Emacs Lisp's basic @code{while}
2036 @defspec loop forms@dots{}
2037 The @dfn{CL} package supports both the simple, old-style meaning of
2038 @code{loop} and the extremely powerful and flexible feature known as
2039 the @dfn{Loop Facility} or @dfn{Loop Macro}. This more advanced
2040 facility is discussed in the following section; @pxref{Loop Facility}.
2041 The simple form of @code{loop} is described here.
2043 If @code{loop} is followed by zero or more Lisp expressions,
2044 then @code{(loop @var{exprs}@dots{})} simply creates an infinite
2045 loop executing the expressions over and over. The loop is
2046 enclosed in an implicit @code{nil} block. Thus,
2049 (loop (foo) (if (no-more) (return 72)) (bar))
2053 is exactly equivalent to
2056 (block nil (while t (foo) (if (no-more) (return 72)) (bar)))
2059 If any of the expressions are plain symbols, the loop is instead
2060 interpreted as a Loop Macro specification as described later.
2061 (This is not a restriction in practice, since a plain symbol
2062 in the above notation would simply access and throw away the
2063 value of a variable.)
2066 @defspec do (spec@dots{}) (end-test [result@dots{}]) forms@dots{}
2067 This macro creates a general iterative loop. Each @var{spec} is
2071 (@var{var} [@var{init} [@var{step}]])
2074 The loop works as follows: First, each @var{var} is bound to the
2075 associated @var{init} value as if by a @code{let} form. Then, in
2076 each iteration of the loop, the @var{end-test} is evaluated; if
2077 true, the loop is finished. Otherwise, the body @var{forms} are
2078 evaluated, then each @var{var} is set to the associated @var{step}
2079 expression (as if by a @code{psetq} form) and the next iteration
2080 begins. Once the @var{end-test} becomes true, the @var{result}
2081 forms are evaluated (with the @var{var}s still bound to their
2082 values) to produce the result returned by @code{do}.
2084 The entire @code{do} loop is enclosed in an implicit @code{nil}
2085 block, so that you can use @code{(return)} to break out of the
2088 If there are no @var{result} forms, the loop returns @code{nil}.
2089 If a given @var{var} has no @var{step} form, it is bound to its
2090 @var{init} value but not otherwise modified during the @code{do}
2091 loop (unless the code explicitly modifies it); this case is just
2092 a shorthand for putting a @code{(let ((@var{var} @var{init})) @dots{})}
2093 around the loop. If @var{init} is also omitted it defaults to
2094 @code{nil}, and in this case a plain @samp{@var{var}} can be used
2095 in place of @samp{(@var{var})}, again following the analogy with
2098 This example (from Steele) illustrates a loop which applies the
2099 function @code{f} to successive pairs of values from the lists
2100 @code{foo} and @code{bar}; it is equivalent to the call
2101 @code{(mapcar* 'f foo bar)}. Note that this loop has no body
2102 @var{forms} at all, performing all its work as side effects of
2103 the rest of the loop.
2106 (do ((x foo (cdr x))
2108 (z nil (cons (f (car x) (car y)) z)))
2109 ((or (null x) (null y))
2114 @defspec do* (spec@dots{}) (end-test [result@dots{}]) forms@dots{}
2115 This is to @code{do} what @code{let*} is to @code{let}. In
2116 particular, the initial values are bound as if by @code{let*}
2117 rather than @code{let}, and the steps are assigned as if by
2118 @code{setq} rather than @code{psetq}.
2120 Here is another way to write the above loop:
2123 (do* ((xp foo (cdr xp))
2125 (x (car xp) (car xp))
2126 (y (car yp) (car yp))
2128 ((or (null xp) (null yp))
2134 @defspec dolist (var list [result]) forms@dots{}
2135 This is a more specialized loop which iterates across the elements
2136 of a list. @var{list} should evaluate to a list; the body @var{forms}
2137 are executed with @var{var} bound to each element of the list in
2138 turn. Finally, the @var{result} form (or @code{nil}) is evaluated
2139 with @var{var} bound to @code{nil} to produce the result returned by
2140 the loop. Unlike with Emacs's built in @code{dolist}, the loop is
2141 surrounded by an implicit @code{nil} block.
2144 @defspec dotimes (var count [result]) forms@dots{}
2145 This is a more specialized loop which iterates a specified number
2146 of times. The body is executed with @var{var} bound to the integers
2147 from zero (inclusive) to @var{count} (exclusive), in turn. Then
2148 the @code{result} form is evaluated with @var{var} bound to the total
2149 number of iterations that were done (i.e., @code{(max 0 @var{count})})
2150 to get the return value for the loop form. Unlike with Emacs's built in
2151 @code{dolist}, the loop is surrounded by an implicit @code{nil} block.
2154 @defspec do-symbols (var [obarray [result]]) forms@dots{}
2155 This loop iterates over all interned symbols. If @var{obarray}
2156 is specified and is not @code{nil}, it loops over all symbols in
2157 that obarray. For each symbol, the body @var{forms} are evaluated
2158 with @var{var} bound to that symbol. The symbols are visited in
2159 an unspecified order. Afterward the @var{result} form, if any,
2160 is evaluated (with @var{var} bound to @code{nil}) to get the return
2161 value. The loop is surrounded by an implicit @code{nil} block.
2164 @defspec do-all-symbols (var [result]) forms@dots{}
2165 This is identical to @code{do-symbols} except that the @var{obarray}
2166 argument is omitted; it always iterates over the default obarray.
2169 @xref{Mapping over Sequences}, for some more functions for
2170 iterating over vectors or lists.
2172 @node Loop Facility, Multiple Values, Iteration, Control Structure
2173 @section Loop Facility
2176 A common complaint with Lisp's traditional looping constructs is
2177 that they are either too simple and limited, such as Common Lisp's
2178 @code{dotimes} or Emacs Lisp's @code{while}, or too unreadable and
2179 obscure, like Common Lisp's @code{do} loop.
2181 To remedy this, recent versions of Common Lisp have added a new
2182 construct called the ``Loop Facility'' or ``@code{loop} macro,''
2183 with an easy-to-use but very powerful and expressive syntax.
2186 * Loop Basics:: `loop' macro, basic clause structure
2187 * Loop Examples:: Working examples of `loop' macro
2188 * For Clauses:: Clauses introduced by `for' or `as'
2189 * Iteration Clauses:: `repeat', `while', `thereis', etc.
2190 * Accumulation Clauses:: `collect', `sum', `maximize', etc.
2191 * Other Clauses:: `with', `if', `initially', `finally'
2194 @node Loop Basics, Loop Examples, Loop Facility, Loop Facility
2195 @subsection Loop Basics
2198 The @code{loop} macro essentially creates a mini-language within
2199 Lisp that is specially tailored for describing loops. While this
2200 language is a little strange-looking by the standards of regular Lisp,
2201 it turns out to be very easy to learn and well-suited to its purpose.
2203 Since @code{loop} is a macro, all parsing of the loop language
2204 takes place at byte-compile time; compiled @code{loop}s are just
2205 as efficient as the equivalent @code{while} loops written longhand.
2207 @defspec loop clauses@dots{}
2208 A loop construct consists of a series of @var{clause}s, each
2209 introduced by a symbol like @code{for} or @code{do}. Clauses
2210 are simply strung together in the argument list of @code{loop},
2211 with minimal extra parentheses. The various types of clauses
2212 specify initializations, such as the binding of temporary
2213 variables, actions to be taken in the loop, stepping actions,
2216 Common Lisp specifies a certain general order of clauses in a
2220 (loop @var{name-clause}
2221 @var{var-clauses}@dots{}
2222 @var{action-clauses}@dots{})
2225 The @var{name-clause} optionally gives a name to the implicit
2226 block that surrounds the loop. By default, the implicit block
2227 is named @code{nil}. The @var{var-clauses} specify what
2228 variables should be bound during the loop, and how they should
2229 be modified or iterated throughout the course of the loop. The
2230 @var{action-clauses} are things to be done during the loop, such
2231 as computing, collecting, and returning values.
2233 The Emacs version of the @code{loop} macro is less restrictive about
2234 the order of clauses, but things will behave most predictably if
2235 you put the variable-binding clauses @code{with}, @code{for}, and
2236 @code{repeat} before the action clauses. As in Common Lisp,
2237 @code{initially} and @code{finally} clauses can go anywhere.
2239 Loops generally return @code{nil} by default, but you can cause
2240 them to return a value by using an accumulation clause like
2241 @code{collect}, an end-test clause like @code{always}, or an
2242 explicit @code{return} clause to jump out of the implicit block.
2243 (Because the loop body is enclosed in an implicit block, you can
2244 also use regular Lisp @code{return} or @code{return-from} to
2245 break out of the loop.)
2248 The following sections give some examples of the Loop Macro in
2249 action, and describe the particular loop clauses in great detail.
2250 Consult the second edition of Steele's @dfn{Common Lisp, the Language},
2251 for additional discussion and examples of the @code{loop} macro.
2253 @node Loop Examples, For Clauses, Loop Basics, Loop Facility
2254 @subsection Loop Examples
2257 Before listing the full set of clauses that are allowed, let's
2258 look at a few example loops just to get a feel for the @code{loop}
2262 (loop for buf in (buffer-list)
2263 collect (buffer-file-name buf))
2267 This loop iterates over all Emacs buffers, using the list
2268 returned by @code{buffer-list}. For each buffer @code{buf},
2269 it calls @code{buffer-file-name} and collects the results into
2270 a list, which is then returned from the @code{loop} construct.
2271 The result is a list of the file names of all the buffers in
2272 Emacs' memory. The words @code{for}, @code{in}, and @code{collect}
2273 are reserved words in the @code{loop} language.
2276 (loop repeat 20 do (insert "Yowsa\n"))
2280 This loop inserts the phrase ``Yowsa'' twenty times in the
2284 (loop until (eobp) do (munch-line) (forward-line 1))
2288 This loop calls @code{munch-line} on every line until the end
2289 of the buffer. If point is already at the end of the buffer,
2290 the loop exits immediately.
2293 (loop do (munch-line) until (eobp) do (forward-line 1))
2297 This loop is similar to the above one, except that @code{munch-line}
2298 is always called at least once.
2301 (loop for x from 1 to 100
2304 finally return (list x (= y 729)))
2308 This more complicated loop searches for a number @code{x} whose
2309 square is 729. For safety's sake it only examines @code{x}
2310 values up to 100; dropping the phrase @samp{to 100} would
2311 cause the loop to count upwards with no limit. The second
2312 @code{for} clause defines @code{y} to be the square of @code{x}
2313 within the loop; the expression after the @code{=} sign is
2314 reevaluated each time through the loop. The @code{until}
2315 clause gives a condition for terminating the loop, and the
2316 @code{finally} clause says what to do when the loop finishes.
2317 (This particular example was written less concisely than it
2318 could have been, just for the sake of illustration.)
2320 Note that even though this loop contains three clauses (two
2321 @code{for}s and an @code{until}) that would have been enough to
2322 define loops all by themselves, it still creates a single loop
2323 rather than some sort of triple-nested loop. You must explicitly
2324 nest your @code{loop} constructs if you want nested loops.
2326 @node For Clauses, Iteration Clauses, Loop Examples, Loop Facility
2327 @subsection For Clauses
2330 Most loops are governed by one or more @code{for} clauses.
2331 A @code{for} clause simultaneously describes variables to be
2332 bound, how those variables are to be stepped during the loop,
2333 and usually an end condition based on those variables.
2335 The word @code{as} is a synonym for the word @code{for}. This
2336 word is followed by a variable name, then a word like @code{from}
2337 or @code{across} that describes the kind of iteration desired.
2338 In Common Lisp, the phrase @code{being the} sometimes precedes
2339 the type of iteration; in this package both @code{being} and
2340 @code{the} are optional. The word @code{each} is a synonym
2341 for @code{the}, and the word that follows it may be singular
2342 or plural: @samp{for x being the elements of y} or
2343 @samp{for x being each element of y}. Which form you use
2344 is purely a matter of style.
2346 The variable is bound around the loop as if by @code{let}:
2350 (loop for i from 1 to 10 do (do-something-with i))
2356 @item for @var{var} from @var{expr1} to @var{expr2} by @var{expr3}
2357 This type of @code{for} clause creates a counting loop. Each of
2358 the three sub-terms is optional, though there must be at least one
2359 term so that the clause is marked as a counting clause.
2361 The three expressions are the starting value, the ending value, and
2362 the step value, respectively, of the variable. The loop counts
2363 upwards by default (@var{expr3} must be positive), from @var{expr1}
2364 to @var{expr2} inclusively. If you omit the @code{from} term, the
2365 loop counts from zero; if you omit the @code{to} term, the loop
2366 counts forever without stopping (unless stopped by some other
2367 loop clause, of course); if you omit the @code{by} term, the loop
2368 counts in steps of one.
2370 You can replace the word @code{from} with @code{upfrom} or
2371 @code{downfrom} to indicate the direction of the loop. Likewise,
2372 you can replace @code{to} with @code{upto} or @code{downto}.
2373 For example, @samp{for x from 5 downto 1} executes five times
2374 with @code{x} taking on the integers from 5 down to 1 in turn.
2375 Also, you can replace @code{to} with @code{below} or @code{above},
2376 which are like @code{upto} and @code{downto} respectively except
2377 that they are exclusive rather than inclusive limits:
2380 (loop for x to 10 collect x)
2381 @result{} (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10)
2382 (loop for x below 10 collect x)
2383 @result{} (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9)
2386 The @code{by} value is always positive, even for downward-counting
2387 loops. Some sort of @code{from} value is required for downward
2388 loops; @samp{for x downto 5} is not a valid loop clause all by
2391 @item for @var{var} in @var{list} by @var{function}
2392 This clause iterates @var{var} over all the elements of @var{list},
2393 in turn. If you specify the @code{by} term, then @var{function}
2394 is used to traverse the list instead of @code{cdr}; it must be a
2395 function taking one argument. For example:
2398 (loop for x in '(1 2 3 4 5 6) collect (* x x))
2399 @result{} (1 4 9 16 25 36)
2400 (loop for x in '(1 2 3 4 5 6) by 'cddr collect (* x x))
2404 @item for @var{var} on @var{list} by @var{function}
2405 This clause iterates @var{var} over all the cons cells of @var{list}.
2408 (loop for x on '(1 2 3 4) collect x)
2409 @result{} ((1 2 3 4) (2 3 4) (3 4) (4))
2412 With @code{by}, there is no real reason that the @code{on} expression
2413 must be a list. For example:
2416 (loop for x on first-animal by 'next-animal collect x)
2420 where @code{(next-animal x)} takes an ``animal'' @var{x} and returns
2421 the next in the (assumed) sequence of animals, or @code{nil} if
2422 @var{x} was the last animal in the sequence.
2424 @item for @var{var} in-ref @var{list} by @var{function}
2425 This is like a regular @code{in} clause, but @var{var} becomes
2426 a @code{setf}-able ``reference'' onto the elements of the list
2427 rather than just a temporary variable. For example,
2430 (loop for x in-ref my-list do (incf x))
2434 increments every element of @code{my-list} in place. This clause
2435 is an extension to standard Common Lisp.
2437 @item for @var{var} across @var{array}
2438 This clause iterates @var{var} over all the elements of @var{array},
2439 which may be a vector or a string.
2442 (loop for x across "aeiou"
2443 do (use-vowel (char-to-string x)))
2446 @item for @var{var} across-ref @var{array}
2447 This clause iterates over an array, with @var{var} a @code{setf}-able
2448 reference onto the elements; see @code{in-ref} above.
2450 @item for @var{var} being the elements of @var{sequence}
2451 This clause iterates over the elements of @var{sequence}, which may
2452 be a list, vector, or string. Since the type must be determined
2453 at run-time, this is somewhat less efficient than @code{in} or
2454 @code{across}. The clause may be followed by the additional term
2455 @samp{using (index @var{var2})} to cause @var{var2} to be bound to
2456 the successive indices (starting at 0) of the elements.
2458 This clause type is taken from older versions of the @code{loop} macro,
2459 and is not present in modern Common Lisp. The @samp{using (sequence ...)}
2460 term of the older macros is not supported.
2462 @item for @var{var} being the elements of-ref @var{sequence}
2463 This clause iterates over a sequence, with @var{var} a @code{setf}-able
2464 reference onto the elements; see @code{in-ref} above.
2466 @item for @var{var} being the symbols [of @var{obarray}]
2467 This clause iterates over symbols, either over all interned symbols
2468 or over all symbols in @var{obarray}. The loop is executed with
2469 @var{var} bound to each symbol in turn. The symbols are visited in
2470 an unspecified order.
2475 (loop for sym being the symbols
2477 when (string-match "^map" (symbol-name sym))
2482 returns a list of all the functions whose names begin with @samp{map}.
2484 The Common Lisp words @code{external-symbols} and @code{present-symbols}
2485 are also recognized but are equivalent to @code{symbols} in Emacs Lisp.
2487 Due to a minor implementation restriction, it will not work to have
2488 more than one @code{for} clause iterating over symbols, hash tables,
2489 keymaps, overlays, or intervals in a given @code{loop}. Fortunately,
2490 it would rarely if ever be useful to do so. It @emph{is} valid to mix
2491 one of these types of clauses with other clauses like @code{for ... to}
2494 @item for @var{var} being the hash-keys of @var{hash-table}
2495 This clause iterates over the entries in @var{hash-table}. For each
2496 hash table entry, @var{var} is bound to the entry's key. If you write
2497 @samp{the hash-values} instead, @var{var} is bound to the values
2498 of the entries. The clause may be followed by the additional
2499 term @samp{using (hash-values @var{var2})} (where @code{hash-values}
2500 is the opposite word of the word following @code{the}) to cause
2501 @var{var} and @var{var2} to be bound to the two parts of each
2504 @item for @var{var} being the key-codes of @var{keymap}
2505 This clause iterates over the entries in @var{keymap}.
2506 The iteration does not enter nested keymaps or inherited (parent) keymaps.
2507 You can use @samp{the key-bindings} to access the commands bound to
2508 the keys rather than the key codes, and you can add a @code{using}
2509 clause to access both the codes and the bindings together.
2511 @item for @var{var} being the key-seqs of @var{keymap}
2512 This clause iterates over all key sequences defined by @var{keymap}
2513 and its nested keymaps, where @var{var} takes on values which are
2514 vectors. The strings or vectors
2515 are reused for each iteration, so you must copy them if you wish to keep
2516 them permanently. You can add a @samp{using (key-bindings ...)}
2517 clause to get the command bindings as well.
2519 @item for @var{var} being the overlays [of @var{buffer}] @dots{}
2520 This clause iterates over the ``overlays'' of a buffer
2521 (the clause @code{extents} is synonymous
2522 with @code{overlays}). If the @code{of} term is omitted, the current
2524 This clause also accepts optional @samp{from @var{pos}} and
2525 @samp{to @var{pos}} terms, limiting the clause to overlays which
2526 overlap the specified region.
2528 @item for @var{var} being the intervals [of @var{buffer}] @dots{}
2529 This clause iterates over all intervals of a buffer with constant
2530 text properties. The variable @var{var} will be bound to conses
2531 of start and end positions, where one start position is always equal
2532 to the previous end position. The clause allows @code{of},
2533 @code{from}, @code{to}, and @code{property} terms, where the latter
2534 term restricts the search to just the specified property. The
2535 @code{of} term may specify either a buffer or a string.
2537 @item for @var{var} being the frames
2538 This clause iterates over all frames, i.e., X window system windows
2539 open on Emacs files. The
2540 clause @code{screens} is a synonym for @code{frames}. The frames
2541 are visited in @code{next-frame} order starting from
2542 @code{selected-frame}.
2544 @item for @var{var} being the windows [of @var{frame}]
2545 This clause iterates over the windows (in the Emacs sense) of
2546 the current frame, or of the specified @var{frame}.
2548 @item for @var{var} being the buffers
2549 This clause iterates over all buffers in Emacs. It is equivalent
2550 to @samp{for @var{var} in (buffer-list)}.
2552 @item for @var{var} = @var{expr1} then @var{expr2}
2553 This clause does a general iteration. The first time through
2554 the loop, @var{var} will be bound to @var{expr1}. On the second
2555 and successive iterations it will be set by evaluating @var{expr2}
2556 (which may refer to the old value of @var{var}). For example,
2557 these two loops are effectively the same:
2560 (loop for x on my-list by 'cddr do ...)
2561 (loop for x = my-list then (cddr x) while x do ...)
2564 Note that this type of @code{for} clause does not imply any sort
2565 of terminating condition; the above example combines it with a
2566 @code{while} clause to tell when to end the loop.
2568 If you omit the @code{then} term, @var{expr1} is used both for
2569 the initial setting and for successive settings:
2572 (loop for x = (random) when (> x 0) return x)
2576 This loop keeps taking random numbers from the @code{(random)}
2577 function until it gets a positive one, which it then returns.
2580 If you include several @code{for} clauses in a row, they are
2581 treated sequentially (as if by @code{let*} and @code{setq}).
2582 You can instead use the word @code{and} to link the clauses,
2583 in which case they are processed in parallel (as if by @code{let}
2587 (loop for x below 5 for y = nil then x collect (list x y))
2588 @result{} ((0 nil) (1 1) (2 2) (3 3) (4 4))
2589 (loop for x below 5 and y = nil then x collect (list x y))
2590 @result{} ((0 nil) (1 0) (2 1) (3 2) (4 3))
2594 In the first loop, @code{y} is set based on the value of @code{x}
2595 that was just set by the previous clause; in the second loop,
2596 @code{x} and @code{y} are set simultaneously so @code{y} is set
2597 based on the value of @code{x} left over from the previous time
2600 Another feature of the @code{loop} macro is @dfn{destructuring},
2601 similar in concept to the destructuring provided by @code{defmacro}.
2602 The @var{var} part of any @code{for} clause can be given as a list
2603 of variables instead of a single variable. The values produced
2604 during loop execution must be lists; the values in the lists are
2605 stored in the corresponding variables.
2608 (loop for (x y) in '((2 3) (4 5) (6 7)) collect (+ x y))
2612 In loop destructuring, if there are more values than variables
2613 the trailing values are ignored, and if there are more variables
2614 than values the trailing variables get the value @code{nil}.
2615 If @code{nil} is used as a variable name, the corresponding
2616 values are ignored. Destructuring may be nested, and dotted
2617 lists of variables like @code{(x . y)} are allowed.
2619 @node Iteration Clauses, Accumulation Clauses, For Clauses, Loop Facility
2620 @subsection Iteration Clauses
2623 Aside from @code{for} clauses, there are several other loop clauses
2624 that control the way the loop operates. They might be used by
2625 themselves, or in conjunction with one or more @code{for} clauses.
2628 @item repeat @var{integer}
2629 This clause simply counts up to the specified number using an
2630 internal temporary variable. The loops
2633 (loop repeat n do ...)
2634 (loop for temp to n do ...)
2638 are identical except that the second one forces you to choose
2639 a name for a variable you aren't actually going to use.
2641 @item while @var{condition}
2642 This clause stops the loop when the specified condition (any Lisp
2643 expression) becomes @code{nil}. For example, the following two
2644 loops are equivalent, except for the implicit @code{nil} block
2645 that surrounds the second one:
2648 (while @var{cond} @var{forms}@dots{})
2649 (loop while @var{cond} do @var{forms}@dots{})
2652 @item until @var{condition}
2653 This clause stops the loop when the specified condition is true,
2654 i.e., non-@code{nil}.
2656 @item always @var{condition}
2657 This clause stops the loop when the specified condition is @code{nil}.
2658 Unlike @code{while}, it stops the loop using @code{return nil} so that
2659 the @code{finally} clauses are not executed. If all the conditions
2660 were non-@code{nil}, the loop returns @code{t}:
2663 (if (loop for size in size-list always (> size 10))
2668 @item never @var{condition}
2669 This clause is like @code{always}, except that the loop returns
2670 @code{t} if any conditions were false, or @code{nil} otherwise.
2672 @item thereis @var{condition}
2673 This clause stops the loop when the specified form is non-@code{nil};
2674 in this case, it returns that non-@code{nil} value. If all the
2675 values were @code{nil}, the loop returns @code{nil}.
2678 @node Accumulation Clauses, Other Clauses, Iteration Clauses, Loop Facility
2679 @subsection Accumulation Clauses
2682 These clauses cause the loop to accumulate information about the
2683 specified Lisp @var{form}. The accumulated result is returned
2684 from the loop unless overridden, say, by a @code{return} clause.
2687 @item collect @var{form}
2688 This clause collects the values of @var{form} into a list. Several
2689 examples of @code{collect} appear elsewhere in this manual.
2691 The word @code{collecting} is a synonym for @code{collect}, and
2692 likewise for the other accumulation clauses.
2694 @item append @var{form}
2695 This clause collects lists of values into a result list using
2698 @item nconc @var{form}
2699 This clause collects lists of values into a result list by
2700 destructively modifying the lists rather than copying them.
2702 @item concat @var{form}
2703 This clause concatenates the values of the specified @var{form}
2704 into a string. (It and the following clause are extensions to
2705 standard Common Lisp.)
2707 @item vconcat @var{form}
2708 This clause concatenates the values of the specified @var{form}
2711 @item count @var{form}
2712 This clause counts the number of times the specified @var{form}
2713 evaluates to a non-@code{nil} value.
2715 @item sum @var{form}
2716 This clause accumulates the sum of the values of the specified
2717 @var{form}, which must evaluate to a number.
2719 @item maximize @var{form}
2720 This clause accumulates the maximum value of the specified @var{form},
2721 which must evaluate to a number. The return value is undefined if
2722 @code{maximize} is executed zero times.
2724 @item minimize @var{form}
2725 This clause accumulates the minimum value of the specified @var{form}.
2728 Accumulation clauses can be followed by @samp{into @var{var}} to
2729 cause the data to be collected into variable @var{var} (which is
2730 automatically @code{let}-bound during the loop) rather than an
2731 unnamed temporary variable. Also, @code{into} accumulations do
2732 not automatically imply a return value. The loop must use some
2733 explicit mechanism, such as @code{finally return}, to return
2734 the accumulated result.
2736 It is valid for several accumulation clauses of the same type to
2737 accumulate into the same place. From Steele:
2740 (loop for name in '(fred sue alice joe june)
2741 for kids in '((bob ken) () () (kris sunshine) ())
2744 @result{} (fred bob ken sue alice joe kris sunshine june)
2747 @node Other Clauses, , Accumulation Clauses, Loop Facility
2748 @subsection Other Clauses
2751 This section describes the remaining loop clauses.
2754 @item with @var{var} = @var{value}
2755 This clause binds a variable to a value around the loop, but
2756 otherwise leaves the variable alone during the loop. The following
2757 loops are basically equivalent:
2760 (loop with x = 17 do ...)
2761 (let ((x 17)) (loop do ...))
2762 (loop for x = 17 then x do ...)
2765 Naturally, the variable @var{var} might be used for some purpose
2766 in the rest of the loop. For example:
2769 (loop for x in my-list with res = nil do (push x res)
2773 This loop inserts the elements of @code{my-list} at the front of
2774 a new list being accumulated in @code{res}, then returns the
2775 list @code{res} at the end of the loop. The effect is similar
2776 to that of a @code{collect} clause, but the list gets reversed
2777 by virtue of the fact that elements are being pushed onto the
2778 front of @code{res} rather than the end.
2780 If you omit the @code{=} term, the variable is initialized to
2781 @code{nil}. (Thus the @samp{= nil} in the above example is
2784 Bindings made by @code{with} are sequential by default, as if
2785 by @code{let*}. Just like @code{for} clauses, @code{with} clauses
2786 can be linked with @code{and} to cause the bindings to be made by
2789 @item if @var{condition} @var{clause}
2790 This clause executes the following loop clause only if the specified
2791 condition is true. The following @var{clause} should be an accumulation,
2792 @code{do}, @code{return}, @code{if}, or @code{unless} clause.
2793 Several clauses may be linked by separating them with @code{and}.
2794 These clauses may be followed by @code{else} and a clause or clauses
2795 to execute if the condition was false. The whole construct may
2796 optionally be followed by the word @code{end} (which may be used to
2797 disambiguate an @code{else} or @code{and} in a nested @code{if}).
2799 The actual non-@code{nil} value of the condition form is available
2800 by the name @code{it} in the ``then'' part. For example:
2803 (setq funny-numbers '(6 13 -1))
2805 (loop for x below 10
2808 and if (memq x funny-numbers) return (cdr it) end
2810 collect x into evens
2811 finally return (vector odds evens))
2812 @result{} [(1 3 5 7 9) (0 2 4 6 8)]
2813 (setq funny-numbers '(6 7 13 -1))
2814 @result{} (6 7 13 -1)
2815 (loop <@r{same thing again}>)
2819 Note the use of @code{and} to put two clauses into the ``then''
2820 part, one of which is itself an @code{if} clause. Note also that
2821 @code{end}, while normally optional, was necessary here to make
2822 it clear that the @code{else} refers to the outermost @code{if}
2823 clause. In the first case, the loop returns a vector of lists
2824 of the odd and even values of @var{x}. In the second case, the
2825 odd number 7 is one of the @code{funny-numbers} so the loop
2826 returns early; the actual returned value is based on the result
2827 of the @code{memq} call.
2829 @item when @var{condition} @var{clause}
2830 This clause is just a synonym for @code{if}.
2832 @item unless @var{condition} @var{clause}
2833 The @code{unless} clause is just like @code{if} except that the
2834 sense of the condition is reversed.
2836 @item named @var{name}
2837 This clause gives a name other than @code{nil} to the implicit
2838 block surrounding the loop. The @var{name} is the symbol to be
2839 used as the block name.
2841 @item initially [do] @var{forms}...
2842 This keyword introduces one or more Lisp forms which will be
2843 executed before the loop itself begins (but after any variables
2844 requested by @code{for} or @code{with} have been bound to their
2845 initial values). @code{initially} clauses can appear anywhere;
2846 if there are several, they are executed in the order they appear
2847 in the loop. The keyword @code{do} is optional.
2849 @item finally [do] @var{forms}...
2850 This introduces Lisp forms which will be executed after the loop
2851 finishes (say, on request of a @code{for} or @code{while}).
2852 @code{initially} and @code{finally} clauses may appear anywhere
2853 in the loop construct, but they are executed (in the specified
2854 order) at the beginning or end, respectively, of the loop.
2856 @item finally return @var{form}
2857 This says that @var{form} should be executed after the loop
2858 is done to obtain a return value. (Without this, or some other
2859 clause like @code{collect} or @code{return}, the loop will simply
2860 return @code{nil}.) Variables bound by @code{for}, @code{with},
2861 or @code{into} will still contain their final values when @var{form}
2864 @item do @var{forms}...
2865 The word @code{do} may be followed by any number of Lisp expressions
2866 which are executed as an implicit @code{progn} in the body of the
2867 loop. Many of the examples in this section illustrate the use of
2870 @item return @var{form}
2871 This clause causes the loop to return immediately. The following
2872 Lisp form is evaluated to give the return value of the @code{loop}
2873 form. The @code{finally} clauses, if any, are not executed.
2874 Of course, @code{return} is generally used inside an @code{if} or
2875 @code{unless}, as its use in a top-level loop clause would mean
2876 the loop would never get to ``loop'' more than once.
2878 The clause @samp{return @var{form}} is equivalent to
2879 @samp{do (return @var{form})} (or @code{return-from} if the loop
2880 was named). The @code{return} clause is implemented a bit more
2881 efficiently, though.
2884 While there is no high-level way to add user extensions to @code{loop}
2885 (comparable to @code{defsetf} for @code{setf}, say), this package
2886 does offer two properties called @code{cl-loop-handler} and
2887 @code{cl-loop-for-handler} which are functions to be called when
2888 a given symbol is encountered as a top-level loop clause or
2889 @code{for} clause, respectively. Consult the source code in
2890 file @file{cl-macs.el} for details.
2892 This package's @code{loop} macro is compatible with that of Common
2893 Lisp, except that a few features are not implemented: @code{loop-finish}
2894 and data-type specifiers. Naturally, the @code{for} clauses which
2895 iterate over keymaps, overlays, intervals, frames, windows, and
2896 buffers are Emacs-specific extensions.
2898 @node Multiple Values, , Loop Facility, Control Structure
2899 @section Multiple Values
2902 Common Lisp functions can return zero or more results. Emacs Lisp
2903 functions, by contrast, always return exactly one result. This
2904 package makes no attempt to emulate Common Lisp multiple return
2905 values; Emacs versions of Common Lisp functions that return more
2906 than one value either return just the first value (as in
2907 @code{compiler-macroexpand}) or return a list of values (as in
2908 @code{get-setf-method}). This package @emph{does} define placeholders
2909 for the Common Lisp functions that work with multiple values, but
2910 in Emacs Lisp these functions simply operate on lists instead.
2911 The @code{values} form, for example, is a synonym for @code{list}
2914 @defspec multiple-value-bind (var@dots{}) values-form forms@dots{}
2915 This form evaluates @var{values-form}, which must return a list of
2916 values. It then binds the @var{var}s to these respective values,
2917 as if by @code{let}, and then executes the body @var{forms}.
2918 If there are more @var{var}s than values, the extra @var{var}s
2919 are bound to @code{nil}. If there are fewer @var{var}s than
2920 values, the excess values are ignored.
2923 @defspec multiple-value-setq (var@dots{}) form
2924 This form evaluates @var{form}, which must return a list of values.
2925 It then sets the @var{var}s to these respective values, as if by
2926 @code{setq}. Extra @var{var}s or values are treated the same as
2927 in @code{multiple-value-bind}.
2930 The older Quiroz package attempted a more faithful (but still
2931 imperfect) emulation of Common Lisp multiple values. The old
2932 method ``usually'' simulated true multiple values quite well,
2933 but under certain circumstances would leave spurious return
2934 values in memory where a later, unrelated @code{multiple-value-bind}
2935 form would see them.
2937 Since a perfect emulation is not feasible in Emacs Lisp, this
2938 package opts to keep it as simple and predictable as possible.
2940 @node Macros, Declarations, Control Structure, Top
2944 This package implements the various Common Lisp features of
2945 @code{defmacro}, such as destructuring, @code{&environment},
2946 and @code{&body}. Top-level @code{&whole} is not implemented
2947 for @code{defmacro} due to technical difficulties.
2948 @xref{Argument Lists}.
2950 Destructuring is made available to the user by way of the
2953 @defspec destructuring-bind arglist expr forms@dots{}
2954 This macro expands to code which executes @var{forms}, with
2955 the variables in @var{arglist} bound to the list of values
2956 returned by @var{expr}. The @var{arglist} can include all
2957 the features allowed for @code{defmacro} argument lists,
2958 including destructuring. (The @code{&environment} keyword
2959 is not allowed.) The macro expansion will signal an error
2960 if @var{expr} returns a list of the wrong number of arguments
2961 or with incorrect keyword arguments.
2964 This package also includes the Common Lisp @code{define-compiler-macro}
2965 facility, which allows you to define compile-time expansions and
2966 optimizations for your functions.
2968 @defspec define-compiler-macro name arglist forms@dots{}
2969 This form is similar to @code{defmacro}, except that it only expands
2970 calls to @var{name} at compile-time; calls processed by the Lisp
2971 interpreter are not expanded, nor are they expanded by the
2972 @code{macroexpand} function.
2974 The argument list may begin with a @code{&whole} keyword and a
2975 variable. This variable is bound to the macro-call form itself,
2976 i.e., to a list of the form @samp{(@var{name} @var{args}@dots{})}.
2977 If the macro expander returns this form unchanged, then the
2978 compiler treats it as a normal function call. This allows
2979 compiler macros to work as optimizers for special cases of a
2980 function, leaving complicated cases alone.
2982 For example, here is a simplified version of a definition that
2983 appears as a standard part of this package:
2986 (define-compiler-macro member* (&whole form a list &rest keys)
2987 (if (and (null keys)
2988 (eq (car-safe a) 'quote)
2989 (not (floatp-safe (cadr a))))
2995 This definition causes @code{(member* @var{a} @var{list})} to change
2996 to a call to the faster @code{memq} in the common case where @var{a}
2997 is a non-floating-point constant; if @var{a} is anything else, or
2998 if there are any keyword arguments in the call, then the original
2999 @code{member*} call is left intact. (The actual compiler macro
3000 for @code{member*} optimizes a number of other cases, including
3001 common @code{:test} predicates.)
3004 @defun compiler-macroexpand form
3005 This function is analogous to @code{macroexpand}, except that it
3006 expands compiler macros rather than regular macros. It returns
3007 @var{form} unchanged if it is not a call to a function for which
3008 a compiler macro has been defined, or if that compiler macro
3009 decided to punt by returning its @code{&whole} argument. Like
3010 @code{macroexpand}, it expands repeatedly until it reaches a form
3011 for which no further expansion is possible.
3014 @xref{Macro Bindings}, for descriptions of the @code{macrolet}
3015 and @code{symbol-macrolet} forms for making ``local'' macro
3018 @node Declarations, Symbols, Macros, Top
3019 @chapter Declarations
3022 Common Lisp includes a complex and powerful ``declaration''
3023 mechanism that allows you to give the compiler special hints
3024 about the types of data that will be stored in particular variables,
3025 and about the ways those variables and functions will be used. This
3026 package defines versions of all the Common Lisp declaration forms:
3027 @code{declare}, @code{locally}, @code{proclaim}, @code{declaim},
3030 Most of the Common Lisp declarations are not currently useful in
3031 Emacs Lisp, as the byte-code system provides little opportunity
3032 to benefit from type information, and @code{special} declarations
3033 are redundant in a fully dynamically-scoped Lisp. A few
3034 declarations are meaningful when the optimizing byte
3035 compiler is being used, however. Under the earlier non-optimizing
3036 compiler, these declarations will effectively be ignored.
3038 @defun proclaim decl-spec
3039 This function records a ``global'' declaration specified by
3040 @var{decl-spec}. Since @code{proclaim} is a function, @var{decl-spec}
3041 is evaluated and thus should normally be quoted.
3044 @defspec declaim decl-specs@dots{}
3045 This macro is like @code{proclaim}, except that it takes any number
3046 of @var{decl-spec} arguments, and the arguments are unevaluated and
3047 unquoted. The @code{declaim} macro also puts an @code{(eval-when
3048 (compile load eval) ...)} around the declarations so that they will
3049 be registered at compile-time as well as at run-time. (This is vital,
3050 since normally the declarations are meant to influence the way the
3051 compiler treats the rest of the file that contains the @code{declaim}
3055 @defspec declare decl-specs@dots{}
3056 This macro is used to make declarations within functions and other
3057 code. Common Lisp allows declarations in various locations, generally
3058 at the beginning of any of the many ``implicit @code{progn}s''
3059 throughout Lisp syntax, such as function bodies, @code{let} bodies,
3060 etc. Currently the only declaration understood by @code{declare}
3064 @defspec locally declarations@dots{} forms@dots{}
3065 In this package, @code{locally} is no different from @code{progn}.
3068 @defspec the type form
3069 Type information provided by @code{the} is ignored in this package;
3070 in other words, @code{(the @var{type} @var{form})} is equivalent
3071 to @var{form}. Future versions of the optimizing byte-compiler may
3072 make use of this information.
3074 For example, @code{mapcar} can map over both lists and arrays. It is
3075 hard for the compiler to expand @code{mapcar} into an in-line loop
3076 unless it knows whether the sequence will be a list or an array ahead
3077 of time. With @code{(mapcar 'car (the vector foo))}, a future
3078 compiler would have enough information to expand the loop in-line.
3079 For now, Emacs Lisp will treat the above code as exactly equivalent
3080 to @code{(mapcar 'car foo)}.
3083 Each @var{decl-spec} in a @code{proclaim}, @code{declaim}, or
3084 @code{declare} should be a list beginning with a symbol that says
3085 what kind of declaration it is. This package currently understands
3086 @code{special}, @code{inline}, @code{notinline}, @code{optimize},
3087 and @code{warn} declarations. (The @code{warn} declaration is an
3088 extension of standard Common Lisp.) Other Common Lisp declarations,
3089 such as @code{type} and @code{ftype}, are silently ignored.
3093 Since all variables in Emacs Lisp are ``special'' (in the Common
3094 Lisp sense), @code{special} declarations are only advisory. They
3095 simply tell the optimizing byte compiler that the specified
3096 variables are intentionally being referred to without being
3097 bound in the body of the function. The compiler normally emits
3098 warnings for such references, since they could be typographical
3099 errors for references to local variables.
3101 The declaration @code{(declare (special @var{var1} @var{var2}))} is
3102 equivalent to @code{(defvar @var{var1}) (defvar @var{var2})} in the
3103 optimizing compiler, or to nothing at all in older compilers (which
3104 do not warn for non-local references).
3106 In top-level contexts, it is generally better to write
3107 @code{(defvar @var{var})} than @code{(declaim (special @var{var}))},
3108 since @code{defvar} makes your intentions clearer. But the older
3109 byte compilers can not handle @code{defvar}s appearing inside of
3110 functions, while @code{(declare (special @var{var}))} takes care
3111 to work correctly with all compilers.
3114 The @code{inline} @var{decl-spec} lists one or more functions
3115 whose bodies should be expanded ``in-line'' into calling functions
3116 whenever the compiler is able to arrange for it. For example,
3117 the Common Lisp function @code{cadr} is declared @code{inline}
3118 by this package so that the form @code{(cadr @var{x})} will
3119 expand directly into @code{(car (cdr @var{x}))} when it is called
3120 in user functions, for a savings of one (relatively expensive)
3123 The following declarations are all equivalent. Note that the
3124 @code{defsubst} form is a convenient way to define a function
3125 and declare it inline all at once.
3128 (declaim (inline foo bar))
3129 (eval-when (compile load eval) (proclaim '(inline foo bar)))
3130 (defsubst foo (...) ...) ; instead of defun
3133 @strong{Please note:} this declaration remains in effect after the
3134 containing source file is done. It is correct to use it to
3135 request that a function you have defined should be inlined,
3136 but it is impolite to use it to request inlining of an external
3139 In Common Lisp, it is possible to use @code{(declare (inline @dots{}))}
3140 before a particular call to a function to cause just that call to
3141 be inlined; the current byte compilers provide no way to implement
3142 this, so @code{(declare (inline @dots{}))} is currently ignored by
3146 The @code{notinline} declaration lists functions which should
3147 not be inlined after all; it cancels a previous @code{inline}
3151 This declaration controls how much optimization is performed by
3152 the compiler. Naturally, it is ignored by the earlier non-optimizing
3155 The word @code{optimize} is followed by any number of lists like
3156 @code{(speed 3)} or @code{(safety 2)}. Common Lisp defines several
3157 optimization ``qualities''; this package ignores all but @code{speed}
3158 and @code{safety}. The value of a quality should be an integer from
3159 0 to 3, with 0 meaning ``unimportant'' and 3 meaning ``very important.''
3160 The default level for both qualities is 1.
3162 In this package, with the optimizing compiler, the
3163 @code{speed} quality is tied to the @code{byte-compile-optimize}
3164 flag, which is set to @code{nil} for @code{(speed 0)} and to
3165 @code{t} for higher settings; and the @code{safety} quality is
3166 tied to the @code{byte-compile-delete-errors} flag, which is
3167 set to @code{t} for @code{(safety 3)} and to @code{nil} for all
3168 lower settings. (The latter flag controls whether the compiler
3169 is allowed to optimize out code whose only side-effect could
3170 be to signal an error, e.g., rewriting @code{(progn foo bar)} to
3171 @code{bar} when it is not known whether @code{foo} will be bound
3174 Note that even compiling with @code{(safety 0)}, the Emacs
3175 byte-code system provides sufficient checking to prevent real
3176 harm from being done. For example, barring serious bugs in
3177 Emacs itself, Emacs will not crash with a segmentation fault
3178 just because of an error in a fully-optimized Lisp program.
3180 The @code{optimize} declaration is normally used in a top-level
3181 @code{proclaim} or @code{declaim} in a file; Common Lisp allows
3182 it to be used with @code{declare} to set the level of optimization
3183 locally for a given form, but this will not work correctly with the
3184 current version of the optimizing compiler. (The @code{declare}
3185 will set the new optimization level, but that level will not
3186 automatically be unset after the enclosing form is done.)
3189 This declaration controls what sorts of warnings are generated
3190 by the byte compiler. Again, only the optimizing compiler
3191 generates warnings. The word @code{warn} is followed by any
3192 number of ``warning qualities,'' similar in form to optimization
3193 qualities. The currently supported warning types are
3194 @code{redefine}, @code{callargs}, @code{unresolved}, and
3195 @code{free-vars}; in the current system, a value of 0 will
3196 disable these warnings and any higher value will enable them.
3197 See the documentation for the optimizing byte compiler for details.
3200 @node Symbols, Numbers, Declarations, Top
3204 This package defines several symbol-related features that were
3205 missing from Emacs Lisp.
3208 * Property Lists:: `get*', `remprop', `getf', `remf'
3209 * Creating Symbols:: `gensym', `gentemp'
3212 @node Property Lists, Creating Symbols, Symbols, Symbols
3213 @section Property Lists
3216 These functions augment the standard Emacs Lisp functions @code{get}
3217 and @code{put} for operating on properties attached to symbols.
3218 There are also functions for working with property lists as
3219 first-class data structures not attached to particular symbols.
3221 @defun get* symbol property &optional default
3222 This function is like @code{get}, except that if the property is
3223 not found, the @var{default} argument provides the return value.
3224 (The Emacs Lisp @code{get} function always uses @code{nil} as
3225 the default; this package's @code{get*} is equivalent to Common
3228 The @code{get*} function is @code{setf}-able; when used in this
3229 fashion, the @var{default} argument is allowed but ignored.
3232 @defun remprop symbol property
3233 This function removes the entry for @var{property} from the property
3234 list of @var{symbol}. It returns a true value if the property was
3235 indeed found and removed, or @code{nil} if there was no such property.
3236 (This function was probably omitted from Emacs originally because,
3237 since @code{get} did not allow a @var{default}, it was very difficult
3238 to distinguish between a missing property and a property whose value
3239 was @code{nil}; thus, setting a property to @code{nil} was close
3240 enough to @code{remprop} for most purposes.)
3243 @defun getf place property &optional default
3244 This function scans the list @var{place} as if it were a property
3245 list, i.e., a list of alternating property names and values. If
3246 an even-numbered element of @var{place} is found which is @code{eq}
3247 to @var{property}, the following odd-numbered element is returned.
3248 Otherwise, @var{default} is returned (or @code{nil} if no default
3254 (get sym prop) @equiv{} (getf (symbol-plist sym) prop)
3257 It is valid to use @code{getf} as a @code{setf} place, in which case
3258 its @var{place} argument must itself be a valid @code{setf} place.
3259 The @var{default} argument, if any, is ignored in this context.
3260 The effect is to change (via @code{setcar}) the value cell in the
3261 list that corresponds to @var{property}, or to cons a new property-value
3262 pair onto the list if the property is not yet present.
3265 (put sym prop val) @equiv{} (setf (getf (symbol-plist sym) prop) val)
3268 The @code{get} and @code{get*} functions are also @code{setf}-able.
3269 The fact that @code{default} is ignored can sometimes be useful:
3272 (incf (get* 'foo 'usage-count 0))
3275 Here, symbol @code{foo}'s @code{usage-count} property is incremented
3276 if it exists, or set to 1 (an incremented 0) otherwise.
3278 When not used as a @code{setf} form, @code{getf} is just a regular
3279 function and its @var{place} argument can actually be any Lisp
3283 @defspec remf place property
3284 This macro removes the property-value pair for @var{property} from
3285 the property list stored at @var{place}, which is any @code{setf}-able
3286 place expression. It returns true if the property was found. Note
3287 that if @var{property} happens to be first on the list, this will
3288 effectively do a @code{(setf @var{place} (cddr @var{place}))},
3289 whereas if it occurs later, this simply uses @code{setcdr} to splice
3290 out the property and value cells.
3297 @node Creating Symbols, , Property Lists, Symbols
3298 @section Creating Symbols
3301 These functions create unique symbols, typically for use as
3302 temporary variables.
3304 @defun gensym &optional x
3305 This function creates a new, uninterned symbol (using @code{make-symbol})
3306 with a unique name. (The name of an uninterned symbol is relevant
3307 only if the symbol is printed.) By default, the name is generated
3308 from an increasing sequence of numbers, @samp{G1000}, @samp{G1001},
3309 @samp{G1002}, etc. If the optional argument @var{x} is a string, that
3310 string is used as a prefix instead of @samp{G}. Uninterned symbols
3311 are used in macro expansions for temporary variables, to ensure that
3312 their names will not conflict with ``real'' variables in the user's
3316 @defvar *gensym-counter*
3317 This variable holds the counter used to generate @code{gensym} names.
3318 It is incremented after each use by @code{gensym}. In Common Lisp
3319 this is initialized with 0, but this package initializes it with a
3320 random (time-dependent) value to avoid trouble when two files that
3321 each used @code{gensym} in their compilation are loaded together.
3322 (Uninterned symbols become interned when the compiler writes them
3323 out to a file and the Emacs loader loads them, so their names have to
3324 be treated a bit more carefully than in Common Lisp where uninterned
3325 symbols remain uninterned after loading.)
3328 @defun gentemp &optional x
3329 This function is like @code{gensym}, except that it produces a new
3330 @emph{interned} symbol. If the symbol that is generated already
3331 exists, the function keeps incrementing the counter and trying
3332 again until a new symbol is generated.
3335 The Quiroz @file{cl.el} package also defined a @code{defkeyword}
3336 form for creating self-quoting keyword symbols. This package
3337 automatically creates all keywords that are called for by
3338 @code{&key} argument specifiers, and discourages the use of
3339 keywords as data unrelated to keyword arguments, so the
3340 @code{defkeyword} form has been discontinued.
3346 @node Numbers, Sequences, Symbols, Top
3350 This section defines a few simple Common Lisp operations on numbers
3351 which were left out of Emacs Lisp.
3354 * Predicates on Numbers:: `plusp', `oddp', `floatp-safe', etc.
3355 * Numerical Functions:: `abs', `floor*', etc.
3356 * Random Numbers:: `random*', `make-random-state'
3357 * Implementation Parameters:: `most-positive-float'
3364 @node Predicates on Numbers, Numerical Functions, Numbers, Numbers
3365 @section Predicates on Numbers
3368 These functions return @code{t} if the specified condition is
3369 true of the numerical argument, or @code{nil} otherwise.
3372 This predicate tests whether @var{number} is positive. It is an
3373 error if the argument is not a number.
3376 @defun minusp number
3377 This predicate tests whether @var{number} is negative. It is an
3378 error if the argument is not a number.
3382 This predicate tests whether @var{integer} is odd. It is an
3383 error if the argument is not an integer.
3386 @defun evenp integer
3387 This predicate tests whether @var{integer} is even. It is an
3388 error if the argument is not an integer.
3391 @defun floatp-safe object
3392 This predicate tests whether @var{object} is a floating-point
3393 number. On systems that support floating-point, this is equivalent
3394 to @code{floatp}. On other systems, this always returns @code{nil}.
3401 @node Numerical Functions, Random Numbers, Predicates on Numbers, Numbers
3402 @section Numerical Functions
3405 These functions perform various arithmetic operations on numbers.
3407 @defun gcd &rest integers
3408 This function returns the Greatest Common Divisor of the arguments.
3409 For one argument, it returns the absolute value of that argument.
3410 For zero arguments, it returns zero.
3413 @defun lcm &rest integers
3414 This function returns the Least Common Multiple of the arguments.
3415 For one argument, it returns the absolute value of that argument.
3416 For zero arguments, it returns one.
3419 @defun isqrt integer
3420 This function computes the ``integer square root'' of its integer
3421 argument, i.e., the greatest integer less than or equal to the true
3422 square root of the argument.
3425 @defun floor* number &optional divisor
3426 This function implements the Common Lisp @code{floor} function.
3427 It is called @code{floor*} to avoid name conflicts with the
3428 simpler @code{floor} function built-in to Emacs.
3430 With one argument, @code{floor*} returns a list of two numbers:
3431 The argument rounded down (toward minus infinity) to an integer,
3432 and the ``remainder'' which would have to be added back to the
3433 first return value to yield the argument again. If the argument
3434 is an integer @var{x}, the result is always the list @code{(@var{x} 0)}.
3435 If the argument is a floating-point number, the first
3436 result is a Lisp integer and the second is a Lisp float between
3437 0 (inclusive) and 1 (exclusive).
3439 With two arguments, @code{floor*} divides @var{number} by
3440 @var{divisor}, and returns the floor of the quotient and the
3441 corresponding remainder as a list of two numbers. If
3442 @code{(floor* @var{x} @var{y})} returns @code{(@var{q} @var{r})},
3443 then @code{@var{q}*@var{y} + @var{r} = @var{x}}, with @var{r}
3444 between 0 (inclusive) and @var{r} (exclusive). Also, note
3445 that @code{(floor* @var{x})} is exactly equivalent to
3446 @code{(floor* @var{x} 1)}.
3448 This function is entirely compatible with Common Lisp's @code{floor}
3449 function, except that it returns the two results in a list since
3450 Emacs Lisp does not support multiple-valued functions.
3453 @defun ceiling* number &optional divisor
3454 This function implements the Common Lisp @code{ceiling} function,
3455 which is analogous to @code{floor} except that it rounds the
3456 argument or quotient of the arguments up toward plus infinity.
3457 The remainder will be between 0 and minus @var{r}.
3460 @defun truncate* number &optional divisor
3461 This function implements the Common Lisp @code{truncate} function,
3462 which is analogous to @code{floor} except that it rounds the
3463 argument or quotient of the arguments toward zero. Thus it is
3464 equivalent to @code{floor*} if the argument or quotient is
3465 positive, or to @code{ceiling*} otherwise. The remainder has
3466 the same sign as @var{number}.
3469 @defun round* number &optional divisor
3470 This function implements the Common Lisp @code{round} function,
3471 which is analogous to @code{floor} except that it rounds the
3472 argument or quotient of the arguments to the nearest integer.
3473 In the case of a tie (the argument or quotient is exactly
3474 halfway between two integers), it rounds to the even integer.
3477 @defun mod* number divisor
3478 This function returns the same value as the second return value
3482 @defun rem* number divisor
3483 This function returns the same value as the second return value
3487 These definitions are compatible with those in the Quiroz
3488 @file{cl.el} package, except that this package appends @samp{*}
3489 to certain function names to avoid conflicts with existing
3490 Emacs functions, and that the mechanism for returning
3491 multiple values is different.
3497 @node Random Numbers, Implementation Parameters, Numerical Functions, Numbers
3498 @section Random Numbers
3501 This package also provides an implementation of the Common Lisp
3502 random number generator. It uses its own additive-congruential
3503 algorithm, which is much more likely to give statistically clean
3504 random numbers than the simple generators supplied by many
3507 @defun random* number &optional state
3508 This function returns a random nonnegative number less than
3509 @var{number}, and of the same type (either integer or floating-point).
3510 The @var{state} argument should be a @code{random-state} object
3511 which holds the state of the random number generator. The
3512 function modifies this state object as a side effect. If
3513 @var{state} is omitted, it defaults to the variable
3514 @code{*random-state*}, which contains a pre-initialized
3515 @code{random-state} object.
3518 @defvar *random-state*
3519 This variable contains the system ``default'' @code{random-state}
3520 object, used for calls to @code{random*} that do not specify an
3521 alternative state object. Since any number of programs in the
3522 Emacs process may be accessing @code{*random-state*} in interleaved
3523 fashion, the sequence generated from this variable will be
3524 irreproducible for all intents and purposes.
3527 @defun make-random-state &optional state
3528 This function creates or copies a @code{random-state} object.
3529 If @var{state} is omitted or @code{nil}, it returns a new copy of
3530 @code{*random-state*}. This is a copy in the sense that future
3531 sequences of calls to @code{(random* @var{n})} and
3532 @code{(random* @var{n} @var{s})} (where @var{s} is the new
3533 random-state object) will return identical sequences of random
3536 If @var{state} is a @code{random-state} object, this function
3537 returns a copy of that object. If @var{state} is @code{t}, this
3538 function returns a new @code{random-state} object seeded from the
3539 date and time. As an extension to Common Lisp, @var{state} may also
3540 be an integer in which case the new object is seeded from that
3541 integer; each different integer seed will result in a completely
3542 different sequence of random numbers.
3544 It is valid to print a @code{random-state} object to a buffer or
3545 file and later read it back with @code{read}. If a program wishes
3546 to use a sequence of pseudo-random numbers which can be reproduced
3547 later for debugging, it can call @code{(make-random-state t)} to
3548 get a new sequence, then print this sequence to a file. When the
3549 program is later rerun, it can read the original run's random-state
3553 @defun random-state-p object
3554 This predicate returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a
3555 @code{random-state} object, or @code{nil} otherwise.
3558 @node Implementation Parameters, , Random Numbers, Numbers
3559 @section Implementation Parameters
3562 This package defines several useful constants having to with numbers.
3564 The following parameters have to do with floating-point numbers.
3565 This package determines their values by exercising the computer's
3566 floating-point arithmetic in various ways. Because this operation
3567 might be slow, the code for initializing them is kept in a separate
3568 function that must be called before the parameters can be used.
3570 @defun cl-float-limits
3571 This function makes sure that the Common Lisp floating-point parameters
3572 like @code{most-positive-float} have been initialized. Until it is
3573 called, these parameters will be @code{nil}. If this version of Emacs
3574 does not support floats, the parameters will remain @code{nil}. If the
3575 parameters have already been initialized, the function returns
3578 The algorithm makes assumptions that will be valid for most modern
3579 machines, but will fail if the machine's arithmetic is extremely
3580 unusual, e.g., decimal.
3583 Since true Common Lisp supports up to four different floating-point
3584 precisions, it has families of constants like
3585 @code{most-positive-single-float}, @code{most-positive-double-float},
3586 @code{most-positive-long-float}, and so on. Emacs has only one
3587 floating-point precision, so this package omits the precision word
3588 from the constants' names.
3590 @defvar most-positive-float
3591 This constant equals the largest value a Lisp float can hold.
3592 For those systems whose arithmetic supports infinities, this is
3593 the largest @emph{finite} value. For IEEE machines, the value
3594 is approximately @code{1.79e+308}.
3597 @defvar most-negative-float
3598 This constant equals the most-negative value a Lisp float can hold.
3599 (It is assumed to be equal to @code{(- most-positive-float)}.)
3602 @defvar least-positive-float
3603 This constant equals the smallest Lisp float value greater than zero.
3604 For IEEE machines, it is about @code{4.94e-324} if denormals are
3605 supported or @code{2.22e-308} if not.
3608 @defvar least-positive-normalized-float
3609 This constant equals the smallest @emph{normalized} Lisp float greater
3610 than zero, i.e., the smallest value for which IEEE denormalization
3611 will not result in a loss of precision. For IEEE machines, this
3612 value is about @code{2.22e-308}. For machines that do not support
3613 the concept of denormalization and gradual underflow, this constant
3614 will always equal @code{least-positive-float}.
3617 @defvar least-negative-float
3618 This constant is the negative counterpart of @code{least-positive-float}.
3621 @defvar least-negative-normalized-float
3622 This constant is the negative counterpart of
3623 @code{least-positive-normalized-float}.
3626 @defvar float-epsilon
3627 This constant is the smallest positive Lisp float that can be added
3628 to 1.0 to produce a distinct value. Adding a smaller number to 1.0
3629 will yield 1.0 again due to roundoff. For IEEE machines, epsilon
3630 is about @code{2.22e-16}.
3633 @defvar float-negative-epsilon
3634 This is the smallest positive value that can be subtracted from
3635 1.0 to produce a distinct value. For IEEE machines, it is about
3643 @node Sequences, Lists, Numbers, Top
3647 Common Lisp defines a number of functions that operate on
3648 @dfn{sequences}, which are either lists, strings, or vectors.
3649 Emacs Lisp includes a few of these, notably @code{elt} and
3650 @code{length}; this package defines most of the rest.
3653 * Sequence Basics:: Arguments shared by all sequence functions
3654 * Mapping over Sequences:: `mapcar*', `mapcan', `map', `every', etc.
3655 * Sequence Functions:: `subseq', `remove*', `substitute', etc.
3656 * Searching Sequences:: `find', `position', `count', `search', etc.
3657 * Sorting Sequences:: `sort*', `stable-sort', `merge'
3660 @node Sequence Basics, Mapping over Sequences, Sequences, Sequences
3661 @section Sequence Basics
3664 Many of the sequence functions take keyword arguments; @pxref{Argument
3665 Lists}. All keyword arguments are optional and, if specified,
3666 may appear in any order.
3668 The @code{:key} argument should be passed either @code{nil}, or a
3669 function of one argument. This key function is used as a filter
3670 through which the elements of the sequence are seen; for example,
3671 @code{(find x y :key 'car)} is similar to @code{(assoc* x y)}:
3672 It searches for an element of the list whose @code{car} equals
3673 @code{x}, rather than for an element which equals @code{x} itself.
3674 If @code{:key} is omitted or @code{nil}, the filter is effectively
3675 the identity function.
3677 The @code{:test} and @code{:test-not} arguments should be either
3678 @code{nil}, or functions of two arguments. The test function is
3679 used to compare two sequence elements, or to compare a search value
3680 with sequence elements. (The two values are passed to the test
3681 function in the same order as the original sequence function
3682 arguments from which they are derived, or, if they both come from
3683 the same sequence, in the same order as they appear in that sequence.)
3684 The @code{:test} argument specifies a function which must return
3685 true (non-@code{nil}) to indicate a match; instead, you may use
3686 @code{:test-not} to give a function which returns @emph{false} to
3687 indicate a match. The default test function is @code{:test 'eql}.
3689 Many functions which take @var{item} and @code{:test} or @code{:test-not}
3690 arguments also come in @code{-if} and @code{-if-not} varieties,
3691 where a @var{predicate} function is passed instead of @var{item},
3692 and sequence elements match if the predicate returns true on them
3693 (or false in the case of @code{-if-not}). For example:
3696 (remove* 0 seq :test '=) @equiv{} (remove-if 'zerop seq)
3700 to remove all zeros from sequence @code{seq}.
3702 Some operations can work on a subsequence of the argument sequence;
3703 these function take @code{:start} and @code{:end} arguments which
3704 default to zero and the length of the sequence, respectively.
3705 Only elements between @var{start} (inclusive) and @var{end}
3706 (exclusive) are affected by the operation. The @var{end} argument
3707 may be passed @code{nil} to signify the length of the sequence;
3708 otherwise, both @var{start} and @var{end} must be integers, with
3709 @code{0 <= @var{start} <= @var{end} <= (length @var{seq})}.
3710 If the function takes two sequence arguments, the limits are
3711 defined by keywords @code{:start1} and @code{:end1} for the first,
3712 and @code{:start2} and @code{:end2} for the second.
3714 A few functions accept a @code{:from-end} argument, which, if
3715 non-@code{nil}, causes the operation to go from right-to-left
3716 through the sequence instead of left-to-right, and a @code{:count}
3717 argument, which specifies an integer maximum number of elements
3718 to be removed or otherwise processed.
3720 The sequence functions make no guarantees about the order in
3721 which the @code{:test}, @code{:test-not}, and @code{:key} functions
3722 are called on various elements. Therefore, it is a bad idea to depend
3723 on side effects of these functions. For example, @code{:from-end}
3724 may cause the sequence to be scanned actually in reverse, or it may
3725 be scanned forwards but computing a result ``as if'' it were scanned
3726 backwards. (Some functions, like @code{mapcar*} and @code{every},
3727 @emph{do} specify exactly the order in which the function is called
3728 so side effects are perfectly acceptable in those cases.)
3730 Strings may contain ``text properties'' as well
3731 as character data. Except as noted, it is undefined whether or
3732 not text properties are preserved by sequence functions. For
3733 example, @code{(remove* ?A @var{str})} may or may not preserve
3734 the properties of the characters copied from @var{str} into the
3737 @node Mapping over Sequences, Sequence Functions, Sequence Basics, Sequences
3738 @section Mapping over Sequences
3741 These functions ``map'' the function you specify over the elements
3742 of lists or arrays. They are all variations on the theme of the
3743 built-in function @code{mapcar}.
3745 @defun mapcar* function seq &rest more-seqs
3746 This function calls @var{function} on successive parallel sets of
3747 elements from its argument sequences. Given a single @var{seq}
3748 argument it is equivalent to @code{mapcar}; given @var{n} sequences,
3749 it calls the function with the first elements of each of the sequences
3750 as the @var{n} arguments to yield the first element of the result
3751 list, then with the second elements, and so on. The mapping stops as
3752 soon as the shortest sequence runs out. The argument sequences may
3753 be any mixture of lists, strings, and vectors; the return sequence
3756 Common Lisp's @code{mapcar} accepts multiple arguments but works
3757 only on lists; Emacs Lisp's @code{mapcar} accepts a single sequence
3758 argument. This package's @code{mapcar*} works as a compatible
3762 @defun map result-type function seq &rest more-seqs
3763 This function maps @var{function} over the argument sequences,
3764 just like @code{mapcar*}, but it returns a sequence of type
3765 @var{result-type} rather than a list. @var{result-type} must
3766 be one of the following symbols: @code{vector}, @code{string},
3767 @code{list} (in which case the effect is the same as for
3768 @code{mapcar*}), or @code{nil} (in which case the results are
3769 thrown away and @code{map} returns @code{nil}).
3772 @defun maplist function list &rest more-lists
3773 This function calls @var{function} on each of its argument lists,
3774 then on the @code{cdr}s of those lists, and so on, until the
3775 shortest list runs out. The results are returned in the form
3776 of a list. Thus, @code{maplist} is like @code{mapcar*} except
3777 that it passes in the list pointers themselves rather than the
3778 @code{car}s of the advancing pointers.
3781 @defun mapc function seq &rest more-seqs
3782 This function is like @code{mapcar*}, except that the values returned
3783 by @var{function} are ignored and thrown away rather than being
3784 collected into a list. The return value of @code{mapc} is @var{seq},
3785 the first sequence. This function is more general than the Emacs
3786 primitive @code{mapc}.
3789 @defun mapl function list &rest more-lists
3790 This function is like @code{maplist}, except that it throws away
3791 the values returned by @var{function}.
3794 @defun mapcan function seq &rest more-seqs
3795 This function is like @code{mapcar*}, except that it concatenates
3796 the return values (which must be lists) using @code{nconc},
3797 rather than simply collecting them into a list.
3800 @defun mapcon function list &rest more-lists
3801 This function is like @code{maplist}, except that it concatenates
3802 the return values using @code{nconc}.
3805 @defun some predicate seq &rest more-seqs
3806 This function calls @var{predicate} on each element of @var{seq}
3807 in turn; if @var{predicate} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3808 @code{some} returns that value, otherwise it returns @code{nil}.
3809 Given several sequence arguments, it steps through the sequences
3810 in parallel until the shortest one runs out, just as in
3811 @code{mapcar*}. You can rely on the left-to-right order in which
3812 the elements are visited, and on the fact that mapping stops
3813 immediately as soon as @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
3816 @defun every predicate seq &rest more-seqs
3817 This function calls @var{predicate} on each element of the sequence(s)
3818 in turn; it returns @code{nil} as soon as @var{predicate} returns
3819 @code{nil} for any element, or @code{t} if the predicate was true
3823 @defun notany predicate seq &rest more-seqs
3824 This function calls @var{predicate} on each element of the sequence(s)
3825 in turn; it returns @code{nil} as soon as @var{predicate} returns
3826 a non-@code{nil} value for any element, or @code{t} if the predicate
3827 was @code{nil} for all elements.
3830 @defun notevery predicate seq &rest more-seqs
3831 This function calls @var{predicate} on each element of the sequence(s)
3832 in turn; it returns a non-@code{nil} value as soon as @var{predicate}
3833 returns @code{nil} for any element, or @code{t} if the predicate was
3834 true for all elements.
3837 @defun reduce function seq @t{&key :from-end :start :end :initial-value :key}
3838 This function combines the elements of @var{seq} using an associative
3839 binary operation. Suppose @var{function} is @code{*} and @var{seq} is
3840 the list @code{(2 3 4 5)}. The first two elements of the list are
3841 combined with @code{(* 2 3) = 6}; this is combined with the next
3842 element, @code{(* 6 4) = 24}, and that is combined with the final
3843 element: @code{(* 24 5) = 120}. Note that the @code{*} function happens
3844 to be self-reducing, so that @code{(* 2 3 4 5)} has the same effect as
3845 an explicit call to @code{reduce}.
3847 If @code{:from-end} is true, the reduction is right-associative instead
3848 of left-associative:
3851 (reduce '- '(1 2 3 4))
3852 @equiv{} (- (- (- 1 2) 3) 4) @result{} -8
3853 (reduce '- '(1 2 3 4) :from-end t)
3854 @equiv{} (- 1 (- 2 (- 3 4))) @result{} -2
3857 If @code{:key} is specified, it is a function of one argument which
3858 is called on each of the sequence elements in turn.
3860 If @code{:initial-value} is specified, it is effectively added to the
3861 front (or rear in the case of @code{:from-end}) of the sequence.
3862 The @code{:key} function is @emph{not} applied to the initial value.
3864 If the sequence, including the initial value, has exactly one element
3865 then that element is returned without ever calling @var{function}.
3866 If the sequence is empty (and there is no initial value), then
3867 @var{function} is called with no arguments to obtain the return value.
3870 All of these mapping operations can be expressed conveniently in
3871 terms of the @code{loop} macro. In compiled code, @code{loop} will
3872 be faster since it generates the loop as in-line code with no
3875 @node Sequence Functions, Searching Sequences, Mapping over Sequences, Sequences
3876 @section Sequence Functions
3879 This section describes a number of Common Lisp functions for
3880 operating on sequences.
3882 @defun subseq sequence start &optional end
3883 This function returns a given subsequence of the argument
3884 @var{sequence}, which may be a list, string, or vector.
3885 The indices @var{start} and @var{end} must be in range, and
3886 @var{start} must be no greater than @var{end}. If @var{end}
3887 is omitted, it defaults to the length of the sequence. The
3888 return value is always a copy; it does not share structure
3889 with @var{sequence}.
3891 As an extension to Common Lisp, @var{start} and/or @var{end}
3892 may be negative, in which case they represent a distance back
3893 from the end of the sequence. This is for compatibility with
3894 Emacs' @code{substring} function. Note that @code{subseq} is
3895 the @emph{only} sequence function that allows negative
3896 @var{start} and @var{end}.
3898 You can use @code{setf} on a @code{subseq} form to replace a
3899 specified range of elements with elements from another sequence.
3900 The replacement is done as if by @code{replace}, described below.
3903 @defun concatenate result-type &rest seqs
3904 This function concatenates the argument sequences together to
3905 form a result sequence of type @var{result-type}, one of the
3906 symbols @code{vector}, @code{string}, or @code{list}. The
3907 arguments are always copied, even in cases such as
3908 @code{(concatenate 'list '(1 2 3))} where the result is
3909 identical to an argument.
3912 @defun fill seq item @t{&key :start :end}
3913 This function fills the elements of the sequence (or the specified
3914 part of the sequence) with the value @var{item}.
3917 @defun replace seq1 seq2 @t{&key :start1 :end1 :start2 :end2}
3918 This function copies part of @var{seq2} into part of @var{seq1}.
3919 The sequence @var{seq1} is not stretched or resized; the amount
3920 of data copied is simply the shorter of the source and destination
3921 (sub)sequences. The function returns @var{seq1}.
3923 If @var{seq1} and @var{seq2} are @code{eq}, then the replacement
3924 will work correctly even if the regions indicated by the start
3925 and end arguments overlap. However, if @var{seq1} and @var{seq2}
3926 are lists which share storage but are not @code{eq}, and the
3927 start and end arguments specify overlapping regions, the effect
3931 @defun remove* item seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :count :start :end :from-end}
3932 This returns a copy of @var{seq} with all elements matching
3933 @var{item} removed. The result may share storage with or be
3934 @code{eq} to @var{seq} in some circumstances, but the original
3935 @var{seq} will not be modified. The @code{:test}, @code{:test-not},
3936 and @code{:key} arguments define the matching test that is used;
3937 by default, elements @code{eql} to @var{item} are removed. The
3938 @code{:count} argument specifies the maximum number of matching
3939 elements that can be removed (only the leftmost @var{count} matches
3940 are removed). The @code{:start} and @code{:end} arguments specify
3941 a region in @var{seq} in which elements will be removed; elements
3942 outside that region are not matched or removed. The @code{:from-end}
3943 argument, if true, says that elements should be deleted from the
3944 end of the sequence rather than the beginning (this matters only
3945 if @var{count} was also specified).
3948 @defun delete* item seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :count :start :end :from-end}
3949 This deletes all elements of @var{seq} which match @var{item}.
3950 It is a destructive operation. Since Emacs Lisp does not support
3951 stretchable strings or vectors, this is the same as @code{remove*}
3952 for those sequence types. On lists, @code{remove*} will copy the
3953 list if necessary to preserve the original list, whereas
3954 @code{delete*} will splice out parts of the argument list.
3955 Compare @code{append} and @code{nconc}, which are analogous
3956 non-destructive and destructive list operations in Emacs Lisp.
3960 @findex remove-if-not
3962 @findex delete-if-not
3963 The predicate-oriented functions @code{remove-if}, @code{remove-if-not},
3964 @code{delete-if}, and @code{delete-if-not} are defined similarly.
3966 @defun remove-duplicates seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :start :end :from-end}
3967 This function returns a copy of @var{seq} with duplicate elements
3968 removed. Specifically, if two elements from the sequence match
3969 according to the @code{:test}, @code{:test-not}, and @code{:key}
3970 arguments, only the rightmost one is retained. If @code{:from-end}
3971 is true, the leftmost one is retained instead. If @code{:start} or
3972 @code{:end} is specified, only elements within that subsequence are
3973 examined or removed.
3976 @defun delete-duplicates seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :start :end :from-end}
3977 This function deletes duplicate elements from @var{seq}. It is
3978 a destructive version of @code{remove-duplicates}.
3981 @defun substitute new old seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :count :start :end :from-end}
3982 This function returns a copy of @var{seq}, with all elements
3983 matching @var{old} replaced with @var{new}. The @code{:count},
3984 @code{:start}, @code{:end}, and @code{:from-end} arguments may be
3985 used to limit the number of substitutions made.
3988 @defun nsubstitute new old seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :count :start :end :from-end}
3989 This is a destructive version of @code{substitute}; it performs
3990 the substitution using @code{setcar} or @code{aset} rather than
3991 by returning a changed copy of the sequence.
3994 @findex substitute-if
3995 @findex substitute-if-not
3996 @findex nsubstitute-if
3997 @findex nsubstitute-if-not
3998 The @code{substitute-if}, @code{substitute-if-not}, @code{nsubstitute-if},
3999 and @code{nsubstitute-if-not} functions are defined similarly. For
4000 these, a @var{predicate} is given in place of the @var{old} argument.
4002 @node Searching Sequences, Sorting Sequences, Sequence Functions, Sequences
4003 @section Searching Sequences
4006 These functions search for elements or subsequences in a sequence.
4007 (See also @code{member*} and @code{assoc*}; @pxref{Lists}.)
4009 @defun find item seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :start :end :from-end}
4010 This function searches @var{seq} for an element matching @var{item}.
4011 If it finds a match, it returns the matching element. Otherwise,
4012 it returns @code{nil}. It returns the leftmost match, unless
4013 @code{:from-end} is true, in which case it returns the rightmost
4014 match. The @code{:start} and @code{:end} arguments may be used to
4015 limit the range of elements that are searched.
4018 @defun position item seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :start :end :from-end}
4019 This function is like @code{find}, except that it returns the
4020 integer position in the sequence of the matching item rather than
4021 the item itself. The position is relative to the start of the
4022 sequence as a whole, even if @code{:start} is non-zero. The function
4023 returns @code{nil} if no matching element was found.
4026 @defun count item seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :start :end}
4027 This function returns the number of elements of @var{seq} which
4028 match @var{item}. The result is always a nonnegative integer.
4034 @findex position-if-not
4036 @findex count-if-not
4037 The @code{find-if}, @code{find-if-not}, @code{position-if},
4038 @code{position-if-not}, @code{count-if}, and @code{count-if-not}
4039 functions are defined similarly.
4041 @defun mismatch seq1 seq2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key :start1 :end1 :start2 :end2 :from-end}
4042 This function compares the specified parts of @var{seq1} and
4043 @var{seq2}. If they are the same length and the corresponding
4044 elements match (according to @code{:test}, @code{:test-not},
4045 and @code{:key}), the function returns @code{nil}. If there is
4046 a mismatch, the function returns the index (relative to @var{seq1})
4047 of the first mismatching element. This will be the leftmost pair of
4048 elements which do not match, or the position at which the shorter of
4049 the two otherwise-matching sequences runs out.
4051 If @code{:from-end} is true, then the elements are compared from right
4052 to left starting at @code{(1- @var{end1})} and @code{(1- @var{end2})}.
4053 If the sequences differ, then one plus the index of the rightmost
4054 difference (relative to @var{seq1}) is returned.
4056 An interesting example is @code{(mismatch str1 str2 :key 'upcase)},
4057 which compares two strings case-insensitively.
4060 @defun search seq1 seq2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key :from-end :start1 :end1 :start2 :end2}
4061 This function searches @var{seq2} for a subsequence that matches
4062 @var{seq1} (or part of it specified by @code{:start1} and
4063 @code{:end1}.) Only matches which fall entirely within the region
4064 defined by @code{:start2} and @code{:end2} will be considered.
4065 The return value is the index of the leftmost element of the
4066 leftmost match, relative to the start of @var{seq2}, or @code{nil}
4067 if no matches were found. If @code{:from-end} is true, the
4068 function finds the @emph{rightmost} matching subsequence.
4071 @node Sorting Sequences, , Searching Sequences, Sequences
4072 @section Sorting Sequences
4074 @defun sort* seq predicate @t{&key :key}
4075 This function sorts @var{seq} into increasing order as determined
4076 by using @var{predicate} to compare pairs of elements. @var{predicate}
4077 should return true (non-@code{nil}) if and only if its first argument
4078 is less than (not equal to) its second argument. For example,
4079 @code{<} and @code{string-lessp} are suitable predicate functions
4080 for sorting numbers and strings, respectively; @code{>} would sort
4081 numbers into decreasing rather than increasing order.
4083 This function differs from Emacs' built-in @code{sort} in that it
4084 can operate on any type of sequence, not just lists. Also, it
4085 accepts a @code{:key} argument which is used to preprocess data
4086 fed to the @var{predicate} function. For example,
4089 (setq data (sort* data 'string-lessp :key 'downcase))
4093 sorts @var{data}, a sequence of strings, into increasing alphabetical
4094 order without regard to case. A @code{:key} function of @code{car}
4095 would be useful for sorting association lists. It should only be a
4096 simple accessor though, it's used heavily in the current
4099 The @code{sort*} function is destructive; it sorts lists by actually
4100 rearranging the @code{cdr} pointers in suitable fashion.
4103 @defun stable-sort seq predicate @t{&key :key}
4104 This function sorts @var{seq} @dfn{stably}, meaning two elements
4105 which are equal in terms of @var{predicate} are guaranteed not to
4106 be rearranged out of their original order by the sort.
4108 In practice, @code{sort*} and @code{stable-sort} are equivalent
4109 in Emacs Lisp because the underlying @code{sort} function is
4110 stable by default. However, this package reserves the right to
4111 use non-stable methods for @code{sort*} in the future.
4114 @defun merge type seq1 seq2 predicate @t{&key :key}
4115 This function merges two sequences @var{seq1} and @var{seq2} by
4116 interleaving their elements. The result sequence, of type @var{type}
4117 (in the sense of @code{concatenate}), has length equal to the sum
4118 of the lengths of the two input sequences. The sequences may be
4119 modified destructively. Order of elements within @var{seq1} and
4120 @var{seq2} is preserved in the interleaving; elements of the two
4121 sequences are compared by @var{predicate} (in the sense of
4122 @code{sort}) and the lesser element goes first in the result.
4123 When elements are equal, those from @var{seq1} precede those from
4124 @var{seq2} in the result. Thus, if @var{seq1} and @var{seq2} are
4125 both sorted according to @var{predicate}, then the result will be
4126 a merged sequence which is (stably) sorted according to
4130 @node Lists, Structures, Sequences, Top
4134 The functions described here operate on lists.
4137 * List Functions:: `caddr', `first', `list*', etc.
4138 * Substitution of Expressions:: `subst', `sublis', etc.
4139 * Lists as Sets:: `member*', `adjoin', `union', etc.
4140 * Association Lists:: `assoc*', `rassoc*', `acons', `pairlis'
4143 @node List Functions, Substitution of Expressions, Lists, Lists
4144 @section List Functions
4147 This section describes a number of simple operations on lists,
4148 i.e., chains of cons cells.
4151 This function is equivalent to @code{(car (cdr (cdr @var{x})))}.
4152 Likewise, this package defines all 28 @code{c@var{xxx}r} functions
4153 where @var{xxx} is up to four @samp{a}s and/or @samp{d}s.
4154 All of these functions are @code{setf}-able, and calls to them
4155 are expanded inline by the byte-compiler for maximum efficiency.
4159 This function is a synonym for @code{(car @var{x})}. Likewise,
4160 the functions @code{second}, @code{third}, @dots{}, through
4161 @code{tenth} return the given element of the list @var{x}.
4165 This function is a synonym for @code{(cdr @var{x})}.
4169 Common Lisp defines this function to act like @code{null}, but
4170 signaling an error if @code{x} is neither a @code{nil} nor a
4171 cons cell. This package simply defines @code{endp} as a synonym
4175 @defun list-length x
4176 This function returns the length of list @var{x}, exactly like
4177 @code{(length @var{x})}, except that if @var{x} is a circular
4178 list (where the cdr-chain forms a loop rather than terminating
4179 with @code{nil}), this function returns @code{nil}. (The regular
4180 @code{length} function would get stuck if given a circular list.)
4183 @defun list* arg &rest others
4184 This function constructs a list of its arguments. The final
4185 argument becomes the @code{cdr} of the last cell constructed.
4186 Thus, @code{(list* @var{a} @var{b} @var{c})} is equivalent to
4187 @code{(cons @var{a} (cons @var{b} @var{c}))}, and
4188 @code{(list* @var{a} @var{b} nil)} is equivalent to
4189 @code{(list @var{a} @var{b})}.
4191 (Note that this function really is called @code{list*} in Common
4192 Lisp; it is not a name invented for this package like @code{member*}
4196 @defun ldiff list sublist
4197 If @var{sublist} is a sublist of @var{list}, i.e., is @code{eq} to
4198 one of the cons cells of @var{list}, then this function returns
4199 a copy of the part of @var{list} up to but not including
4200 @var{sublist}. For example, @code{(ldiff x (cddr x))} returns
4201 the first two elements of the list @code{x}. The result is a
4202 copy; the original @var{list} is not modified. If @var{sublist}
4203 is not a sublist of @var{list}, a copy of the entire @var{list}
4207 @defun copy-list list
4208 This function returns a copy of the list @var{list}. It copies
4209 dotted lists like @code{(1 2 . 3)} correctly.
4212 @defun copy-tree x &optional vecp
4213 This function returns a copy of the tree of cons cells @var{x}.
4214 Unlike @code{copy-sequence} (and its alias @code{copy-list}),
4215 which copies only along the @code{cdr} direction, this function
4216 copies (recursively) along both the @code{car} and the @code{cdr}
4217 directions. If @var{x} is not a cons cell, the function simply
4218 returns @var{x} unchanged. If the optional @var{vecp} argument
4219 is true, this function copies vectors (recursively) as well as
4223 @defun tree-equal x y @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4224 This function compares two trees of cons cells. If @var{x} and
4225 @var{y} are both cons cells, their @code{car}s and @code{cdr}s are
4226 compared recursively. If neither @var{x} nor @var{y} is a cons
4227 cell, they are compared by @code{eql}, or according to the
4228 specified test. The @code{:key} function, if specified, is
4229 applied to the elements of both trees. @xref{Sequences}.
4236 @node Substitution of Expressions, Lists as Sets, List Functions, Lists
4237 @section Substitution of Expressions
4240 These functions substitute elements throughout a tree of cons
4241 cells. (@xref{Sequence Functions}, for the @code{substitute}
4242 function, which works on just the top-level elements of a list.)
4244 @defun subst new old tree @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4245 This function substitutes occurrences of @var{old} with @var{new}
4246 in @var{tree}, a tree of cons cells. It returns a substituted
4247 tree, which will be a copy except that it may share storage with
4248 the argument @var{tree} in parts where no substitutions occurred.
4249 The original @var{tree} is not modified. This function recurses
4250 on, and compares against @var{old}, both @code{car}s and @code{cdr}s
4251 of the component cons cells. If @var{old} is itself a cons cell,
4252 then matching cells in the tree are substituted as usual without
4253 recursively substituting in that cell. Comparisons with @var{old}
4254 are done according to the specified test (@code{eql} by default).
4255 The @code{:key} function is applied to the elements of the tree
4256 but not to @var{old}.
4259 @defun nsubst new old tree @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4260 This function is like @code{subst}, except that it works by
4261 destructive modification (by @code{setcar} or @code{setcdr})
4262 rather than copying.
4266 @findex subst-if-not
4268 @findex nsubst-if-not
4269 The @code{subst-if}, @code{subst-if-not}, @code{nsubst-if}, and
4270 @code{nsubst-if-not} functions are defined similarly.
4272 @defun sublis alist tree @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4273 This function is like @code{subst}, except that it takes an
4274 association list @var{alist} of @var{old}-@var{new} pairs.
4275 Each element of the tree (after applying the @code{:key}
4276 function, if any), is compared with the @code{car}s of
4277 @var{alist}; if it matches, it is replaced by the corresponding
4281 @defun nsublis alist tree @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4282 This is a destructive version of @code{sublis}.
4285 @node Lists as Sets, Association Lists, Substitution of Expressions, Lists
4286 @section Lists as Sets
4289 These functions perform operations on lists which represent sets
4292 @defun member* item list @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4293 This function searches @var{list} for an element matching @var{item}.
4294 If a match is found, it returns the cons cell whose @code{car} was
4295 the matching element. Otherwise, it returns @code{nil}. Elements
4296 are compared by @code{eql} by default; you can use the @code{:test},
4297 @code{:test-not}, and @code{:key} arguments to modify this behavior.
4300 Note that this function's name is suffixed by @samp{*} to avoid
4301 the incompatible @code{member} function defined in Emacs.
4302 (That function uses @code{equal} for comparisons; it is equivalent
4303 to @code{(member* @var{item} @var{list} :test 'equal)}.)
4307 @findex member-if-not
4308 The @code{member-if} and @code{member-if-not} functions
4309 analogously search for elements which satisfy a given predicate.
4311 @defun tailp sublist list
4312 This function returns @code{t} if @var{sublist} is a sublist of
4313 @var{list}, i.e., if @var{sublist} is @code{eql} to @var{list} or to
4314 any of its @code{cdr}s.
4317 @defun adjoin item list @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4318 This function conses @var{item} onto the front of @var{list},
4319 like @code{(cons @var{item} @var{list})}, but only if @var{item}
4320 is not already present on the list (as determined by @code{member*}).
4321 If a @code{:key} argument is specified, it is applied to
4322 @var{item} as well as to the elements of @var{list} during
4323 the search, on the reasoning that @var{item} is ``about'' to
4324 become part of the list.
4327 @defun union list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4328 This function combines two lists which represent sets of items,
4329 returning a list that represents the union of those two sets.
4330 The result list will contain all items which appear in @var{list1}
4331 or @var{list2}, and no others. If an item appears in both
4332 @var{list1} and @var{list2} it will be copied only once. If
4333 an item is duplicated in @var{list1} or @var{list2}, it is
4334 undefined whether or not that duplication will survive in the
4335 result list. The order of elements in the result list is also
4339 @defun nunion list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4340 This is a destructive version of @code{union}; rather than copying,
4341 it tries to reuse the storage of the argument lists if possible.
4344 @defun intersection list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4345 This function computes the intersection of the sets represented
4346 by @var{list1} and @var{list2}. It returns the list of items
4347 which appear in both @var{list1} and @var{list2}.
4350 @defun nintersection list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4351 This is a destructive version of @code{intersection}. It
4352 tries to reuse storage of @var{list1} rather than copying.
4353 It does @emph{not} reuse the storage of @var{list2}.
4356 @defun set-difference list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4357 This function computes the ``set difference'' of @var{list1}
4358 and @var{list2}, i.e., the set of elements that appear in
4359 @var{list1} but @emph{not} in @var{list2}.
4362 @defun nset-difference list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4363 This is a destructive @code{set-difference}, which will try
4364 to reuse @var{list1} if possible.
4367 @defun set-exclusive-or list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4368 This function computes the ``set exclusive or'' of @var{list1}
4369 and @var{list2}, i.e., the set of elements that appear in
4370 exactly one of @var{list1} and @var{list2}.
4373 @defun nset-exclusive-or list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4374 This is a destructive @code{set-exclusive-or}, which will try
4375 to reuse @var{list1} and @var{list2} if possible.
4378 @defun subsetp list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4379 This function checks whether @var{list1} represents a subset
4380 of @var{list2}, i.e., whether every element of @var{list1}
4381 also appears in @var{list2}.
4384 @node Association Lists, , Lists as Sets, Lists
4385 @section Association Lists
4388 An @dfn{association list} is a list representing a mapping from
4389 one set of values to another; any list whose elements are cons
4390 cells is an association list.
4392 @defun assoc* item a-list @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4393 This function searches the association list @var{a-list} for an
4394 element whose @code{car} matches (in the sense of @code{:test},
4395 @code{:test-not}, and @code{:key}, or by comparison with @code{eql})
4396 a given @var{item}. It returns the matching element, if any,
4397 otherwise @code{nil}. It ignores elements of @var{a-list} which
4398 are not cons cells. (This corresponds to the behavior of
4399 @code{assq} and @code{assoc} in Emacs Lisp; Common Lisp's
4400 @code{assoc} ignores @code{nil}s but considers any other non-cons
4401 elements of @var{a-list} to be an error.)
4404 @defun rassoc* item a-list @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4405 This function searches for an element whose @code{cdr} matches
4406 @var{item}. If @var{a-list} represents a mapping, this applies
4407 the inverse of the mapping to @var{item}.
4411 @findex assoc-if-not
4413 @findex rassoc-if-not
4414 The @code{assoc-if}, @code{assoc-if-not}, @code{rassoc-if},
4415 and @code{rassoc-if-not} functions are defined similarly.
4417 Two simple functions for constructing association lists are:
4419 @defun acons key value alist
4420 This is equivalent to @code{(cons (cons @var{key} @var{value}) @var{alist})}.
4423 @defun pairlis keys values &optional alist
4424 This is equivalent to @code{(nconc (mapcar* 'cons @var{keys} @var{values})
4432 @node Structures, Assertions, Lists, Top
4436 The Common Lisp @dfn{structure} mechanism provides a general way
4437 to define data types similar to C's @code{struct} types. A
4438 structure is a Lisp object containing some number of @dfn{slots},
4439 each of which can hold any Lisp data object. Functions are
4440 provided for accessing and setting the slots, creating or copying
4441 structure objects, and recognizing objects of a particular structure
4444 In true Common Lisp, each structure type is a new type distinct
4445 from all existing Lisp types. Since the underlying Emacs Lisp
4446 system provides no way to create new distinct types, this package
4447 implements structures as vectors (or lists upon request) with a
4448 special ``tag'' symbol to identify them.
4450 @defspec defstruct name slots@dots{}
4451 The @code{defstruct} form defines a new structure type called
4452 @var{name}, with the specified @var{slots}. (The @var{slots}
4453 may begin with a string which documents the structure type.)
4454 In the simplest case, @var{name} and each of the @var{slots}
4455 are symbols. For example,
4458 (defstruct person name age sex)
4462 defines a struct type called @code{person} which contains three
4463 slots. Given a @code{person} object @var{p}, you can access those
4464 slots by calling @code{(person-name @var{p})}, @code{(person-age @var{p})},
4465 and @code{(person-sex @var{p})}. You can also change these slots by
4466 using @code{setf} on any of these place forms:
4469 (incf (person-age birthday-boy))
4472 You can create a new @code{person} by calling @code{make-person},
4473 which takes keyword arguments @code{:name}, @code{:age}, and
4474 @code{:sex} to specify the initial values of these slots in the
4475 new object. (Omitting any of these arguments leaves the corresponding
4476 slot ``undefined,'' according to the Common Lisp standard; in Emacs
4477 Lisp, such uninitialized slots are filled with @code{nil}.)
4479 Given a @code{person}, @code{(copy-person @var{p})} makes a new
4480 object of the same type whose slots are @code{eq} to those of @var{p}.
4482 Given any Lisp object @var{x}, @code{(person-p @var{x})} returns
4483 true if @var{x} looks like a @code{person}, false otherwise. (Again,
4484 in Common Lisp this predicate would be exact; in Emacs Lisp the
4485 best it can do is verify that @var{x} is a vector of the correct
4486 length which starts with the correct tag symbol.)
4488 Accessors like @code{person-name} normally check their arguments
4489 (effectively using @code{person-p}) and signal an error if the
4490 argument is the wrong type. This check is affected by
4491 @code{(optimize (safety @dots{}))} declarations. Safety level 1,
4492 the default, uses a somewhat optimized check that will detect all
4493 incorrect arguments, but may use an uninformative error message
4494 (e.g., ``expected a vector'' instead of ``expected a @code{person}'').
4495 Safety level 0 omits all checks except as provided by the underlying
4496 @code{aref} call; safety levels 2 and 3 do rigorous checking that will
4497 always print a descriptive error message for incorrect inputs.
4498 @xref{Declarations}.
4501 (setq dave (make-person :name "Dave" :sex 'male))
4502 @result{} [cl-struct-person "Dave" nil male]
4503 (setq other (copy-person dave))
4504 @result{} [cl-struct-person "Dave" nil male]
4507 (eq (person-name dave) (person-name other))
4511 (person-p [1 2 3 4])
4515 (person-p '[cl-struct-person counterfeit person object])
4519 In general, @var{name} is either a name symbol or a list of a name
4520 symbol followed by any number of @dfn{struct options}; each @var{slot}
4521 is either a slot symbol or a list of the form @samp{(@var{slot-name}
4522 @var{default-value} @var{slot-options}@dots{})}. The @var{default-value}
4523 is a Lisp form which is evaluated any time an instance of the
4524 structure type is created without specifying that slot's value.
4526 Common Lisp defines several slot options, but the only one
4527 implemented in this package is @code{:read-only}. A non-@code{nil}
4528 value for this option means the slot should not be @code{setf}-able;
4529 the slot's value is determined when the object is created and does
4530 not change afterward.
4534 (name nil :read-only t)
4539 Any slot options other than @code{:read-only} are ignored.
4541 For obscure historical reasons, structure options take a different
4542 form than slot options. A structure option is either a keyword
4543 symbol, or a list beginning with a keyword symbol possibly followed
4544 by arguments. (By contrast, slot options are key-value pairs not
4548 (defstruct (person (:constructor create-person)
4554 The following structure options are recognized.
4559 @advance@leftskip-.5@tableindent
4562 The argument is a symbol whose print name is used as the prefix for
4563 the names of slot accessor functions. The default is the name of
4564 the struct type followed by a hyphen. The option @code{(:conc-name p-)}
4565 would change this prefix to @code{p-}. Specifying @code{nil} as an
4566 argument means no prefix, so that the slot names themselves are used
4567 to name the accessor functions.
4570 In the simple case, this option takes one argument which is an
4571 alternate name to use for the constructor function. The default
4572 is @code{make-@var{name}}, e.g., @code{make-person}. The above
4573 example changes this to @code{create-person}. Specifying @code{nil}
4574 as an argument means that no standard constructor should be
4577 In the full form of this option, the constructor name is followed
4578 by an arbitrary argument list. @xref{Program Structure}, for a
4579 description of the format of Common Lisp argument lists. All
4580 options, such as @code{&rest} and @code{&key}, are supported.
4581 The argument names should match the slot names; each slot is
4582 initialized from the corresponding argument. Slots whose names
4583 do not appear in the argument list are initialized based on the
4584 @var{default-value} in their slot descriptor. Also, @code{&optional}
4585 and @code{&key} arguments which don't specify defaults take their
4586 defaults from the slot descriptor. It is valid to include arguments
4587 which don't correspond to slot names; these are useful if they are
4588 referred to in the defaults for optional, keyword, or @code{&aux}
4589 arguments which @emph{do} correspond to slots.
4591 You can specify any number of full-format @code{:constructor}
4592 options on a structure. The default constructor is still generated
4593 as well unless you disable it with a simple-format @code{:constructor}
4599 (:constructor nil) ; no default constructor
4600 (:constructor new-person (name sex &optional (age 0)))
4601 (:constructor new-hound (&key (name "Rover")
4603 &aux (age (* 7 dog-years))
4608 The first constructor here takes its arguments positionally rather
4609 than by keyword. (In official Common Lisp terminology, constructors
4610 that work By Order of Arguments instead of by keyword are called
4611 ``BOA constructors.'' No, I'm not making this up.) For example,
4612 @code{(new-person "Jane" 'female)} generates a person whose slots
4613 are @code{"Jane"}, 0, and @code{female}, respectively.
4615 The second constructor takes two keyword arguments, @code{:name},
4616 which initializes the @code{name} slot and defaults to @code{"Rover"},
4617 and @code{:dog-years}, which does not itself correspond to a slot
4618 but which is used to initialize the @code{age} slot. The @code{sex}
4619 slot is forced to the symbol @code{canine} with no syntax for
4623 The argument is an alternate name for the copier function for
4624 this type. The default is @code{copy-@var{name}}. @code{nil}
4625 means not to generate a copier function. (In this implementation,
4626 all copier functions are simply synonyms for @code{copy-sequence}.)
4629 The argument is an alternate name for the predicate which recognizes
4630 objects of this type. The default is @code{@var{name}-p}. @code{nil}
4631 means not to generate a predicate function. (If the @code{:type}
4632 option is used without the @code{:named} option, no predicate is
4635 In true Common Lisp, @code{typep} is always able to recognize a
4636 structure object even if @code{:predicate} was used. In this
4637 package, @code{typep} simply looks for a function called
4638 @code{@var{typename}-p}, so it will work for structure types
4639 only if they used the default predicate name.
4642 This option implements a very limited form of C++-style inheritance.
4643 The argument is the name of another structure type previously
4644 created with @code{defstruct}. The effect is to cause the new
4645 structure type to inherit all of the included structure's slots
4646 (plus, of course, any new slots described by this struct's slot
4647 descriptors). The new structure is considered a ``specialization''
4648 of the included one. In fact, the predicate and slot accessors
4649 for the included type will also accept objects of the new type.
4651 If there are extra arguments to the @code{:include} option after
4652 the included-structure name, these options are treated as replacement
4653 slot descriptors for slots in the included structure, possibly with
4654 modified default values. Borrowing an example from Steele:
4657 (defstruct person name (age 0) sex)
4659 (defstruct (astronaut (:include person (age 45)))
4661 (favorite-beverage 'tang))
4664 (setq joe (make-person :name "Joe"))
4665 @result{} [cl-struct-person "Joe" 0 nil]
4666 (setq buzz (make-astronaut :name "Buzz"))
4667 @result{} [cl-struct-astronaut "Buzz" 45 nil nil tang]
4669 (list (person-p joe) (person-p buzz))
4671 (list (astronaut-p joe) (astronaut-p buzz))
4676 (astronaut-name joe)
4677 @result{} error: "astronaut-name accessing a non-astronaut"
4680 Thus, if @code{astronaut} is a specialization of @code{person},
4681 then every @code{astronaut} is also a @code{person} (but not the
4682 other way around). Every @code{astronaut} includes all the slots
4683 of a @code{person}, plus extra slots that are specific to
4684 astronauts. Operations that work on people (like @code{person-name})
4685 work on astronauts just like other people.
4687 @item :print-function
4688 In full Common Lisp, this option allows you to specify a function
4689 which is called to print an instance of the structure type. The
4690 Emacs Lisp system offers no hooks into the Lisp printer which would
4691 allow for such a feature, so this package simply ignores
4692 @code{:print-function}.
4695 The argument should be one of the symbols @code{vector} or @code{list}.
4696 This tells which underlying Lisp data type should be used to implement
4697 the new structure type. Vectors are used by default, but
4698 @code{(:type list)} will cause structure objects to be stored as
4701 The vector representation for structure objects has the advantage
4702 that all structure slots can be accessed quickly, although creating
4703 vectors is a bit slower in Emacs Lisp. Lists are easier to create,
4704 but take a relatively long time accessing the later slots.
4707 This option, which takes no arguments, causes a characteristic ``tag''
4708 symbol to be stored at the front of the structure object. Using
4709 @code{:type} without also using @code{:named} will result in a
4710 structure type stored as plain vectors or lists with no identifying
4713 The default, if you don't specify @code{:type} explicitly, is to
4714 use named vectors. Therefore, @code{:named} is only useful in
4715 conjunction with @code{:type}.
4718 (defstruct (person1) name age sex)
4719 (defstruct (person2 (:type list) :named) name age sex)
4720 (defstruct (person3 (:type list)) name age sex)
4722 (setq p1 (make-person1))
4723 @result{} [cl-struct-person1 nil nil nil]
4724 (setq p2 (make-person2))
4725 @result{} (person2 nil nil nil)
4726 (setq p3 (make-person3))
4727 @result{} (nil nil nil)
4734 @result{} error: function person3-p undefined
4737 Since unnamed structures don't have tags, @code{defstruct} is not
4738 able to make a useful predicate for recognizing them. Also,
4739 accessors like @code{person3-name} will be generated but they
4740 will not be able to do any type checking. The @code{person3-name}
4741 function, for example, will simply be a synonym for @code{car} in
4742 this case. By contrast, @code{person2-name} is able to verify
4743 that its argument is indeed a @code{person2} object before
4746 @item :initial-offset
4747 The argument must be a nonnegative integer. It specifies a
4748 number of slots to be left ``empty'' at the front of the
4749 structure. If the structure is named, the tag appears at the
4750 specified position in the list or vector; otherwise, the first
4751 slot appears at that position. Earlier positions are filled
4752 with @code{nil} by the constructors and ignored otherwise. If
4753 the type @code{:include}s another type, then @code{:initial-offset}
4754 specifies a number of slots to be skipped between the last slot
4755 of the included type and the first new slot.
4759 Except as noted, the @code{defstruct} facility of this package is
4760 entirely compatible with that of Common Lisp.
4766 @node Assertions, Efficiency Concerns, Structures, Top
4767 @chapter Assertions and Errors
4770 This section describes two macros that test @dfn{assertions}, i.e.,
4771 conditions which must be true if the program is operating correctly.
4772 Assertions never add to the behavior of a Lisp program; they simply
4773 make ``sanity checks'' to make sure everything is as it should be.
4775 If the optimization property @code{speed} has been set to 3, and
4776 @code{safety} is less than 3, then the byte-compiler will optimize
4777 away the following assertions. Because assertions might be optimized
4778 away, it is a bad idea for them to include side-effects.
4780 @defspec assert test-form [show-args string args@dots{}]
4781 This form verifies that @var{test-form} is true (i.e., evaluates to
4782 a non-@code{nil} value). If so, it returns @code{nil}. If the test
4783 is not satisfied, @code{assert} signals an error.
4785 A default error message will be supplied which includes @var{test-form}.
4786 You can specify a different error message by including a @var{string}
4787 argument plus optional extra arguments. Those arguments are simply
4788 passed to @code{error} to signal the error.
4790 If the optional second argument @var{show-args} is @code{t} instead
4791 of @code{nil}, then the error message (with or without @var{string})
4792 will also include all non-constant arguments of the top-level
4793 @var{form}. For example:
4796 (assert (> x 10) t "x is too small: %d")
4799 This usage of @var{show-args} is an extension to Common Lisp. In
4800 true Common Lisp, the second argument gives a list of @var{places}
4801 which can be @code{setf}'d by the user before continuing from the
4802 error. Since Emacs Lisp does not support continuable errors, it
4803 makes no sense to specify @var{places}.
4806 @defspec check-type form type [string]
4807 This form verifies that @var{form} evaluates to a value of type
4808 @var{type}. If so, it returns @code{nil}. If not, @code{check-type}
4809 signals a @code{wrong-type-argument} error. The default error message
4810 lists the erroneous value along with @var{type} and @var{form}
4811 themselves. If @var{string} is specified, it is included in the
4812 error message in place of @var{type}. For example:
4815 (check-type x (integer 1 *) "a positive integer")
4818 @xref{Type Predicates}, for a description of the type specifiers
4819 that may be used for @var{type}.
4821 Note that in Common Lisp, the first argument to @code{check-type}
4822 must be a @var{place} suitable for use by @code{setf}, because
4823 @code{check-type} signals a continuable error that allows the
4824 user to modify @var{place}.
4827 The following error-related macro is also defined:
4829 @defspec ignore-errors forms@dots{}
4830 This executes @var{forms} exactly like a @code{progn}, except that
4831 errors are ignored during the @var{forms}. More precisely, if
4832 an error is signaled then @code{ignore-errors} immediately
4833 aborts execution of the @var{forms} and returns @code{nil}.
4834 If the @var{forms} complete successfully, @code{ignore-errors}
4835 returns the result of the last @var{form}.
4838 @node Efficiency Concerns, Common Lisp Compatibility, Assertions, Top
4839 @appendix Efficiency Concerns
4844 Many of the advanced features of this package, such as @code{defun*},
4845 @code{loop}, and @code{setf}, are implemented as Lisp macros. In
4846 byte-compiled code, these complex notations will be expanded into
4847 equivalent Lisp code which is simple and efficient. For example,
4856 are expanded at compile-time to the Lisp forms
4860 (setcar p (cons x (car p)))
4864 which are the most efficient ways of doing these respective operations
4865 in Lisp. Thus, there is no performance penalty for using the more
4866 readable @code{incf} and @code{push} forms in your compiled code.
4868 @emph{Interpreted} code, on the other hand, must expand these macros
4869 every time they are executed. For this reason it is strongly
4870 recommended that code making heavy use of macros be compiled.
4871 (The features labeled ``Special Form'' instead of ``Function'' in
4872 this manual are macros.) A loop using @code{incf} a hundred times
4873 will execute considerably faster if compiled, and will also
4874 garbage-collect less because the macro expansion will not have
4875 to be generated, used, and thrown away a hundred times.
4877 You can find out how a macro expands by using the
4878 @code{cl-prettyexpand} function.
4880 @defun cl-prettyexpand form &optional full
4881 This function takes a single Lisp form as an argument and inserts
4882 a nicely formatted copy of it in the current buffer (which must be
4883 in Lisp mode so that indentation works properly). It also expands
4884 all Lisp macros which appear in the form. The easiest way to use
4885 this function is to go to the @code{*scratch*} buffer and type, say,
4888 (cl-prettyexpand '(loop for x below 10 collect x))
4892 and type @kbd{C-x C-e} immediately after the closing parenthesis;
4900 (setq G1004 (cons x G1004))
4906 will be inserted into the buffer. (The @code{block} macro is
4907 expanded differently in the interpreter and compiler, so
4908 @code{cl-prettyexpand} just leaves it alone. The temporary
4909 variable @code{G1004} was created by @code{gensym}.)
4911 If the optional argument @var{full} is true, then @emph{all}
4912 macros are expanded, including @code{block}, @code{eval-when},
4913 and compiler macros. Expansion is done as if @var{form} were
4914 a top-level form in a file being compiled. For example,
4917 (cl-prettyexpand '(pushnew 'x list))
4918 @print{} (setq list (adjoin 'x list))
4919 (cl-prettyexpand '(pushnew 'x list) t)
4920 @print{} (setq list (if (memq 'x list) list (cons 'x list)))
4921 (cl-prettyexpand '(caddr (member* 'a list)) t)
4922 @print{} (car (cdr (cdr (memq 'a list))))
4925 Note that @code{adjoin}, @code{caddr}, and @code{member*} all
4926 have built-in compiler macros to optimize them in common cases.
4934 @appendixsec Error Checking
4937 Common Lisp compliance has in general not been sacrificed for the
4938 sake of efficiency. A few exceptions have been made for cases
4939 where substantial gains were possible at the expense of marginal
4942 The Common Lisp standard (as embodied in Steele's book) uses the
4943 phrase ``it is an error if'' to indicate a situation which is not
4944 supposed to arise in complying programs; implementations are strongly
4945 encouraged but not required to signal an error in these situations.
4946 This package sometimes omits such error checking in the interest of
4947 compactness and efficiency. For example, @code{do} variable
4948 specifiers are supposed to be lists of one, two, or three forms;
4949 extra forms are ignored by this package rather than signaling a
4950 syntax error. The @code{endp} function is simply a synonym for
4951 @code{null} in this package. Functions taking keyword arguments
4952 will accept an odd number of arguments, treating the trailing
4953 keyword as if it were followed by the value @code{nil}.
4955 Argument lists (as processed by @code{defun*} and friends)
4956 @emph{are} checked rigorously except for the minor point just
4957 mentioned; in particular, keyword arguments are checked for
4958 validity, and @code{&allow-other-keys} and @code{:allow-other-keys}
4959 are fully implemented. Keyword validity checking is slightly
4960 time consuming (though not too bad in byte-compiled code);
4961 you can use @code{&allow-other-keys} to omit this check. Functions
4962 defined in this package such as @code{find} and @code{member*}
4963 do check their keyword arguments for validity.
4970 @appendixsec Optimizing Compiler
4973 Use of the optimizing Emacs compiler is highly recommended; many of the Common
4975 code which can be improved by optimization. In particular,
4976 @code{block}s (whether explicit or implicit in constructs like
4977 @code{defun*} and @code{loop}) carry a fair run-time penalty; the
4978 optimizing compiler removes @code{block}s which are not actually
4979 referenced by @code{return} or @code{return-from} inside the block.
4981 @node Common Lisp Compatibility, Old CL Compatibility, Efficiency Concerns, Top
4982 @appendix Common Lisp Compatibility
4985 Following is a list of all known incompatibilities between this
4986 package and Common Lisp as documented in Steele (2nd edition).
4988 Certain function names, such as @code{member}, @code{assoc}, and
4989 @code{floor}, were already taken by (incompatible) Emacs Lisp
4990 functions; this package appends @samp{*} to the names of its
4991 Common Lisp versions of these functions.
4993 The word @code{defun*} is required instead of @code{defun} in order
4994 to use extended Common Lisp argument lists in a function. Likewise,
4995 @code{defmacro*} and @code{function*} are versions of those forms
4996 which understand full-featured argument lists. The @code{&whole}
4997 keyword does not work in @code{defmacro} argument lists (except
4998 inside recursive argument lists).
5000 The @code{eql} and @code{equal} predicates do not distinguish
5001 between IEEE floating-point plus and minus zero. The @code{equalp}
5002 predicate has several differences with Common Lisp; @pxref{Predicates}.
5004 The @code{setf} mechanism is entirely compatible, except that
5005 setf-methods return a list of five values rather than five
5006 values directly. Also, the new ``@code{setf} function'' concept
5007 (typified by @code{(defun (setf foo) @dots{})}) is not implemented.
5009 The @code{do-all-symbols} form is the same as @code{do-symbols}
5010 with no @var{obarray} argument. In Common Lisp, this form would
5011 iterate over all symbols in all packages. Since Emacs obarrays
5012 are not a first-class package mechanism, there is no way for
5013 @code{do-all-symbols} to locate any but the default obarray.
5015 The @code{loop} macro is complete except that @code{loop-finish}
5016 and type specifiers are unimplemented.
5018 The multiple-value return facility treats lists as multiple
5019 values, since Emacs Lisp cannot support multiple return values
5020 directly. The macros will be compatible with Common Lisp if
5021 @code{values} or @code{values-list} is always used to return to
5022 a @code{multiple-value-bind} or other multiple-value receiver;
5023 if @code{values} is used without @code{multiple-value-@dots{}}
5024 or vice-versa the effect will be different from Common Lisp.
5026 Many Common Lisp declarations are ignored, and others match
5027 the Common Lisp standard in concept but not in detail. For
5028 example, local @code{special} declarations, which are purely
5029 advisory in Emacs Lisp, do not rigorously obey the scoping rules
5030 set down in Steele's book.
5032 The variable @code{*gensym-counter*} starts out with a pseudo-random
5033 value rather than with zero. This is to cope with the fact that
5034 generated symbols become interned when they are written to and
5035 loaded back from a file.
5037 The @code{defstruct} facility is compatible, except that structures
5038 are of type @code{:type vector :named} by default rather than some
5039 special, distinct type. Also, the @code{:type} slot option is ignored.
5041 The second argument of @code{check-type} is treated differently.
5043 @node Old CL Compatibility, Porting Common Lisp, Common Lisp Compatibility, Top
5044 @appendix Old CL Compatibility
5047 Following is a list of all known incompatibilities between this package
5048 and the older Quiroz @file{cl.el} package.
5050 This package's emulation of multiple return values in functions is
5051 incompatible with that of the older package. That package attempted
5052 to come as close as possible to true Common Lisp multiple return
5053 values; unfortunately, it could not be 100% reliable and so was prone
5054 to occasional surprises if used freely. This package uses a simpler
5055 method, namely replacing multiple values with lists of values, which
5056 is more predictable though more noticeably different from Common Lisp.
5058 The @code{defkeyword} form and @code{keywordp} function are not
5059 implemented in this package.
5061 The @code{member}, @code{floor}, @code{ceiling}, @code{truncate},
5062 @code{round}, @code{mod}, and @code{rem} functions are suffixed
5063 by @samp{*} in this package to avoid collision with existing
5064 functions in Emacs. The older package simply
5065 redefined these functions, overwriting the built-in meanings and
5066 causing serious portability problems. (Some more
5067 recent versions of the Quiroz package changed the names to
5068 @code{cl-member}, etc.; this package defines the latter names as
5069 aliases for @code{member*}, etc.)
5071 Certain functions in the old package which were buggy or inconsistent
5072 with the Common Lisp standard are incompatible with the conforming
5073 versions in this package. For example, @code{eql} and @code{member}
5074 were synonyms for @code{eq} and @code{memq} in that package, @code{setf}
5075 failed to preserve correct order of evaluation of its arguments, etc.
5077 Finally, unlike the older package, this package is careful to
5078 prefix all of its internal names with @code{cl-}. Except for a
5079 few functions which are explicitly defined as additional features
5080 (such as @code{floatp-safe} and @code{letf}), this package does not
5081 export any non-@samp{cl-} symbols which are not also part of Common
5089 @appendixsec The @code{cl-compat} package
5092 The @dfn{CL} package includes emulations of some features of the
5093 old @file{cl.el}, in the form of a compatibility package
5094 @code{cl-compat}. To use it, put @code{(require 'cl-compat)} in
5097 The old package defined a number of internal routines without
5098 @code{cl-} prefixes or other annotations. Call to these routines
5099 may have crept into existing Lisp code. @code{cl-compat}
5100 provides emulations of the following internal routines:
5101 @code{pair-with-newsyms}, @code{zip-lists}, @code{unzip-lists},
5102 @code{reassemble-arglists}, @code{duplicate-symbols-p},
5105 Some @code{setf} forms translated into calls to internal
5106 functions that user code might call directly. The functions
5107 @code{setnth}, @code{setnthcdr}, and @code{setelt} fall in
5108 this category; they are defined by @code{cl-compat}, but the
5109 best fix is to change to use @code{setf} properly.
5111 The @code{cl-compat} file defines the keyword functions
5112 @code{keywordp}, @code{keyword-of}, and @code{defkeyword},
5113 which are not defined by the new @dfn{CL} package because the
5114 use of keywords as data is discouraged.
5116 The @code{build-klist} mechanism for parsing keyword arguments
5117 is emulated by @code{cl-compat}; the @code{with-keyword-args}
5118 macro is not, however, and in any case it's best to change to
5119 use the more natural keyword argument processing offered by
5122 Multiple return values are treated differently by the two
5123 Common Lisp packages. The old package's method was more
5124 compatible with true Common Lisp, though it used heuristics
5125 that caused it to report spurious multiple return values in
5126 certain cases. The @code{cl-compat} package defines a set
5127 of multiple-value macros that are compatible with the old
5128 CL package; again, they are heuristic in nature, but they
5129 are guaranteed to work in any case where the old package's
5130 macros worked. To avoid name collision with the ``official''
5131 multiple-value facilities, the ones in @code{cl-compat} have
5132 capitalized names: @code{Values}, @code{Values-list},
5133 @code{Multiple-value-bind}, etc.
5135 The functions @code{cl-floor}, @code{cl-ceiling}, @code{cl-truncate},
5136 and @code{cl-round} are defined by @code{cl-compat} to use the
5137 old-style multiple-value mechanism, just as they did in the old
5138 package. The newer @code{floor*} and friends return their two
5139 results in a list rather than as multiple values. Note that
5140 older versions of the old package used the unadorned names
5141 @code{floor}, @code{ceiling}, etc.; @code{cl-compat} cannot use
5142 these names because they conflict with Emacs built-ins.
5144 @node Porting Common Lisp, Function Index, Old CL Compatibility, Top
5145 @appendix Porting Common Lisp
5148 This package is meant to be used as an extension to Emacs Lisp,
5149 not as an Emacs implementation of true Common Lisp. Some of the
5150 remaining differences between Emacs Lisp and Common Lisp make it
5151 difficult to port large Common Lisp applications to Emacs. For
5152 one, some of the features in this package are not fully compliant
5153 with ANSI or Steele; @pxref{Common Lisp Compatibility}. But there
5154 are also quite a few features that this package does not provide
5155 at all. Here are some major omissions that you will want to watch out
5156 for when bringing Common Lisp code into Emacs.
5160 Case-insensitivity. Symbols in Common Lisp are case-insensitive
5161 by default. Some programs refer to a function or variable as
5162 @code{foo} in one place and @code{Foo} or @code{FOO} in another.
5163 Emacs Lisp will treat these as three distinct symbols.
5165 Some Common Lisp code is written entirely in upper case. While Emacs
5166 is happy to let the program's own functions and variables use
5167 this convention, calls to Lisp builtins like @code{if} and
5168 @code{defun} will have to be changed to lower case.
5171 Lexical scoping. In Common Lisp, function arguments and @code{let}
5172 bindings apply only to references physically within their bodies
5173 (or within macro expansions in their bodies). Emacs Lisp, by
5174 contrast, uses @dfn{dynamic scoping} wherein a binding to a
5175 variable is visible even inside functions called from the body.
5177 Variables in Common Lisp can be made dynamically scoped by
5178 declaring them @code{special} or using @code{defvar}. In Emacs
5179 Lisp it is as if all variables were declared @code{special}.
5181 Often you can use code that was written for lexical scoping
5182 even in a dynamically scoped Lisp, but not always. Here is
5183 an example of a Common Lisp code fragment that would fail in
5187 (defun map-odd-elements (func list)
5189 for flag = t then (not flag)
5190 collect (if flag x (funcall func x))))
5192 (defun add-odd-elements (list x)
5193 (map-odd-elements (lambda (a) (+ a x))) list)
5197 In Common Lisp, the two functions' usages of @code{x} are completely
5198 independent. In Emacs Lisp, the binding to @code{x} made by
5199 @code{add-odd-elements} will have been hidden by the binding
5200 in @code{map-odd-elements} by the time the @code{(+ a x)} function
5203 (This package avoids such problems in its own mapping functions
5204 by using names like @code{cl-x} instead of @code{x} internally;
5205 as long as you don't use the @code{cl-} prefix for your own
5206 variables no collision can occur.)
5208 @xref{Lexical Bindings}, for a description of the @code{lexical-let}
5209 form which establishes a Common Lisp-style lexical binding, and some
5210 examples of how it differs from Emacs' regular @code{let}.
5213 Reader macros. Common Lisp includes a second type of macro that
5214 works at the level of individual characters. For example, Common
5215 Lisp implements the quote notation by a reader macro called @code{'},
5216 whereas Emacs Lisp's parser just treats quote as a special case.
5217 Some Lisp packages use reader macros to create special syntaxes
5218 for themselves, which the Emacs parser is incapable of reading.
5220 The lack of reader macros, incidentally, is the reason behind
5221 Emacs Lisp's unusual backquote syntax. Since backquotes are
5222 implemented as a Lisp package and not built-in to the Emacs
5223 parser, they are forced to use a regular macro named @code{`}
5224 which is used with the standard function/macro call notation.
5227 Other syntactic features. Common Lisp provides a number of
5228 notations beginning with @code{#} that the Emacs Lisp parser
5229 won't understand. For example, @samp{#| ... |#} is an
5230 alternate comment notation, and @samp{#+lucid (foo)} tells
5231 the parser to ignore the @code{(foo)} except in Lucid Common
5235 Packages. In Common Lisp, symbols are divided into @dfn{packages}.
5236 Symbols that are Lisp built-ins are typically stored in one package;
5237 symbols that are vendor extensions are put in another, and each
5238 application program would have a package for its own symbols.
5239 Certain symbols are ``exported'' by a package and others are
5240 internal; certain packages ``use'' or import the exported symbols
5241 of other packages. To access symbols that would not normally be
5242 visible due to this importing and exporting, Common Lisp provides
5243 a syntax like @code{package:symbol} or @code{package::symbol}.
5245 Emacs Lisp has a single namespace for all interned symbols, and
5246 then uses a naming convention of putting a prefix like @code{cl-}
5247 in front of the name. Some Emacs packages adopt the Common Lisp-like
5248 convention of using @code{cl:} or @code{cl::} as the prefix.
5249 However, the Emacs parser does not understand colons and just
5250 treats them as part of the symbol name. Thus, while @code{mapcar}
5251 and @code{lisp:mapcar} may refer to the same symbol in Common
5252 Lisp, they are totally distinct in Emacs Lisp. Common Lisp
5253 programs which refer to a symbol by the full name sometimes
5254 and the short name other times will not port cleanly to Emacs.
5256 Emacs Lisp does have a concept of ``obarrays,'' which are
5257 package-like collections of symbols, but this feature is not
5258 strong enough to be used as a true package mechanism.
5261 The @code{format} function is quite different between Common
5262 Lisp and Emacs Lisp. It takes an additional ``destination''
5263 argument before the format string. A destination of @code{nil}
5264 means to format to a string as in Emacs Lisp; a destination
5265 of @code{t} means to write to the terminal (similar to
5266 @code{message} in Emacs). Also, format control strings are
5267 utterly different; @code{~} is used instead of @code{%} to
5268 introduce format codes, and the set of available codes is
5269 much richer. There are no notations like @code{\n} for
5270 string literals; instead, @code{format} is used with the
5271 ``newline'' format code, @code{~%}. More advanced formatting
5272 codes provide such features as paragraph filling, case
5273 conversion, and even loops and conditionals.
5275 While it would have been possible to implement most of Common
5276 Lisp @code{format} in this package (under the name @code{format*},
5277 of course), it was not deemed worthwhile. It would have required
5278 a huge amount of code to implement even a decent subset of
5279 @code{format*}, yet the functionality it would provide over
5280 Emacs Lisp's @code{format} would rarely be useful.
5283 Vector constants use square brackets in Emacs Lisp, but
5284 @code{#(a b c)} notation in Common Lisp. To further complicate
5285 matters, Emacs has its own @code{#(} notation for
5286 something entirely different---strings with properties.
5289 Characters are distinct from integers in Common Lisp. The
5290 notation for character constants is also different: @code{#\A}
5291 instead of @code{?A}. Also, @code{string=} and @code{string-equal}
5292 are synonyms in Emacs Lisp whereas the latter is case-insensitive
5296 Data types. Some Common Lisp data types do not exist in Emacs
5297 Lisp. Rational numbers and complex numbers are not present,
5298 nor are large integers (all integers are ``fixnums''). All
5299 arrays are one-dimensional. There are no readtables or pathnames;
5300 streams are a set of existing data types rather than a new data
5301 type of their own. Hash tables, random-states, structures, and
5302 packages (obarrays) are built from Lisp vectors or lists rather
5303 than being distinct types.
5306 The Common Lisp Object System (CLOS) is not implemented,
5307 nor is the Common Lisp Condition System. However, the EIEIO package
5308 from @uref{ftp://ftp.ultranet.com/pub/zappo} does implement some
5312 Common Lisp features that are completely redundant with Emacs
5313 Lisp features of a different name generally have not been
5314 implemented. For example, Common Lisp writes @code{defconstant}
5315 where Emacs Lisp uses @code{defconst}. Similarly, @code{make-list}
5316 takes its arguments in different ways in the two Lisps but does
5317 exactly the same thing, so this package has not bothered to
5318 implement a Common Lisp-style @code{make-list}.
5321 A few more notable Common Lisp features not included in this
5322 package: @code{compiler-let}, @code{tagbody}, @code{prog},
5323 @code{ldb/dpb}, @code{parse-integer}, @code{cerror}.
5326 Recursion. While recursion works in Emacs Lisp just like it
5327 does in Common Lisp, various details of the Emacs Lisp system
5328 and compiler make recursion much less efficient than it is in
5329 most Lisps. Some schools of thought prefer to use recursion
5330 in Lisp over other techniques; they would sum a list of
5331 numbers using something like
5334 (defun sum-list (list)
5336 (+ (car list) (sum-list (cdr list)))
5341 where a more iteratively-minded programmer might write one of
5345 (let ((total 0)) (dolist (x my-list) (incf total x)) total)
5346 (loop for x in my-list sum x)
5349 While this would be mainly a stylistic choice in most Common Lisps,
5350 in Emacs Lisp you should be aware that the iterative forms are
5351 much faster than recursion. Also, Lisp programmers will want to
5352 note that the current Emacs Lisp compiler does not optimize tail
5356 @node Function Index, Variable Index, Porting Common Lisp, Top
5357 @unnumbered Function Index
5361 @node Variable Index, , Function Index, Top
5362 @unnumbered Variable Index
5366 @setchapternewpage odd
5371 arch-tag: b61e7200-3bfa-4a70-a9d3-095e152696f8