1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
2 @setfilename ../info/cl
3 @settitle Common Lisp Extensions
7 * CL: (cl). Partial Common Lisp support for Emacs Lisp.
15 This file documents the GNU Emacs Common Lisp emulation package.
17 Copyright (C) 1993 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
20 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
21 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
22 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
23 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
24 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
25 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
26 License'' in the Emacs manual.
28 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
29 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
30 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
32 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
33 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
34 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
35 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
40 @center @titlefont{Common Lisp Extensions}
42 @center For GNU Emacs Lisp
46 @center Dave Gillespie
47 @center daveg@@synaptics.com
50 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 Copyright @copyright{} 1993 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
54 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
55 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
56 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
57 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
58 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
59 License'' in the Emacs manual.
61 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
62 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
63 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
65 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
66 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
67 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
68 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
71 @node Top, Overview, (dir), (dir)
72 @chapter Common Lisp Extensions
75 This document describes a set of Emacs Lisp facilities borrowed from
76 Common Lisp. All the facilities are described here in detail. While
77 this document does not assume any prior knowledge of Common Lisp, it
78 does assume a basic familiarity with Emacs Lisp.
81 * Overview:: Installation, usage, etc.
82 * Program Structure:: Arglists, `eval-when', `defalias'
83 * Predicates:: `typep', `eql', and `equalp'
84 * Control Structure:: `setf', `do', `loop', etc.
85 * Macros:: Destructuring, `define-compiler-macro'
86 * Declarations:: `proclaim', `declare', etc.
87 * Symbols:: Property lists, `gensym'
88 * Numbers:: Predicates, functions, random numbers
89 * Sequences:: Mapping, functions, searching, sorting
90 * Lists:: `cadr', `sublis', `member*', `assoc*', etc.
91 * Structures:: `defstruct'
92 * Assertions:: `check-type', `assert', `ignore-errors'.
94 * Efficiency Concerns:: Hints and techniques
95 * Common Lisp Compatibility:: All known differences with Steele
96 * Old CL Compatibility:: All known differences with old cl.el
97 * Porting Common Lisp:: Hints for porting Common Lisp code
103 @node Overview, Program Structure, Top, Top
112 Common Lisp is a huge language, and Common Lisp systems tend to be
113 massive and extremely complex. Emacs Lisp, by contrast, is rather
114 minimalist in the choice of Lisp features it offers the programmer.
115 As Emacs Lisp programmers have grown in number, and the applications
116 they write have grown more ambitious, it has become clear that Emacs
117 Lisp could benefit from many of the conveniences of Common Lisp.
119 The @dfn{CL} package adds a number of Common Lisp functions and
120 control structures to Emacs Lisp. While not a 100% complete
121 implementation of Common Lisp, @dfn{CL} adds enough functionality
122 to make Emacs Lisp programming significantly more convenient.
124 @strong{Please note:} the @dfn{CL} functions are not standard parts of
125 the Emacs Lisp name space, so it is legitimate for users to define
126 them with other, conflicting meanings. To avoid conflicting with
127 those user activities, we have a policy that packages installed in
128 Emacs must not load @dfn{CL} at run time. (It is ok for them to load
129 @dfn{CL} at compile time only, with @code{eval-when-compile}, and use
130 the macros it provides.) If you are writing packages that you plan to
131 distribute and invite widespread use for, you might want to observe
134 Some Common Lisp features have been omitted from this package
139 Some features are too complex or bulky relative to their benefit
140 to Emacs Lisp programmers. CLOS and Common Lisp streams are fine
141 examples of this group.
144 Other features cannot be implemented without modification to the
145 Emacs Lisp interpreter itself, such as multiple return values,
146 lexical scoping, case-insensitive symbols, and complex numbers.
147 The @dfn{CL} package generally makes no attempt to emulate these
151 Some features conflict with existing things in Emacs Lisp. For
152 example, Emacs' @code{assoc} function is incompatible with the
153 Common Lisp @code{assoc}. In such cases, this package usually
154 adds the suffix @samp{*} to the function name of the Common
155 Lisp version of the function (e.g., @code{assoc*}).
158 The package described here was written by Dave Gillespie,
159 @file{daveg@@synaptics.com}. It is a total rewrite of the original
160 1986 @file{cl.el} package by Cesar Quiroz. Most features of the
161 the Quiroz package have been retained; any incompatibilities are
162 noted in the descriptions below. Care has been taken in this
163 version to ensure that each function is defined efficiently,
164 concisely, and with minimal impact on the rest of the Emacs
168 * Usage:: How to use the CL package
169 * Organization:: The package's five component files
170 * Installation:: Compiling and installing CL
171 * Naming Conventions:: Notes on CL function names
174 @node Usage, Organization, Overview, Overview
178 Lisp code that uses features from the @dfn{CL} package should
179 include at the beginning:
186 If you want to ensure that the new (Gillespie) version of @dfn{CL}
187 is the one that is present, add an additional @code{(require 'cl-19)}
196 The second call will fail (with ``@file{cl-19.el} not found'') if
197 the old @file{cl.el} package was in use.
199 It is safe to arrange to load @dfn{CL} at all times, e.g.,
200 in your @file{.emacs} file. But it's a good idea, for portability,
201 to @code{(require 'cl)} in your code even if you do this.
203 @node Organization, Installation, Usage, Overview
204 @section Organization
207 The Common Lisp package is organized into four files:
211 This is the ``main'' file, which contains basic functions
212 and information about the package. This file is relatively
213 compact---about 700 lines.
216 This file contains the larger, more complex or unusual functions.
217 It is kept separate so that packages which only want to use Common
218 Lisp fundamentals like the @code{cadr} function won't need to pay
219 the overhead of loading the more advanced functions.
222 This file contains most of the advanced functions for operating
223 on sequences or lists, such as @code{delete-if} and @code{assoc*}.
226 This file contains the features of the packages which are macros
227 instead of functions. Macros expand when the caller is compiled,
228 not when it is run, so the macros generally only need to be
229 present when the byte-compiler is running (or when the macros are
230 used in uncompiled code such as a @file{.emacs} file). Most of
231 the macros of this package are isolated in @file{cl-macs.el} so
232 that they won't take up memory unless you are compiling.
235 The file @file{cl.el} includes all necessary @code{autoload}
236 commands for the functions and macros in the other three files.
237 All you have to do is @code{(require 'cl)}, and @file{cl.el}
238 will take care of pulling in the other files when they are
241 There is another file, @file{cl-compat.el}, which defines some
242 routines from the older @file{cl.el} package that are no longer
243 present in the new package. This includes internal routines
244 like @code{setelt} and @code{zip-lists}, deprecated features
245 like @code{defkeyword}, and an emulation of the old-style
246 multiple-values feature. @xref{Old CL Compatibility}.
248 @node Installation, Naming Conventions, Organization, Overview
249 @section Installation
252 Installation of the @dfn{CL} package is simple: Just put the
253 byte-compiled files @file{cl.elc}, @file{cl-extra.elc},
254 @file{cl-seq.elc}, @file{cl-macs.elc}, and @file{cl-compat.elc}
255 into a directory on your @code{load-path}.
257 There are no special requirements to compile this package:
258 The files do not have to be loaded before they are compiled,
259 nor do they need to be compiled in any particular order.
261 You may choose to put the files into your main @file{lisp/}
262 directory, replacing the original @file{cl.el} file there. Or,
263 you could put them into a directory that comes before @file{lisp/}
264 on your @code{load-path} so that the old @file{cl.el} is
267 Also, format the @file{cl.texinfo} file and put the resulting
268 Info files in the @file{info/} directory or another suitable place.
270 You may instead wish to leave this package's components all in
271 their own directory, and then add this directory to your
272 @code{load-path} and @code{Info-directory-list}.
273 Add the directory to the front of the list so the old @dfn{CL}
274 package and its documentation are hidden.
276 @node Naming Conventions, , Installation, Overview
277 @section Naming Conventions
280 Except where noted, all functions defined by this package have the
281 same names and calling conventions as their Common Lisp counterparts.
283 Following is a complete list of functions whose names were changed
284 from Common Lisp, usually to avoid conflicts with Emacs. In each
285 case, a @samp{*} has been appended to the Common Lisp name to obtain
289 defun* defsubst* defmacro* function*
290 member* assoc* rassoc* get*
291 remove* delete* mapcar* sort*
292 floor* ceiling* truncate* round*
296 Internal function and variable names in the package are prefixed
297 by @code{cl-}. Here is a complete list of functions @emph{not}
298 prefixed by @code{cl-} which were not taken from Common Lisp:
301 floatp-safe lexical-let lexical-let*
302 callf callf2 letf letf*
306 The following simple functions and macros are defined in @file{cl.el};
307 they do not cause other components like @file{cl-extra} to be loaded.
311 evenp oddp plusp minusp
313 list* ldiff rest first .. tenth
314 copy-list subst mapcar* [2]
315 adjoin [3] acons pairlis pop [4]
316 push [4] pushnew [3,4] incf [4] decf [4]
321 [2] Only for one sequence argument or two list arguments.
324 [3] Only if @code{:test} is @code{eq}, @code{equal}, or unspecified,
325 and @code{:key} is not used.
328 [4] Only when @var{place} is a plain variable name.
334 @node Program Structure, Predicates, Overview, Top
335 @chapter Program Structure
338 This section describes features of the @dfn{CL} package which have to
339 do with programs as a whole: advanced argument lists for functions,
340 and the @code{eval-when} construct.
343 * Argument Lists:: `&key', `&aux', `defun*', `defmacro*'.
344 * Time of Evaluation:: The `eval-when' construct.
351 @node Argument Lists, Time of Evaluation, Program Structure, Program Structure
352 @section Argument Lists
355 Emacs Lisp's notation for argument lists of functions is a subset of
356 the Common Lisp notation. As well as the familiar @code{&optional}
357 and @code{&rest} markers, Common Lisp allows you to specify default
358 values for optional arguments, and it provides the additional markers
359 @code{&key} and @code{&aux}.
361 Since argument parsing is built-in to Emacs, there is no way for
362 this package to implement Common Lisp argument lists seamlessly.
363 Instead, this package defines alternates for several Lisp forms
364 which you must use if you need Common Lisp argument lists.
366 @defspec defun* name arglist body...
367 This form is identical to the regular @code{defun} form, except
368 that @var{arglist} is allowed to be a full Common Lisp argument
369 list. Also, the function body is enclosed in an implicit block
370 called @var{name}; @pxref{Blocks and Exits}.
373 @defspec defsubst* name arglist body...
374 This is just like @code{defun*}, except that the function that
375 is defined is automatically proclaimed @code{inline}, i.e.,
376 calls to it may be expanded into in-line code by the byte compiler.
377 This is analogous to the @code{defsubst} form;
378 @code{defsubst*} uses a different method (compiler macros) which
379 works in all version of Emacs, and also generates somewhat more
380 efficient inline expansions. In particular, @code{defsubst*}
381 arranges for the processing of keyword arguments, default values,
382 etc., to be done at compile-time whenever possible.
385 @defspec defmacro* name arglist body...
386 This is identical to the regular @code{defmacro} form,
387 except that @var{arglist} is allowed to be a full Common Lisp
388 argument list. The @code{&environment} keyword is supported as
389 described in Steele. The @code{&whole} keyword is supported only
390 within destructured lists (see below); top-level @code{&whole}
391 cannot be implemented with the current Emacs Lisp interpreter.
392 The macro expander body is enclosed in an implicit block called
396 @defspec function* symbol-or-lambda
397 This is identical to the regular @code{function} form,
398 except that if the argument is a @code{lambda} form then that
399 form may use a full Common Lisp argument list.
402 Also, all forms (such as @code{defsetf} and @code{flet}) defined
403 in this package that include @var{arglist}s in their syntax allow
404 full Common Lisp argument lists.
406 Note that it is @emph{not} necessary to use @code{defun*} in
407 order to have access to most @dfn{CL} features in your function.
408 These features are always present; @code{defun*}'s only
409 difference from @code{defun} is its more flexible argument
410 lists and its implicit block.
412 The full form of a Common Lisp argument list is
416 &optional (@var{var} @var{initform} @var{svar})...
418 &key ((@var{keyword} @var{var}) @var{initform} @var{svar})...
419 &aux (@var{var} @var{initform})...)
422 Each of the five argument list sections is optional. The @var{svar},
423 @var{initform}, and @var{keyword} parts are optional; if they are
424 omitted, then @samp{(@var{var})} may be written simply @samp{@var{var}}.
426 The first section consists of zero or more @dfn{required} arguments.
427 These arguments must always be specified in a call to the function;
428 there is no difference between Emacs Lisp and Common Lisp as far as
429 required arguments are concerned.
431 The second section consists of @dfn{optional} arguments. These
432 arguments may be specified in the function call; if they are not,
433 @var{initform} specifies the default value used for the argument.
434 (No @var{initform} means to use @code{nil} as the default.) The
435 @var{initform} is evaluated with the bindings for the preceding
436 arguments already established; @code{(a &optional (b (1+ a)))}
437 matches one or two arguments, with the second argument defaulting
438 to one plus the first argument. If the @var{svar} is specified,
439 it is an auxiliary variable which is bound to @code{t} if the optional
440 argument was specified, or to @code{nil} if the argument was omitted.
441 If you don't use an @var{svar}, then there will be no way for your
442 function to tell whether it was called with no argument, or with
443 the default value passed explicitly as an argument.
445 The third section consists of a single @dfn{rest} argument. If
446 more arguments were passed to the function than are accounted for
447 by the required and optional arguments, those extra arguments are
448 collected into a list and bound to the ``rest'' argument variable.
449 Common Lisp's @code{&rest} is equivalent to that of Emacs Lisp.
450 Common Lisp accepts @code{&body} as a synonym for @code{&rest} in
451 macro contexts; this package accepts it all the time.
453 The fourth section consists of @dfn{keyword} arguments. These
454 are optional arguments which are specified by name rather than
455 positionally in the argument list. For example,
458 (defun* foo (a &optional b &key c d (e 17)))
462 defines a function which may be called with one, two, or more
463 arguments. The first two arguments are bound to @code{a} and
464 @code{b} in the usual way. The remaining arguments must be
465 pairs of the form @code{:c}, @code{:d}, or @code{:e} followed
466 by the value to be bound to the corresponding argument variable.
467 (Symbols whose names begin with a colon are called @dfn{keywords},
468 and they are self-quoting in the same way as @code{nil} and
471 For example, the call @code{(foo 1 2 :d 3 :c 4)} sets the five
472 arguments to 1, 2, 4, 3, and 17, respectively. If the same keyword
473 appears more than once in the function call, the first occurrence
474 takes precedence over the later ones. Note that it is not possible
475 to specify keyword arguments without specifying the optional
476 argument @code{b} as well, since @code{(foo 1 :c 2)} would bind
477 @code{b} to the keyword @code{:c}, then signal an error because
478 @code{2} is not a valid keyword.
480 If a @var{keyword} symbol is explicitly specified in the argument
481 list as shown in the above diagram, then that keyword will be
482 used instead of just the variable name prefixed with a colon.
483 You can specify a @var{keyword} symbol which does not begin with
484 a colon at all, but such symbols will not be self-quoting; you
485 will have to quote them explicitly with an apostrophe in the
488 Ordinarily it is an error to pass an unrecognized keyword to
489 a function, e.g., @code{(foo 1 2 :c 3 :goober 4)}. You can ask
490 Lisp to ignore unrecognized keywords, either by adding the
491 marker @code{&allow-other-keys} after the keyword section
492 of the argument list, or by specifying an @code{:allow-other-keys}
493 argument in the call whose value is non-@code{nil}. If the
494 function uses both @code{&rest} and @code{&key} at the same time,
495 the ``rest'' argument is bound to the keyword list as it appears
496 in the call. For example:
499 (defun* find-thing (thing &rest rest &key need &allow-other-keys)
500 (or (apply 'member* thing thing-list :allow-other-keys t rest)
501 (if need (error "Thing not found"))))
505 This function takes a @code{:need} keyword argument, but also
506 accepts other keyword arguments which are passed on to the
507 @code{member*} function. @code{allow-other-keys} is used to
508 keep both @code{find-thing} and @code{member*} from complaining
509 about each others' keywords in the arguments.
511 The fifth section of the argument list consists of @dfn{auxiliary
512 variables}. These are not really arguments at all, but simply
513 variables which are bound to @code{nil} or to the specified
514 @var{initforms} during execution of the function. There is no
515 difference between the following two functions, except for a
516 matter of stylistic taste:
519 (defun* foo (a b &aux (c (+ a b)) d)
527 Argument lists support @dfn{destructuring}. In Common Lisp,
528 destructuring is only allowed with @code{defmacro}; this package
529 allows it with @code{defun*} and other argument lists as well.
530 In destructuring, any argument variable (@var{var} in the above
531 diagram) can be replaced by a list of variables, or more generally,
532 a recursive argument list. The corresponding argument value must
533 be a list whose elements match this recursive argument list.
537 (defmacro* dolist ((var listform &optional resultform)
542 This says that the first argument of @code{dolist} must be a list
543 of two or three items; if there are other arguments as well as this
544 list, they are stored in @code{body}. All features allowed in
545 regular argument lists are allowed in these recursive argument lists.
546 In addition, the clause @samp{&whole @var{var}} is allowed at the
547 front of a recursive argument list. It binds @var{var} to the
548 whole list being matched; thus @code{(&whole all a b)} matches
549 a list of two things, with @code{a} bound to the first thing,
550 @code{b} bound to the second thing, and @code{all} bound to the
551 list itself. (Common Lisp allows @code{&whole} in top-level
552 @code{defmacro} argument lists as well, but Emacs Lisp does not
555 One last feature of destructuring is that the argument list may be
556 dotted, so that the argument list @code{(a b . c)} is functionally
557 equivalent to @code{(a b &rest c)}.
559 If the optimization quality @code{safety} is set to 0
560 (@pxref{Declarations}), error checking for wrong number of
561 arguments and invalid keyword arguments is disabled. By default,
562 argument lists are rigorously checked.
564 @node Time of Evaluation, , Argument Lists, Program Structure
565 @section Time of Evaluation
568 Normally, the byte-compiler does not actually execute the forms in
569 a file it compiles. For example, if a file contains @code{(setq foo t)},
570 the act of compiling it will not actually set @code{foo} to @code{t}.
571 This is true even if the @code{setq} was a top-level form (i.e., not
572 enclosed in a @code{defun} or other form). Sometimes, though, you
573 would like to have certain top-level forms evaluated at compile-time.
574 For example, the compiler effectively evaluates @code{defmacro} forms
575 at compile-time so that later parts of the file can refer to the
576 macros that are defined.
578 @defspec eval-when (situations...) forms...
579 This form controls when the body @var{forms} are evaluated.
580 The @var{situations} list may contain any set of the symbols
581 @code{compile}, @code{load}, and @code{eval} (or their long-winded
582 ANSI equivalents, @code{:compile-toplevel}, @code{:load-toplevel},
583 and @code{:execute}).
585 The @code{eval-when} form is handled differently depending on
586 whether or not it is being compiled as a top-level form.
587 Specifically, it gets special treatment if it is being compiled
588 by a command such as @code{byte-compile-file} which compiles files
589 or buffers of code, and it appears either literally at the
590 top level of the file or inside a top-level @code{progn}.
592 For compiled top-level @code{eval-when}s, the body @var{forms} are
593 executed at compile-time if @code{compile} is in the @var{situations}
594 list, and the @var{forms} are written out to the file (to be executed
595 at load-time) if @code{load} is in the @var{situations} list.
597 For non-compiled-top-level forms, only the @code{eval} situation is
598 relevant. (This includes forms executed by the interpreter, forms
599 compiled with @code{byte-compile} rather than @code{byte-compile-file},
600 and non-top-level forms.) The @code{eval-when} acts like a
601 @code{progn} if @code{eval} is specified, and like @code{nil}
602 (ignoring the body @var{forms}) if not.
604 The rules become more subtle when @code{eval-when}s are nested;
605 consult Steele (second edition) for the gruesome details (and
606 some gruesome examples).
608 Some simple examples:
611 ;; Top-level forms in foo.el:
612 (eval-when (compile) (setq foo1 'bar))
613 (eval-when (load) (setq foo2 'bar))
614 (eval-when (compile load) (setq foo3 'bar))
615 (eval-when (eval) (setq foo4 'bar))
616 (eval-when (eval compile) (setq foo5 'bar))
617 (eval-when (eval load) (setq foo6 'bar))
618 (eval-when (eval compile load) (setq foo7 'bar))
621 When @file{foo.el} is compiled, these variables will be set during
622 the compilation itself:
625 foo1 foo3 foo5 foo7 ; `compile'
628 When @file{foo.elc} is loaded, these variables will be set:
631 foo2 foo3 foo6 foo7 ; `load'
634 And if @file{foo.el} is loaded uncompiled, these variables will
638 foo4 foo5 foo6 foo7 ; `eval'
641 If these seven @code{eval-when}s had been, say, inside a @code{defun},
642 then the first three would have been equivalent to @code{nil} and the
643 last four would have been equivalent to the corresponding @code{setq}s.
645 Note that @code{(eval-when (load eval) @dots{})} is equivalent
646 to @code{(progn @dots{})} in all contexts. The compiler treats
647 certain top-level forms, like @code{defmacro} (sort-of) and
648 @code{require}, as if they were wrapped in @code{(eval-when
649 (compile load eval) @dots{})}.
652 Emacs includes two special forms related to @code{eval-when}.
653 One of these, @code{eval-when-compile}, is not quite equivalent to
654 any @code{eval-when} construct and is described below.
656 The other form, @code{(eval-and-compile @dots{})}, is exactly
657 equivalent to @samp{(eval-when (compile load eval) @dots{})} and
658 so is not itself defined by this package.
660 @defspec eval-when-compile forms...
661 The @var{forms} are evaluated at compile-time; at execution time,
662 this form acts like a quoted constant of the resulting value. Used
663 at top-level, @code{eval-when-compile} is just like @samp{eval-when
664 (compile eval)}. In other contexts, @code{eval-when-compile}
665 allows code to be evaluated once at compile-time for efficiency
668 This form is similar to the @samp{#.} syntax of true Common Lisp.
671 @defspec load-time-value form
672 The @var{form} is evaluated at load-time; at execution time,
673 this form acts like a quoted constant of the resulting value.
675 Early Common Lisp had a @samp{#,} syntax that was similar to
676 this, but ANSI Common Lisp replaced it with @code{load-time-value}
677 and gave it more well-defined semantics.
679 In a compiled file, @code{load-time-value} arranges for @var{form}
680 to be evaluated when the @file{.elc} file is loaded and then used
681 as if it were a quoted constant. In code compiled by
682 @code{byte-compile} rather than @code{byte-compile-file}, the
683 effect is identical to @code{eval-when-compile}. In uncompiled
684 code, both @code{eval-when-compile} and @code{load-time-value}
685 act exactly like @code{progn}.
689 (insert "This function was executed on: "
690 (current-time-string)
692 (eval-when-compile (current-time-string))
693 ;; or '#.(current-time-string) in real Common Lisp
695 (load-time-value (current-time-string))))
699 Byte-compiled, the above defun will result in the following code
700 (or its compiled equivalent, of course) in the @file{.elc} file:
703 (setq --temp-- (current-time-string))
705 (insert "This function was executed on: "
706 (current-time-string)
708 '"Wed Jun 23 18:33:43 1993"
714 @node Predicates, Control Structure, Program Structure, Top
718 This section describes functions for testing whether various
719 facts are true or false.
722 * Type Predicates:: `typep', `deftype', and `coerce'
723 * Equality Predicates:: `eql' and `equalp'
726 @node Type Predicates, Equality Predicates, Predicates, Predicates
727 @section Type Predicates
730 The @dfn{CL} package defines a version of the Common Lisp @code{typep}
733 @defun typep object type
734 Check if @var{object} is of type @var{type}, where @var{type} is a
735 (quoted) type name of the sort used by Common Lisp. For example,
736 @code{(typep foo 'integer)} is equivalent to @code{(integerp foo)}.
739 The @var{type} argument to the above function is either a symbol
740 or a list beginning with a symbol.
744 If the type name is a symbol, Emacs appends @samp{-p} to the
745 symbol name to form the name of a predicate function for testing
746 the type. (Built-in predicates whose names end in @samp{p} rather
747 than @samp{-p} are used when appropriate.)
750 The type symbol @code{t} stands for the union of all types.
751 @code{(typep @var{object} t)} is always true. Likewise, the
752 type symbol @code{nil} stands for nothing at all, and
753 @code{(typep @var{object} nil)} is always false.
756 The type symbol @code{null} represents the symbol @code{nil}.
757 Thus @code{(typep @var{object} 'null)} is equivalent to
758 @code{(null @var{object})}.
761 The type symbol @code{real} is a synonym for @code{number}, and
762 @code{fixnum} is a synonym for @code{integer}.
765 The type symbols @code{character} and @code{string-char} match
766 integers in the range from 0 to 255.
769 The type symbol @code{float} uses the @code{floatp-safe} predicate
770 defined by this package rather than @code{floatp}, so it will work
771 correctly even in Emacs versions without floating-point support.
774 The type list @code{(integer @var{low} @var{high})} represents all
775 integers between @var{low} and @var{high}, inclusive. Either bound
776 may be a list of a single integer to specify an exclusive limit,
777 or a @code{*} to specify no limit. The type @code{(integer * *)}
778 is thus equivalent to @code{integer}.
781 Likewise, lists beginning with @code{float}, @code{real}, or
782 @code{number} represent numbers of that type falling in a particular
786 Lists beginning with @code{and}, @code{or}, and @code{not} form
787 combinations of types. For example, @code{(or integer (float 0 *))}
788 represents all objects that are integers or non-negative floats.
791 Lists beginning with @code{member} or @code{member*} represent
792 objects @code{eql} to any of the following values. For example,
793 @code{(member 1 2 3 4)} is equivalent to @code{(integer 1 4)},
794 and @code{(member nil)} is equivalent to @code{null}.
797 Lists of the form @code{(satisfies @var{predicate})} represent
798 all objects for which @var{predicate} returns true when called
799 with that object as an argument.
802 The following function and macro (not technically predicates) are
803 related to @code{typep}.
805 @defun coerce object type
806 This function attempts to convert @var{object} to the specified
807 @var{type}. If @var{object} is already of that type as determined by
808 @code{typep}, it is simply returned. Otherwise, certain types of
809 conversions will be made: If @var{type} is any sequence type
810 (@code{string}, @code{list}, etc.) then @var{object} will be
811 converted to that type if possible. If @var{type} is
812 @code{character}, then strings of length one and symbols with
813 one-character names can be coerced. If @var{type} is @code{float},
814 then integers can be coerced in versions of Emacs that support
815 floats. In all other circumstances, @code{coerce} signals an
819 @defspec deftype name arglist forms...
820 This macro defines a new type called @var{name}. It is similar
821 to @code{defmacro} in many ways; when @var{name} is encountered
822 as a type name, the body @var{forms} are evaluated and should
823 return a type specifier that is equivalent to the type. The
824 @var{arglist} is a Common Lisp argument list of the sort accepted
825 by @code{defmacro*}. The type specifier @samp{(@var{name} @var{args}...)}
826 is expanded by calling the expander with those arguments; the type
827 symbol @samp{@var{name}} is expanded by calling the expander with
828 no arguments. The @var{arglist} is processed the same as for
829 @code{defmacro*} except that optional arguments without explicit
830 defaults use @code{*} instead of @code{nil} as the ``default''
831 default. Some examples:
834 (deftype null () '(satisfies null)) ; predefined
835 (deftype list () '(or null cons)) ; predefined
836 (deftype unsigned-byte (&optional bits)
837 (list 'integer 0 (if (eq bits '*) bits (1- (lsh 1 bits)))))
838 (unsigned-byte 8) @equiv{} (integer 0 255)
839 (unsigned-byte) @equiv{} (integer 0 *)
840 unsigned-byte @equiv{} (integer 0 *)
844 The last example shows how the Common Lisp @code{unsigned-byte}
845 type specifier could be implemented if desired; this package does
846 not implement @code{unsigned-byte} by default.
849 The @code{typecase} and @code{check-type} macros also use type
850 names. @xref{Conditionals}. @xref{Assertions}. The @code{map},
851 @code{concatenate}, and @code{merge} functions take type-name
852 arguments to specify the type of sequence to return. @xref{Sequences}.
854 @node Equality Predicates, , Type Predicates, Predicates
855 @section Equality Predicates
858 This package defines two Common Lisp predicates, @code{eql} and
862 This function is almost the same as @code{eq}, except that if @var{a}
863 and @var{b} are numbers of the same type, it compares them for numeric
864 equality (as if by @code{equal} instead of @code{eq}). This makes a
865 difference only for versions of Emacs that are compiled with
866 floating-point support. Emacs floats are allocated
867 objects just like cons cells, which means that @code{(eq 3.0 3.0)}
868 will not necessarily be true---if the two @code{3.0}s were allocated
869 separately, the pointers will be different even though the numbers are
870 the same. But @code{(eql 3.0 3.0)} will always be true.
872 The types of the arguments must match, so @code{(eql 3 3.0)} is
875 Note that Emacs integers are ``direct'' rather than allocated, which
876 basically means @code{(eq 3 3)} will always be true. Thus @code{eq}
877 and @code{eql} behave differently only if floating-point numbers are
878 involved, and are indistinguishable on Emacs versions that don't
881 There is a slight inconsistency with Common Lisp in the treatment of
882 positive and negative zeros. Some machines, notably those with IEEE
883 standard arithmetic, represent @code{+0} and @code{-0} as distinct
884 values. Normally this doesn't matter because the standard specifies
885 that @code{(= 0.0 -0.0)} should always be true, and this is indeed
886 what Emacs Lisp and Common Lisp do. But the Common Lisp standard
887 states that @code{(eql 0.0 -0.0)} and @code{(equal 0.0 -0.0)} should
888 be false on IEEE-like machines; Emacs Lisp does not do this, and in
889 fact the only known way to distinguish between the two zeros in Emacs
890 Lisp is to @code{format} them and check for a minus sign.
894 This function is a more flexible version of @code{equal}. In
895 particular, it compares strings case-insensitively, and it compares
896 numbers without regard to type (so that @code{(equalp 3 3.0)} is
897 true). Vectors and conses are compared recursively. All other
898 objects are compared as if by @code{equal}.
900 This function differs from Common Lisp @code{equalp} in several
901 respects. First, Common Lisp's @code{equalp} also compares
902 @emph{characters} case-insensitively, which would be impractical
903 in this package since Emacs does not distinguish between integers
904 and characters. In keeping with the idea that strings are less
905 vector-like in Emacs Lisp, this package's @code{equalp} also will
906 not compare strings against vectors of integers.
909 Also note that the Common Lisp functions @code{member} and @code{assoc}
910 use @code{eql} to compare elements, whereas Emacs Lisp follows the
911 MacLisp tradition and uses @code{equal} for these two functions.
912 In Emacs, use @code{member*} and @code{assoc*} to get functions
913 which use @code{eql} for comparisons.
915 @node Control Structure, Macros, Predicates, Top
916 @chapter Control Structure
919 The features described in the following sections implement
920 various advanced control structures, including the powerful
921 @code{setf} facility and a number of looping and conditional
925 * Assignment:: The `psetq' form
926 * Generalized Variables:: `setf', `incf', `push', etc.
927 * Variable Bindings:: `progv', `lexical-let', `flet', `macrolet'
928 * Conditionals:: `case', `typecase'
929 * Blocks and Exits:: `block', `return', `return-from'
930 * Iteration:: `do', `dotimes', `dolist', `do-symbols'
931 * Loop Facility:: The Common Lisp `loop' macro
932 * Multiple Values:: `values', `multiple-value-bind', etc.
935 @node Assignment, Generalized Variables, Control Structure, Control Structure
939 The @code{psetq} form is just like @code{setq}, except that multiple
940 assignments are done in parallel rather than sequentially.
942 @defspec psetq [symbol form]@dots{}
943 This special form (actually a macro) is used to assign to several
944 variables simultaneously. Given only one @var{symbol} and @var{form},
945 it has the same effect as @code{setq}. Given several @var{symbol}
946 and @var{form} pairs, it evaluates all the @var{form}s in advance
947 and then stores the corresponding variables afterwards.
951 (setq x (+ x y) y (* x y))
954 y ; @r{@code{y} was computed after @code{x} was set.}
957 (psetq x (+ x y) y (* x y))
960 y ; @r{@code{y} was computed before @code{x} was set.}
964 The simplest use of @code{psetq} is @code{(psetq x y y x)}, which
965 exchanges the values of two variables. (The @code{rotatef} form
966 provides an even more convenient way to swap two variables;
967 @pxref{Modify Macros}.)
969 @code{psetq} always returns @code{nil}.
972 @node Generalized Variables, Variable Bindings, Assignment, Control Structure
973 @section Generalized Variables
976 A ``generalized variable'' or ``place form'' is one of the many places
977 in Lisp memory where values can be stored. The simplest place form is
978 a regular Lisp variable. But the cars and cdrs of lists, elements
979 of arrays, properties of symbols, and many other locations are also
980 places where Lisp values are stored.
982 The @code{setf} form is like @code{setq}, except that it accepts
983 arbitrary place forms on the left side rather than just
984 symbols. For example, @code{(setf (car a) b)} sets the car of
985 @code{a} to @code{b}, doing the same operation as @code{(setcar a b)}
986 but without having to remember two separate functions for setting
987 and accessing every type of place.
989 Generalized variables are analogous to ``lvalues'' in the C
990 language, where @samp{x = a[i]} gets an element from an array
991 and @samp{a[i] = x} stores an element using the same notation.
992 Just as certain forms like @code{a[i]} can be lvalues in C, there
993 is a set of forms that can be generalized variables in Lisp.
996 * Basic Setf:: `setf' and place forms
997 * Modify Macros:: `incf', `push', `rotatef', `letf', `callf', etc.
998 * Customizing Setf:: `define-modify-macro', `defsetf', `define-setf-method'
1001 @node Basic Setf, Modify Macros, Generalized Variables, Generalized Variables
1002 @subsection Basic Setf
1005 The @code{setf} macro is the most basic way to operate on generalized
1008 @defspec setf [place form]@dots{}
1009 This macro evaluates @var{form} and stores it in @var{place}, which
1010 must be a valid generalized variable form. If there are several
1011 @var{place} and @var{form} pairs, the assignments are done sequentially
1012 just as with @code{setq}. @code{setf} returns the value of the last
1015 The following Lisp forms will work as generalized variables, and
1016 so may legally appear in the @var{place} argument of @code{setf}:
1020 A symbol naming a variable. In other words, @code{(setf x y)} is
1021 exactly equivalent to @code{(setq x y)}, and @code{setq} itself is
1022 strictly speaking redundant now that @code{setf} exists. Many
1023 programmers continue to prefer @code{setq} for setting simple
1024 variables, though, purely for stylistic or historical reasons.
1025 The macro @code{(setf x y)} actually expands to @code{(setq x y)},
1026 so there is no performance penalty for using it in compiled code.
1029 A call to any of the following Lisp functions:
1032 car cdr caar .. cddddr
1033 nth rest first .. tenth
1035 symbol-function symbol-value symbol-plist
1041 Note that for @code{nthcdr} and @code{getf}, the list argument
1042 of the function must itself be a valid @var{place} form. For
1043 example, @code{(setf (nthcdr 0 foo) 7)} will set @code{foo} itself
1044 to 7. Note that @code{push} and @code{pop} on an @code{nthcdr}
1045 place can be used to insert or delete at any position in a list.
1046 The use of @code{nthcdr} as a @var{place} form is an extension
1047 to standard Common Lisp.
1050 The following Emacs-specific functions are also @code{setf}-able.
1053 buffer-file-name marker-position
1054 buffer-modified-p match-data
1055 buffer-name mouse-position
1056 buffer-string overlay-end
1057 buffer-substring overlay-get
1058 current-buffer overlay-start
1059 current-case-table point
1060 current-column point-marker
1061 current-global-map point-max
1062 current-input-mode point-min
1063 current-local-map process-buffer
1064 current-window-configuration process-filter
1065 default-file-modes process-sentinel
1066 default-value read-mouse-position
1067 documentation-property screen-height
1068 extent-data screen-menubar
1069 extent-end-position screen-width
1070 extent-start-position selected-window
1071 face-background selected-screen
1072 face-background-pixmap selected-frame
1073 face-font standard-case-table
1074 face-foreground syntax-table
1075 face-underline-p window-buffer
1076 file-modes window-dedicated-p
1077 frame-height window-display-table
1078 frame-parameters window-height
1079 frame-visible-p window-hscroll
1080 frame-width window-point
1081 get-register window-start
1083 global-key-binding x-get-cut-buffer
1084 keymap-parent x-get-cutbuffer
1085 local-key-binding x-get-secondary-selection
1086 mark x-get-selection
1090 Most of these have directly corresponding ``set'' functions, like
1091 @code{use-local-map} for @code{current-local-map}, or @code{goto-char}
1092 for @code{point}. A few, like @code{point-min}, expand to longer
1093 sequences of code when they are @code{setf}'d (@code{(narrow-to-region
1094 x (point-max))} in this case).
1097 A call of the form @code{(substring @var{subplace} @var{n} [@var{m}])},
1098 where @var{subplace} is itself a legal generalized variable whose
1099 current value is a string, and where the value stored is also a
1100 string. The new string is spliced into the specified part of the
1101 destination string. For example:
1104 (setq a (list "hello" "world"))
1105 @result{} ("hello" "world")
1108 (substring (cadr a) 2 4)
1110 (setf (substring (cadr a) 2 4) "o")
1115 @result{} ("hello" "wood")
1118 The generalized variable @code{buffer-substring}, listed above,
1119 also works in this way by replacing a portion of the current buffer.
1122 A call of the form @code{(apply '@var{func} @dots{})} or
1123 @code{(apply (function @var{func}) @dots{})}, where @var{func}
1124 is a @code{setf}-able function whose store function is ``suitable''
1125 in the sense described in Steele's book; since none of the standard
1126 Emacs place functions are suitable in this sense, this feature is
1127 only interesting when used with places you define yourself with
1128 @code{define-setf-method} or the long form of @code{defsetf}.
1131 A macro call, in which case the macro is expanded and @code{setf}
1132 is applied to the resulting form.
1135 Any form for which a @code{defsetf} or @code{define-setf-method}
1139 Using any forms other than these in the @var{place} argument to
1140 @code{setf} will signal an error.
1142 The @code{setf} macro takes care to evaluate all subforms in
1143 the proper left-to-right order; for example,
1146 (setf (aref vec (incf i)) i)
1150 looks like it will evaluate @code{(incf i)} exactly once, before the
1151 following access to @code{i}; the @code{setf} expander will insert
1152 temporary variables as necessary to ensure that it does in fact work
1153 this way no matter what setf-method is defined for @code{aref}.
1154 (In this case, @code{aset} would be used and no such steps would
1155 be necessary since @code{aset} takes its arguments in a convenient
1158 However, if the @var{place} form is a macro which explicitly
1159 evaluates its arguments in an unusual order, this unusual order
1160 will be preserved. Adapting an example from Steele, given
1163 (defmacro wrong-order (x y) (list 'aref y x))
1167 the form @code{(setf (wrong-order @var{a} @var{b}) 17)} will
1168 evaluate @var{b} first, then @var{a}, just as in an actual call
1169 to @code{wrong-order}.
1172 @node Modify Macros, Customizing Setf, Basic Setf, Generalized Variables
1173 @subsection Modify Macros
1176 This package defines a number of other macros besides @code{setf}
1177 that operate on generalized variables. Many are interesting and
1178 useful even when the @var{place} is just a variable name.
1180 @defspec psetf [place form]@dots{}
1181 This macro is to @code{setf} what @code{psetq} is to @code{setq}:
1182 When several @var{place}s and @var{form}s are involved, the
1183 assignments take place in parallel rather than sequentially.
1184 Specifically, all subforms are evaluated from left to right, then
1185 all the assignments are done (in an undefined order).
1188 @defspec incf place &optional x
1189 This macro increments the number stored in @var{place} by one, or
1190 by @var{x} if specified. The incremented value is returned. For
1191 example, @code{(incf i)} is equivalent to @code{(setq i (1+ i))}, and
1192 @code{(incf (car x) 2)} is equivalent to @code{(setcar x (+ (car x) 2))}.
1194 Once again, care is taken to preserve the ``apparent'' order of
1195 evaluation. For example,
1198 (incf (aref vec (incf i)))
1202 appears to increment @code{i} once, then increment the element of
1203 @code{vec} addressed by @code{i}; this is indeed exactly what it
1204 does, which means the above form is @emph{not} equivalent to the
1205 ``obvious'' expansion,
1208 (setf (aref vec (incf i)) (1+ (aref vec (incf i)))) ; Wrong!
1212 but rather to something more like
1215 (let ((temp (incf i)))
1216 (setf (aref vec temp) (1+ (aref vec temp))))
1220 Again, all of this is taken care of automatically by @code{incf} and
1221 the other generalized-variable macros.
1223 As a more Emacs-specific example of @code{incf}, the expression
1224 @code{(incf (point) @var{n})} is essentially equivalent to
1225 @code{(forward-char @var{n})}.
1228 @defspec decf place &optional x
1229 This macro decrements the number stored in @var{place} by one, or
1230 by @var{x} if specified.
1234 This macro removes and returns the first element of the list stored
1235 in @var{place}. It is analogous to @code{(prog1 (car @var{place})
1236 (setf @var{place} (cdr @var{place})))}, except that it takes care
1237 to evaluate all subforms only once.
1240 @defspec push x place
1241 This macro inserts @var{x} at the front of the list stored in
1242 @var{place}. It is analogous to @code{(setf @var{place} (cons
1243 @var{x} @var{place}))}, except for evaluation of the subforms.
1246 @defspec pushnew x place @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
1247 This macro inserts @var{x} at the front of the list stored in
1248 @var{place}, but only if @var{x} was not @code{eql} to any
1249 existing element of the list. The optional keyword arguments
1250 are interpreted in the same way as for @code{adjoin}.
1251 @xref{Lists as Sets}.
1254 @defspec shiftf place@dots{} newvalue
1255 This macro shifts the @var{place}s left by one, shifting in the
1256 value of @var{newvalue} (which may be any Lisp expression, not just
1257 a generalized variable), and returning the value shifted out of
1258 the first @var{place}. Thus, @code{(shiftf @var{a} @var{b} @var{c}
1259 @var{d})} is equivalent to
1264 (psetf @var{a} @var{b}
1270 except that the subforms of @var{a}, @var{b}, and @var{c} are actually
1271 evaluated only once each and in the apparent order.
1274 @defspec rotatef place@dots{}
1275 This macro rotates the @var{place}s left by one in circular fashion.
1276 Thus, @code{(rotatef @var{a} @var{b} @var{c} @var{d})} is equivalent to
1279 (psetf @var{a} @var{b}
1286 except for the evaluation of subforms. @code{rotatef} always
1287 returns @code{nil}. Note that @code{(rotatef @var{a} @var{b})}
1288 conveniently exchanges @var{a} and @var{b}.
1291 The following macros were invented for this package; they have no
1292 analogues in Common Lisp.
1294 @defspec letf (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1295 This macro is analogous to @code{let}, but for generalized variables
1296 rather than just symbols. Each @var{binding} should be of the form
1297 @code{(@var{place} @var{value})}; the original contents of the
1298 @var{place}s are saved, the @var{value}s are stored in them, and
1299 then the body @var{form}s are executed. Afterwards, the @var{places}
1300 are set back to their original saved contents. This cleanup happens
1301 even if the @var{form}s exit irregularly due to a @code{throw} or an
1307 (letf (((point) (point-min))
1313 moves ``point'' in the current buffer to the beginning of the buffer,
1314 and also binds @code{a} to 17 (as if by a normal @code{let}, since
1315 @code{a} is just a regular variable). After the body exits, @code{a}
1316 is set back to its original value and point is moved back to its
1319 Note that @code{letf} on @code{(point)} is not quite like a
1320 @code{save-excursion}, as the latter effectively saves a marker
1321 which tracks insertions and deletions in the buffer. Actually,
1322 a @code{letf} of @code{(point-marker)} is much closer to this
1323 behavior. (@code{point} and @code{point-marker} are equivalent
1324 as @code{setf} places; each will accept either an integer or a
1325 marker as the stored value.)
1327 Since generalized variables look like lists, @code{let}'s shorthand
1328 of using @samp{foo} for @samp{(foo nil)} as a @var{binding} would
1329 be ambiguous in @code{letf} and is not allowed.
1331 However, a @var{binding} specifier may be a one-element list
1332 @samp{(@var{place})}, which is similar to @samp{(@var{place}
1333 @var{place})}. In other words, the @var{place} is not disturbed
1334 on entry to the body, and the only effect of the @code{letf} is
1335 to restore the original value of @var{place} afterwards. (The
1336 redundant access-and-store suggested by the @code{(@var{place}
1337 @var{place})} example does not actually occur.)
1339 In most cases, the @var{place} must have a well-defined value on
1340 entry to the @code{letf} form. The only exceptions are plain
1341 variables and calls to @code{symbol-value} and @code{symbol-function}.
1342 If the symbol is not bound on entry, it is simply made unbound by
1343 @code{makunbound} or @code{fmakunbound} on exit.
1346 @defspec letf* (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1347 This macro is to @code{letf} what @code{let*} is to @code{let}:
1348 It does the bindings in sequential rather than parallel order.
1351 @defspec callf @var{function} @var{place} @var{args}@dots{}
1352 This is the ``generic'' modify macro. It calls @var{function},
1353 which should be an unquoted function name, macro name, or lambda.
1354 It passes @var{place} and @var{args} as arguments, and assigns the
1355 result back to @var{place}. For example, @code{(incf @var{place}
1356 @var{n})} is the same as @code{(callf + @var{place} @var{n})}.
1360 (callf abs my-number)
1361 (callf concat (buffer-name) "<" (int-to-string n) ">")
1362 (callf union happy-people (list joe bob) :test 'same-person)
1365 @xref{Customizing Setf}, for @code{define-modify-macro}, a way
1366 to create even more concise notations for modify macros. Note
1367 again that @code{callf} is an extension to standard Common Lisp.
1370 @defspec callf2 @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{place} @var{args}@dots{}
1371 This macro is like @code{callf}, except that @var{place} is
1372 the @emph{second} argument of @var{function} rather than the
1373 first. For example, @code{(push @var{x} @var{place})} is
1374 equivalent to @code{(callf2 cons @var{x} @var{place})}.
1377 The @code{callf} and @code{callf2} macros serve as building
1378 blocks for other macros like @code{incf}, @code{pushnew}, and
1379 @code{define-modify-macro}. The @code{letf} and @code{letf*}
1380 macros are used in the processing of symbol macros;
1381 @pxref{Macro Bindings}.
1383 @node Customizing Setf, , Modify Macros, Generalized Variables
1384 @subsection Customizing Setf
1387 Common Lisp defines three macros, @code{define-modify-macro},
1388 @code{defsetf}, and @code{define-setf-method}, that allow the
1389 user to extend generalized variables in various ways.
1391 @defspec define-modify-macro name arglist function [doc-string]
1392 This macro defines a ``read-modify-write'' macro similar to
1393 @code{incf} and @code{decf}. The macro @var{name} is defined
1394 to take a @var{place} argument followed by additional arguments
1395 described by @var{arglist}. The call
1398 (@var{name} @var{place} @var{args}...)
1405 (callf @var{func} @var{place} @var{args}...)
1409 which in turn is roughly equivalent to
1412 (setf @var{place} (@var{func} @var{place} @var{args}...))
1418 (define-modify-macro incf (&optional (n 1)) +)
1419 (define-modify-macro concatf (&rest args) concat)
1422 Note that @code{&key} is not allowed in @var{arglist}, but
1423 @code{&rest} is sufficient to pass keywords on to the function.
1425 Most of the modify macros defined by Common Lisp do not exactly
1426 follow the pattern of @code{define-modify-macro}. For example,
1427 @code{push} takes its arguments in the wrong order, and @code{pop}
1428 is completely irregular. You can define these macros ``by hand''
1429 using @code{get-setf-method}, or consult the source file
1430 @file{cl-macs.el} to see how to use the internal @code{setf}
1434 @defspec defsetf access-fn update-fn
1435 This is the simpler of two @code{defsetf} forms. Where
1436 @var{access-fn} is the name of a function which accesses a place,
1437 this declares @var{update-fn} to be the corresponding store
1438 function. From now on,
1441 (setf (@var{access-fn} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @var{arg3}) @var{value})
1448 (@var{update-fn} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @var{arg3} @var{value})
1452 The @var{update-fn} is required to be either a true function, or
1453 a macro which evaluates its arguments in a function-like way. Also,
1454 the @var{update-fn} is expected to return @var{value} as its result.
1455 Otherwise, the above expansion would not obey the rules for the way
1456 @code{setf} is supposed to behave.
1458 As a special (non-Common-Lisp) extension, a third argument of @code{t}
1459 to @code{defsetf} says that the @code{update-fn}'s return value is
1460 not suitable, so that the above @code{setf} should be expanded to
1464 (let ((temp @var{value}))
1465 (@var{update-fn} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @var{arg3} temp)
1469 Some examples of the use of @code{defsetf}, drawn from the standard
1470 suite of setf methods, are:
1473 (defsetf car setcar)
1474 (defsetf symbol-value set)
1475 (defsetf buffer-name rename-buffer t)
1479 @defspec defsetf access-fn arglist (store-var) forms@dots{}
1480 This is the second, more complex, form of @code{defsetf}. It is
1481 rather like @code{defmacro} except for the additional @var{store-var}
1482 argument. The @var{forms} should return a Lisp form which stores
1483 the value of @var{store-var} into the generalized variable formed
1484 by a call to @var{access-fn} with arguments described by @var{arglist}.
1485 The @var{forms} may begin with a string which documents the @code{setf}
1486 method (analogous to the doc string that appears at the front of a
1489 For example, the simple form of @code{defsetf} is shorthand for
1492 (defsetf @var{access-fn} (&rest args) (store)
1493 (append '(@var{update-fn}) args (list store)))
1496 The Lisp form that is returned can access the arguments from
1497 @var{arglist} and @var{store-var} in an unrestricted fashion;
1498 macros like @code{setf} and @code{incf} which invoke this
1499 setf-method will insert temporary variables as needed to make
1500 sure the apparent order of evaluation is preserved.
1502 Another example drawn from the standard package:
1505 (defsetf nth (n x) (store)
1506 (list 'setcar (list 'nthcdr n x) store))
1510 @defspec define-setf-method access-fn arglist forms@dots{}
1511 This is the most general way to create new place forms. When
1512 a @code{setf} to @var{access-fn} with arguments described by
1513 @var{arglist} is expanded, the @var{forms} are evaluated and
1514 must return a list of five items:
1518 A list of @dfn{temporary variables}.
1521 A list of @dfn{value forms} corresponding to the temporary variables
1522 above. The temporary variables will be bound to these value forms
1523 as the first step of any operation on the generalized variable.
1526 A list of exactly one @dfn{store variable} (generally obtained
1527 from a call to @code{gensym}).
1530 A Lisp form which stores the contents of the store variable into
1531 the generalized variable, assuming the temporaries have been
1532 bound as described above.
1535 A Lisp form which accesses the contents of the generalized variable,
1536 assuming the temporaries have been bound.
1539 This is exactly like the Common Lisp macro of the same name,
1540 except that the method returns a list of five values rather
1541 than the five values themselves, since Emacs Lisp does not
1542 support Common Lisp's notion of multiple return values.
1544 Once again, the @var{forms} may begin with a documentation string.
1546 A setf-method should be maximally conservative with regard to
1547 temporary variables. In the setf-methods generated by
1548 @code{defsetf}, the second return value is simply the list of
1549 arguments in the place form, and the first return value is a
1550 list of a corresponding number of temporary variables generated
1551 by @code{gensym}. Macros like @code{setf} and @code{incf} which
1552 use this setf-method will optimize away most temporaries that
1553 turn out to be unnecessary, so there is little reason for the
1554 setf-method itself to optimize.
1557 @defun get-setf-method place &optional env
1558 This function returns the setf-method for @var{place}, by
1559 invoking the definition previously recorded by @code{defsetf}
1560 or @code{define-setf-method}. The result is a list of five
1561 values as described above. You can use this function to build
1562 your own @code{incf}-like modify macros. (Actually, it is
1563 better to use the internal functions @code{cl-setf-do-modify}
1564 and @code{cl-setf-do-store}, which are a bit easier to use and
1565 which also do a number of optimizations; consult the source
1566 code for the @code{incf} function for a simple example.)
1568 The argument @var{env} specifies the ``environment'' to be
1569 passed on to @code{macroexpand} if @code{get-setf-method} should
1570 need to expand a macro in @var{place}. It should come from
1571 an @code{&environment} argument to the macro or setf-method
1572 that called @code{get-setf-method}.
1574 See also the source code for the setf-methods for @code{apply}
1575 and @code{substring}, each of which works by calling
1576 @code{get-setf-method} on a simpler case, then massaging
1577 the result in various ways.
1580 Modern Common Lisp defines a second, independent way to specify
1581 the @code{setf} behavior of a function, namely ``@code{setf}
1582 functions'' whose names are lists @code{(setf @var{name})}
1583 rather than symbols. For example, @code{(defun (setf foo) @dots{})}
1584 defines the function that is used when @code{setf} is applied to
1585 @code{foo}. This package does not currently support @code{setf}
1586 functions. In particular, it is a compile-time error to use
1587 @code{setf} on a form which has not already been @code{defsetf}'d
1588 or otherwise declared; in newer Common Lisps, this would not be
1589 an error since the function @code{(setf @var{func})} might be
1596 @node Variable Bindings, Conditionals, Generalized Variables, Control Structure
1597 @section Variable Bindings
1600 These Lisp forms make bindings to variables and function names,
1601 analogous to Lisp's built-in @code{let} form.
1603 @xref{Modify Macros}, for the @code{letf} and @code{letf*} forms which
1604 are also related to variable bindings.
1607 * Dynamic Bindings:: The `progv' form
1608 * Lexical Bindings:: `lexical-let' and lexical closures
1609 * Function Bindings:: `flet' and `labels'
1610 * Macro Bindings:: `macrolet' and `symbol-macrolet'
1613 @node Dynamic Bindings, Lexical Bindings, Variable Bindings, Variable Bindings
1614 @subsection Dynamic Bindings
1617 The standard @code{let} form binds variables whose names are known
1618 at compile-time. The @code{progv} form provides an easy way to
1619 bind variables whose names are computed at run-time.
1621 @defspec progv symbols values forms@dots{}
1622 This form establishes @code{let}-style variable bindings on a
1623 set of variables computed at run-time. The expressions
1624 @var{symbols} and @var{values} are evaluated, and must return lists
1625 of symbols and values, respectively. The symbols are bound to the
1626 corresponding values for the duration of the body @var{form}s.
1627 If @var{values} is shorter than @var{symbols}, the last few symbols
1628 are made unbound (as if by @code{makunbound}) inside the body.
1629 If @var{symbols} is shorter than @var{values}, the excess values
1633 @node Lexical Bindings, Function Bindings, Dynamic Bindings, Variable Bindings
1634 @subsection Lexical Bindings
1637 The @dfn{CL} package defines the following macro which
1638 more closely follows the Common Lisp @code{let} form:
1640 @defspec lexical-let (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1641 This form is exactly like @code{let} except that the bindings it
1642 establishes are purely lexical. Lexical bindings are similar to
1643 local variables in a language like C: Only the code physically
1644 within the body of the @code{lexical-let} (after macro expansion)
1645 may refer to the bound variables.
1649 (defun foo (b) (+ a b))
1650 (let ((a 2)) (foo a))
1652 (lexical-let ((a 2)) (foo a))
1657 In this example, a regular @code{let} binding of @code{a} actually
1658 makes a temporary change to the global variable @code{a}, so @code{foo}
1659 is able to see the binding of @code{a} to 2. But @code{lexical-let}
1660 actually creates a distinct local variable @code{a} for use within its
1661 body, without any effect on the global variable of the same name.
1663 The most important use of lexical bindings is to create @dfn{closures}.
1664 A closure is a function object that refers to an outside lexical
1665 variable. For example:
1668 (defun make-adder (n)
1669 (lexical-let ((n n))
1670 (function (lambda (m) (+ n m)))))
1671 (setq add17 (make-adder 17))
1677 The call @code{(make-adder 17)} returns a function object which adds
1678 17 to its argument. If @code{let} had been used instead of
1679 @code{lexical-let}, the function object would have referred to the
1680 global @code{n}, which would have been bound to 17 only during the
1681 call to @code{make-adder} itself.
1684 (defun make-counter ()
1685 (lexical-let ((n 0))
1686 (function* (lambda (&optional (m 1)) (incf n m)))))
1687 (setq count-1 (make-counter))
1690 (funcall count-1 14)
1692 (setq count-2 (make-counter))
1702 Here we see that each call to @code{make-counter} creates a distinct
1703 local variable @code{n}, which serves as a private counter for the
1704 function object that is returned.
1706 Closed-over lexical variables persist until the last reference to
1707 them goes away, just like all other Lisp objects. For example,
1708 @code{count-2} refers to a function object which refers to an
1709 instance of the variable @code{n}; this is the only reference
1710 to that variable, so after @code{(setq count-2 nil)} the garbage
1711 collector would be able to delete this instance of @code{n}.
1712 Of course, if a @code{lexical-let} does not actually create any
1713 closures, then the lexical variables are free as soon as the
1714 @code{lexical-let} returns.
1716 Many closures are used only during the extent of the bindings they
1717 refer to; these are known as ``downward funargs'' in Lisp parlance.
1718 When a closure is used in this way, regular Emacs Lisp dynamic
1719 bindings suffice and will be more efficient than @code{lexical-let}
1723 (defun add-to-list (x list)
1724 (mapcar (lambda (y) (+ x y))) list)
1725 (add-to-list 7 '(1 2 5))
1730 Since this lambda is only used while @code{x} is still bound,
1731 it is not necessary to make a true closure out of it.
1733 You can use @code{defun} or @code{flet} inside a @code{lexical-let}
1734 to create a named closure. If several closures are created in the
1735 body of a single @code{lexical-let}, they all close over the same
1736 instance of the lexical variable.
1738 The @code{lexical-let} form is an extension to Common Lisp. In
1739 true Common Lisp, all bindings are lexical unless declared otherwise.
1742 @defspec lexical-let* (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1743 This form is just like @code{lexical-let}, except that the bindings
1744 are made sequentially in the manner of @code{let*}.
1747 @node Function Bindings, Macro Bindings, Lexical Bindings, Variable Bindings
1748 @subsection Function Bindings
1751 These forms make @code{let}-like bindings to functions instead
1754 @defspec flet (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1755 This form establishes @code{let}-style bindings on the function
1756 cells of symbols rather than on the value cells. Each @var{binding}
1757 must be a list of the form @samp{(@var{name} @var{arglist}
1758 @var{forms}@dots{})}, which defines a function exactly as if
1759 it were a @code{defun*} form. The function @var{name} is defined
1760 accordingly for the duration of the body of the @code{flet}; then
1761 the old function definition, or lack thereof, is restored.
1763 While @code{flet} in Common Lisp establishes a lexical binding of
1764 @var{name}, Emacs Lisp @code{flet} makes a dynamic binding. The
1765 result is that @code{flet} affects indirect calls to a function as
1766 well as calls directly inside the @code{flet} form itself.
1768 You can use @code{flet} to disable or modify the behavior of a
1769 function in a temporary fashion. This will even work on Emacs
1770 primitives, although note that some calls to primitive functions
1771 internal to Emacs are made without going through the symbol's
1772 function cell, and so will not be affected by @code{flet}. For
1776 (flet ((message (&rest args) (push args saved-msgs)))
1780 This code attempts to replace the built-in function @code{message}
1781 with a function that simply saves the messages in a list rather
1782 than displaying them. The original definition of @code{message}
1783 will be restored after @code{do-something} exits. This code will
1784 work fine on messages generated by other Lisp code, but messages
1785 generated directly inside Emacs will not be caught since they make
1786 direct C-language calls to the message routines rather than going
1787 through the Lisp @code{message} function.
1789 Functions defined by @code{flet} may use the full Common Lisp
1790 argument notation supported by @code{defun*}; also, the function
1791 body is enclosed in an implicit block as if by @code{defun*}.
1792 @xref{Program Structure}.
1795 @defspec labels (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1796 The @code{labels} form is like @code{flet}, except that it
1797 makes lexical bindings of the function names rather than
1798 dynamic bindings. (In true Common Lisp, both @code{flet} and
1799 @code{labels} make lexical bindings of slightly different sorts;
1800 since Emacs Lisp is dynamically bound by default, it seemed
1801 more appropriate for @code{flet} also to use dynamic binding.
1802 The @code{labels} form, with its lexical binding, is fully
1803 compatible with Common Lisp.)
1805 Lexical scoping means that all references to the named
1806 functions must appear physically within the body of the
1807 @code{labels} form. References may appear both in the body
1808 @var{forms} of @code{labels} itself, and in the bodies of
1809 the functions themselves. Thus, @code{labels} can define
1810 local recursive functions, or mutually-recursive sets of
1813 A ``reference'' to a function name is either a call to that
1814 function, or a use of its name quoted by @code{quote} or
1815 @code{function} to be passed on to, say, @code{mapcar}.
1818 @node Macro Bindings, , Function Bindings, Variable Bindings
1819 @subsection Macro Bindings
1822 These forms create local macros and ``symbol macros.''
1824 @defspec macrolet (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1825 This form is analogous to @code{flet}, but for macros instead of
1826 functions. Each @var{binding} is a list of the same form as the
1827 arguments to @code{defmacro*} (i.e., a macro name, argument list,
1828 and macro-expander forms). The macro is defined accordingly for
1829 use within the body of the @code{macrolet}.
1831 Because of the nature of macros, @code{macrolet} is lexically
1832 scoped even in Emacs Lisp: The @code{macrolet} binding will
1833 affect only calls that appear physically within the body
1834 @var{forms}, possibly after expansion of other macros in the
1838 @defspec symbol-macrolet (bindings@dots{}) forms@dots{}
1839 This form creates @dfn{symbol macros}, which are macros that look
1840 like variable references rather than function calls. Each
1841 @var{binding} is a list @samp{(@var{var} @var{expansion})};
1842 any reference to @var{var} within the body @var{forms} is
1843 replaced by @var{expansion}.
1847 (symbol-macrolet ((foo (car bar)))
1853 A @code{setq} of a symbol macro is treated the same as a @code{setf}.
1854 I.e., @code{(setq foo 4)} in the above would be equivalent to
1855 @code{(setf foo 4)}, which in turn expands to @code{(setf (car bar) 4)}.
1857 Likewise, a @code{let} or @code{let*} binding a symbol macro is
1858 treated like a @code{letf} or @code{letf*}. This differs from true
1859 Common Lisp, where the rules of lexical scoping cause a @code{let}
1860 binding to shadow a @code{symbol-macrolet} binding. In this package,
1861 only @code{lexical-let} and @code{lexical-let*} will shadow a symbol
1864 There is no analogue of @code{defmacro} for symbol macros; all symbol
1865 macros are local. A typical use of @code{symbol-macrolet} is in the
1866 expansion of another macro:
1869 (defmacro* my-dolist ((x list) &rest body)
1870 (let ((var (gensym)))
1871 (list 'loop 'for var 'on list 'do
1872 (list* 'symbol-macrolet (list (list x (list 'car var)))
1875 (setq mylist '(1 2 3 4))
1876 (my-dolist (x mylist) (incf x))
1882 In this example, the @code{my-dolist} macro is similar to @code{dolist}
1883 (@pxref{Iteration}) except that the variable @code{x} becomes a true
1884 reference onto the elements of the list. The @code{my-dolist} call
1885 shown here expands to
1888 (loop for G1234 on mylist do
1889 (symbol-macrolet ((x (car G1234)))
1894 which in turn expands to
1897 (loop for G1234 on mylist do (incf (car G1234)))
1900 @xref{Loop Facility}, for a description of the @code{loop} macro.
1901 This package defines a nonstandard @code{in-ref} loop clause that
1902 works much like @code{my-dolist}.
1905 @node Conditionals, Blocks and Exits, Variable Bindings, Control Structure
1906 @section Conditionals
1909 These conditional forms augment Emacs Lisp's simple @code{if},
1910 @code{and}, @code{or}, and @code{cond} forms.
1912 @defspec case keyform clause@dots{}
1913 This macro evaluates @var{keyform}, then compares it with the key
1914 values listed in the various @var{clause}s. Whichever clause matches
1915 the key is executed; comparison is done by @code{eql}. If no clause
1916 matches, the @code{case} form returns @code{nil}. The clauses are
1920 (@var{keylist} @var{body-forms}@dots{})
1924 where @var{keylist} is a list of key values. If there is exactly
1925 one value, and it is not a cons cell or the symbol @code{nil} or
1926 @code{t}, then it can be used by itself as a @var{keylist} without
1927 being enclosed in a list. All key values in the @code{case} form
1928 must be distinct. The final clauses may use @code{t} in place of
1929 a @var{keylist} to indicate a default clause that should be taken
1930 if none of the other clauses match. (The symbol @code{otherwise}
1931 is also recognized in place of @code{t}. To make a clause that
1932 matches the actual symbol @code{t}, @code{nil}, or @code{otherwise},
1933 enclose the symbol in a list.)
1935 For example, this expression reads a keystroke, then does one of
1936 four things depending on whether it is an @samp{a}, a @samp{b},
1937 a @key{RET} or @kbd{C-j}, or anything else.
1943 ((?\r ?\n) (do-ret-thing))
1944 (t (do-other-thing)))
1948 @defspec ecase keyform clause@dots{}
1949 This macro is just like @code{case}, except that if the key does
1950 not match any of the clauses, an error is signaled rather than
1951 simply returning @code{nil}.
1954 @defspec typecase keyform clause@dots{}
1955 This macro is a version of @code{case} that checks for types
1956 rather than values. Each @var{clause} is of the form
1957 @samp{(@var{type} @var{body}...)}. @xref{Type Predicates},
1958 for a description of type specifiers. For example,
1962 (integer (munch-integer x))
1963 (float (munch-float x))
1964 (string (munch-integer (string-to-int x)))
1965 (t (munch-anything x)))
1968 The type specifier @code{t} matches any type of object; the word
1969 @code{otherwise} is also allowed. To make one clause match any of
1970 several types, use an @code{(or ...)} type specifier.
1973 @defspec etypecase keyform clause@dots{}
1974 This macro is just like @code{typecase}, except that if the key does
1975 not match any of the clauses, an error is signaled rather than
1976 simply returning @code{nil}.
1979 @node Blocks and Exits, Iteration, Conditionals, Control Structure
1980 @section Blocks and Exits
1983 Common Lisp @dfn{blocks} provide a non-local exit mechanism very
1984 similar to @code{catch} and @code{throw}, but lexically rather than
1985 dynamically scoped. This package actually implements @code{block}
1986 in terms of @code{catch}; however, the lexical scoping allows the
1987 optimizing byte-compiler to omit the costly @code{catch} step if the
1988 body of the block does not actually @code{return-from} the block.
1990 @defspec block name forms@dots{}
1991 The @var{forms} are evaluated as if by a @code{progn}. However,
1992 if any of the @var{forms} execute @code{(return-from @var{name})},
1993 they will jump out and return directly from the @code{block} form.
1994 The @code{block} returns the result of the last @var{form} unless
1995 a @code{return-from} occurs.
1997 The @code{block}/@code{return-from} mechanism is quite similar to
1998 the @code{catch}/@code{throw} mechanism. The main differences are
1999 that block @var{name}s are unevaluated symbols, rather than forms
2000 (such as quoted symbols) which evaluate to a tag at run-time; and
2001 also that blocks are lexically scoped whereas @code{catch}/@code{throw}
2002 are dynamically scoped. This means that functions called from the
2003 body of a @code{catch} can also @code{throw} to the @code{catch},
2004 but the @code{return-from} referring to a block name must appear
2005 physically within the @var{forms} that make up the body of the block.
2006 They may not appear within other called functions, although they may
2007 appear within macro expansions or @code{lambda}s in the body. Block
2008 names and @code{catch} names form independent name-spaces.
2010 In true Common Lisp, @code{defun} and @code{defmacro} surround
2011 the function or expander bodies with implicit blocks with the
2012 same name as the function or macro. This does not occur in Emacs
2013 Lisp, but this package provides @code{defun*} and @code{defmacro*}
2014 forms which do create the implicit block.
2016 The Common Lisp looping constructs defined by this package,
2017 such as @code{loop} and @code{dolist}, also create implicit blocks
2018 just as in Common Lisp.
2020 Because they are implemented in terms of Emacs Lisp @code{catch}
2021 and @code{throw}, blocks have the same overhead as actual
2022 @code{catch} constructs (roughly two function calls). However,
2023 the optimizing byte compiler will optimize away the @code{catch}
2025 not in fact contain any @code{return} or @code{return-from} calls
2026 that jump to it. This means that @code{do} loops and @code{defun*}
2027 functions which don't use @code{return} don't pay the overhead to
2031 @defspec return-from name [result]
2032 This macro returns from the block named @var{name}, which must be
2033 an (unevaluated) symbol. If a @var{result} form is specified, it
2034 is evaluated to produce the result returned from the @code{block}.
2035 Otherwise, @code{nil} is returned.
2038 @defspec return [result]
2039 This macro is exactly like @code{(return-from nil @var{result})}.
2040 Common Lisp loops like @code{do} and @code{dolist} implicitly enclose
2041 themselves in @code{nil} blocks.
2044 @node Iteration, Loop Facility, Blocks and Exits, Control Structure
2048 The macros described here provide more sophisticated, high-level
2049 looping constructs to complement Emacs Lisp's basic @code{while}
2052 @defspec loop forms@dots{}
2053 The @dfn{CL} package supports both the simple, old-style meaning of
2054 @code{loop} and the extremely powerful and flexible feature known as
2055 the @dfn{Loop Facility} or @dfn{Loop Macro}. This more advanced
2056 facility is discussed in the following section; @pxref{Loop Facility}.
2057 The simple form of @code{loop} is described here.
2059 If @code{loop} is followed by zero or more Lisp expressions,
2060 then @code{(loop @var{exprs}@dots{})} simply creates an infinite
2061 loop executing the expressions over and over. The loop is
2062 enclosed in an implicit @code{nil} block. Thus,
2065 (loop (foo) (if (no-more) (return 72)) (bar))
2069 is exactly equivalent to
2072 (block nil (while t (foo) (if (no-more) (return 72)) (bar)))
2075 If any of the expressions are plain symbols, the loop is instead
2076 interpreted as a Loop Macro specification as described later.
2077 (This is not a restriction in practice, since a plain symbol
2078 in the above notation would simply access and throw away the
2079 value of a variable.)
2082 @defspec do (spec@dots{}) (end-test [result@dots{}]) forms@dots{}
2083 This macro creates a general iterative loop. Each @var{spec} is
2087 (@var{var} [@var{init} [@var{step}]])
2090 The loop works as follows: First, each @var{var} is bound to the
2091 associated @var{init} value as if by a @code{let} form. Then, in
2092 each iteration of the loop, the @var{end-test} is evaluated; if
2093 true, the loop is finished. Otherwise, the body @var{forms} are
2094 evaluated, then each @var{var} is set to the associated @var{step}
2095 expression (as if by a @code{psetq} form) and the next iteration
2096 begins. Once the @var{end-test} becomes true, the @var{result}
2097 forms are evaluated (with the @var{var}s still bound to their
2098 values) to produce the result returned by @code{do}.
2100 The entire @code{do} loop is enclosed in an implicit @code{nil}
2101 block, so that you can use @code{(return)} to break out of the
2104 If there are no @var{result} forms, the loop returns @code{nil}.
2105 If a given @var{var} has no @var{step} form, it is bound to its
2106 @var{init} value but not otherwise modified during the @code{do}
2107 loop (unless the code explicitly modifies it); this case is just
2108 a shorthand for putting a @code{(let ((@var{var} @var{init})) @dots{})}
2109 around the loop. If @var{init} is also omitted it defaults to
2110 @code{nil}, and in this case a plain @samp{@var{var}} can be used
2111 in place of @samp{(@var{var})}, again following the analogy with
2114 This example (from Steele) illustrates a loop which applies the
2115 function @code{f} to successive pairs of values from the lists
2116 @code{foo} and @code{bar}; it is equivalent to the call
2117 @code{(mapcar* 'f foo bar)}. Note that this loop has no body
2118 @var{forms} at all, performing all its work as side effects of
2119 the rest of the loop.
2122 (do ((x foo (cdr x))
2124 (z nil (cons (f (car x) (car y)) z)))
2125 ((or (null x) (null y))
2130 @defspec do* (spec@dots{}) (end-test [result@dots{}]) forms@dots{}
2131 This is to @code{do} what @code{let*} is to @code{let}. In
2132 particular, the initial values are bound as if by @code{let*}
2133 rather than @code{let}, and the steps are assigned as if by
2134 @code{setq} rather than @code{psetq}.
2136 Here is another way to write the above loop:
2139 (do* ((xp foo (cdr xp))
2141 (x (car xp) (car xp))
2142 (y (car yp) (car yp))
2144 ((or (null xp) (null yp))
2150 @defspec dolist (var list [result]) forms@dots{}
2151 This is a more specialized loop which iterates across the elements
2152 of a list. @var{list} should evaluate to a list; the body @var{forms}
2153 are executed with @var{var} bound to each element of the list in
2154 turn. Finally, the @var{result} form (or @code{nil}) is evaluated
2155 with @var{var} bound to @code{nil} to produce the result returned by
2156 the loop. Unlike with Emacs's built in @code{dolist}, the loop is
2157 surrounded by an implicit @code{nil} block.
2160 @defspec dotimes (var count [result]) forms@dots{}
2161 This is a more specialized loop which iterates a specified number
2162 of times. The body is executed with @var{var} bound to the integers
2163 from zero (inclusive) to @var{count} (exclusive), in turn. Then
2164 the @code{result} form is evaluated with @var{var} bound to the total
2165 number of iterations that were done (i.e., @code{(max 0 @var{count})})
2166 to get the return value for the loop form. Unlike with Emacs's built in
2167 @code{dolist}, the loop is surrounded by an implicit @code{nil} block.
2170 @defspec do-symbols (var [obarray [result]]) forms@dots{}
2171 This loop iterates over all interned symbols. If @var{obarray}
2172 is specified and is not @code{nil}, it loops over all symbols in
2173 that obarray. For each symbol, the body @var{forms} are evaluated
2174 with @var{var} bound to that symbol. The symbols are visited in
2175 an unspecified order. Afterward the @var{result} form, if any,
2176 is evaluated (with @var{var} bound to @code{nil}) to get the return
2177 value. The loop is surrounded by an implicit @code{nil} block.
2180 @defspec do-all-symbols (var [result]) forms@dots{}
2181 This is identical to @code{do-symbols} except that the @var{obarray}
2182 argument is omitted; it always iterates over the default obarray.
2185 @xref{Mapping over Sequences}, for some more functions for
2186 iterating over vectors or lists.
2188 @node Loop Facility, Multiple Values, Iteration, Control Structure
2189 @section Loop Facility
2192 A common complaint with Lisp's traditional looping constructs is
2193 that they are either too simple and limited, such as Common Lisp's
2194 @code{dotimes} or Emacs Lisp's @code{while}, or too unreadable and
2195 obscure, like Common Lisp's @code{do} loop.
2197 To remedy this, recent versions of Common Lisp have added a new
2198 construct called the ``Loop Facility'' or ``@code{loop} macro,''
2199 with an easy-to-use but very powerful and expressive syntax.
2202 * Loop Basics:: `loop' macro, basic clause structure
2203 * Loop Examples:: Working examples of `loop' macro
2204 * For Clauses:: Clauses introduced by `for' or `as'
2205 * Iteration Clauses:: `repeat', `while', `thereis', etc.
2206 * Accumulation Clauses:: `collect', `sum', `maximize', etc.
2207 * Other Clauses:: `with', `if', `initially', `finally'
2210 @node Loop Basics, Loop Examples, Loop Facility, Loop Facility
2211 @subsection Loop Basics
2214 The @code{loop} macro essentially creates a mini-language within
2215 Lisp that is specially tailored for describing loops. While this
2216 language is a little strange-looking by the standards of regular Lisp,
2217 it turns out to be very easy to learn and well-suited to its purpose.
2219 Since @code{loop} is a macro, all parsing of the loop language
2220 takes place at byte-compile time; compiled @code{loop}s are just
2221 as efficient as the equivalent @code{while} loops written longhand.
2223 @defspec loop clauses@dots{}
2224 A loop construct consists of a series of @var{clause}s, each
2225 introduced by a symbol like @code{for} or @code{do}. Clauses
2226 are simply strung together in the argument list of @code{loop},
2227 with minimal extra parentheses. The various types of clauses
2228 specify initializations, such as the binding of temporary
2229 variables, actions to be taken in the loop, stepping actions,
2232 Common Lisp specifies a certain general order of clauses in a
2236 (loop @var{name-clause}
2237 @var{var-clauses}@dots{}
2238 @var{action-clauses}@dots{})
2241 The @var{name-clause} optionally gives a name to the implicit
2242 block that surrounds the loop. By default, the implicit block
2243 is named @code{nil}. The @var{var-clauses} specify what
2244 variables should be bound during the loop, and how they should
2245 be modified or iterated throughout the course of the loop. The
2246 @var{action-clauses} are things to be done during the loop, such
2247 as computing, collecting, and returning values.
2249 The Emacs version of the @code{loop} macro is less restrictive about
2250 the order of clauses, but things will behave most predictably if
2251 you put the variable-binding clauses @code{with}, @code{for}, and
2252 @code{repeat} before the action clauses. As in Common Lisp,
2253 @code{initially} and @code{finally} clauses can go anywhere.
2255 Loops generally return @code{nil} by default, but you can cause
2256 them to return a value by using an accumulation clause like
2257 @code{collect}, an end-test clause like @code{always}, or an
2258 explicit @code{return} clause to jump out of the implicit block.
2259 (Because the loop body is enclosed in an implicit block, you can
2260 also use regular Lisp @code{return} or @code{return-from} to
2261 break out of the loop.)
2264 The following sections give some examples of the Loop Macro in
2265 action, and describe the particular loop clauses in great detail.
2266 Consult the second edition of Steele's @dfn{Common Lisp, the Language},
2267 for additional discussion and examples of the @code{loop} macro.
2269 @node Loop Examples, For Clauses, Loop Basics, Loop Facility
2270 @subsection Loop Examples
2273 Before listing the full set of clauses that are allowed, let's
2274 look at a few example loops just to get a feel for the @code{loop}
2278 (loop for buf in (buffer-list)
2279 collect (buffer-file-name buf))
2283 This loop iterates over all Emacs buffers, using the list
2284 returned by @code{buffer-list}. For each buffer @code{buf},
2285 it calls @code{buffer-file-name} and collects the results into
2286 a list, which is then returned from the @code{loop} construct.
2287 The result is a list of the file names of all the buffers in
2288 Emacs' memory. The words @code{for}, @code{in}, and @code{collect}
2289 are reserved words in the @code{loop} language.
2292 (loop repeat 20 do (insert "Yowsa\n"))
2296 This loop inserts the phrase ``Yowsa'' twenty times in the
2300 (loop until (eobp) do (munch-line) (forward-line 1))
2304 This loop calls @code{munch-line} on every line until the end
2305 of the buffer. If point is already at the end of the buffer,
2306 the loop exits immediately.
2309 (loop do (munch-line) until (eobp) do (forward-line 1))
2313 This loop is similar to the above one, except that @code{munch-line}
2314 is always called at least once.
2317 (loop for x from 1 to 100
2320 finally return (list x (= y 729)))
2324 This more complicated loop searches for a number @code{x} whose
2325 square is 729. For safety's sake it only examines @code{x}
2326 values up to 100; dropping the phrase @samp{to 100} would
2327 cause the loop to count upwards with no limit. The second
2328 @code{for} clause defines @code{y} to be the square of @code{x}
2329 within the loop; the expression after the @code{=} sign is
2330 reevaluated each time through the loop. The @code{until}
2331 clause gives a condition for terminating the loop, and the
2332 @code{finally} clause says what to do when the loop finishes.
2333 (This particular example was written less concisely than it
2334 could have been, just for the sake of illustration.)
2336 Note that even though this loop contains three clauses (two
2337 @code{for}s and an @code{until}) that would have been enough to
2338 define loops all by themselves, it still creates a single loop
2339 rather than some sort of triple-nested loop. You must explicitly
2340 nest your @code{loop} constructs if you want nested loops.
2342 @node For Clauses, Iteration Clauses, Loop Examples, Loop Facility
2343 @subsection For Clauses
2346 Most loops are governed by one or more @code{for} clauses.
2347 A @code{for} clause simultaneously describes variables to be
2348 bound, how those variables are to be stepped during the loop,
2349 and usually an end condition based on those variables.
2351 The word @code{as} is a synonym for the word @code{for}. This
2352 word is followed by a variable name, then a word like @code{from}
2353 or @code{across} that describes the kind of iteration desired.
2354 In Common Lisp, the phrase @code{being the} sometimes precedes
2355 the type of iteration; in this package both @code{being} and
2356 @code{the} are optional. The word @code{each} is a synonym
2357 for @code{the}, and the word that follows it may be singular
2358 or plural: @samp{for x being the elements of y} or
2359 @samp{for x being each element of y}. Which form you use
2360 is purely a matter of style.
2362 The variable is bound around the loop as if by @code{let}:
2366 (loop for i from 1 to 10 do (do-something-with i))
2372 @item for @var{var} from @var{expr1} to @var{expr2} by @var{expr3}
2373 This type of @code{for} clause creates a counting loop. Each of
2374 the three sub-terms is optional, though there must be at least one
2375 term so that the clause is marked as a counting clause.
2377 The three expressions are the starting value, the ending value, and
2378 the step value, respectively, of the variable. The loop counts
2379 upwards by default (@var{expr3} must be positive), from @var{expr1}
2380 to @var{expr2} inclusively. If you omit the @code{from} term, the
2381 loop counts from zero; if you omit the @code{to} term, the loop
2382 counts forever without stopping (unless stopped by some other
2383 loop clause, of course); if you omit the @code{by} term, the loop
2384 counts in steps of one.
2386 You can replace the word @code{from} with @code{upfrom} or
2387 @code{downfrom} to indicate the direction of the loop. Likewise,
2388 you can replace @code{to} with @code{upto} or @code{downto}.
2389 For example, @samp{for x from 5 downto 1} executes five times
2390 with @code{x} taking on the integers from 5 down to 1 in turn.
2391 Also, you can replace @code{to} with @code{below} or @code{above},
2392 which are like @code{upto} and @code{downto} respectively except
2393 that they are exclusive rather than inclusive limits:
2396 (loop for x to 10 collect x)
2397 @result{} (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10)
2398 (loop for x below 10 collect x)
2399 @result{} (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9)
2402 The @code{by} value is always positive, even for downward-counting
2403 loops. Some sort of @code{from} value is required for downward
2404 loops; @samp{for x downto 5} is not a legal loop clause all by
2407 @item for @var{var} in @var{list} by @var{function}
2408 This clause iterates @var{var} over all the elements of @var{list},
2409 in turn. If you specify the @code{by} term, then @var{function}
2410 is used to traverse the list instead of @code{cdr}; it must be a
2411 function taking one argument. For example:
2414 (loop for x in '(1 2 3 4 5 6) collect (* x x))
2415 @result{} (1 4 9 16 25 36)
2416 (loop for x in '(1 2 3 4 5 6) by 'cddr collect (* x x))
2420 @item for @var{var} on @var{list} by @var{function}
2421 This clause iterates @var{var} over all the cons cells of @var{list}.
2424 (loop for x on '(1 2 3 4) collect x)
2425 @result{} ((1 2 3 4) (2 3 4) (3 4) (4))
2428 With @code{by}, there is no real reason that the @code{on} expression
2429 must be a list. For example:
2432 (loop for x on first-animal by 'next-animal collect x)
2436 where @code{(next-animal x)} takes an ``animal'' @var{x} and returns
2437 the next in the (assumed) sequence of animals, or @code{nil} if
2438 @var{x} was the last animal in the sequence.
2440 @item for @var{var} in-ref @var{list} by @var{function}
2441 This is like a regular @code{in} clause, but @var{var} becomes
2442 a @code{setf}-able ``reference'' onto the elements of the list
2443 rather than just a temporary variable. For example,
2446 (loop for x in-ref my-list do (incf x))
2450 increments every element of @code{my-list} in place. This clause
2451 is an extension to standard Common Lisp.
2453 @item for @var{var} across @var{array}
2454 This clause iterates @var{var} over all the elements of @var{array},
2455 which may be a vector or a string.
2458 (loop for x across "aeiou"
2459 do (use-vowel (char-to-string x)))
2462 @item for @var{var} across-ref @var{array}
2463 This clause iterates over an array, with @var{var} a @code{setf}-able
2464 reference onto the elements; see @code{in-ref} above.
2466 @item for @var{var} being the elements of @var{sequence}
2467 This clause iterates over the elements of @var{sequence}, which may
2468 be a list, vector, or string. Since the type must be determined
2469 at run-time, this is somewhat less efficient than @code{in} or
2470 @code{across}. The clause may be followed by the additional term
2471 @samp{using (index @var{var2})} to cause @var{var2} to be bound to
2472 the successive indices (starting at 0) of the elements.
2474 This clause type is taken from older versions of the @code{loop} macro,
2475 and is not present in modern Common Lisp. The @samp{using (sequence ...)}
2476 term of the older macros is not supported.
2478 @item for @var{var} being the elements of-ref @var{sequence}
2479 This clause iterates over a sequence, with @var{var} a @code{setf}-able
2480 reference onto the elements; see @code{in-ref} above.
2482 @item for @var{var} being the symbols [of @var{obarray}]
2483 This clause iterates over symbols, either over all interned symbols
2484 or over all symbols in @var{obarray}. The loop is executed with
2485 @var{var} bound to each symbol in turn. The symbols are visited in
2486 an unspecified order.
2491 (loop for sym being the symbols
2493 when (string-match "^map" (symbol-name sym))
2498 returns a list of all the functions whose names begin with @samp{map}.
2500 The Common Lisp words @code{external-symbols} and @code{present-symbols}
2501 are also recognized but are equivalent to @code{symbols} in Emacs Lisp.
2503 Due to a minor implementation restriction, it will not work to have
2504 more than one @code{for} clause iterating over symbols, hash tables,
2505 keymaps, overlays, or intervals in a given @code{loop}. Fortunately,
2506 it would rarely if ever be useful to do so. It @emph{is} legal to mix
2507 one of these types of clauses with other clauses like @code{for ... to}
2510 @item for @var{var} being the hash-keys of @var{hash-table}
2511 This clause iterates over the entries in @var{hash-table}. For each
2512 hash table entry, @var{var} is bound to the entry's key. If you write
2513 @samp{the hash-values} instead, @var{var} is bound to the values
2514 of the entries. The clause may be followed by the additional
2515 term @samp{using (hash-values @var{var2})} (where @code{hash-values}
2516 is the opposite word of the word following @code{the}) to cause
2517 @var{var} and @var{var2} to be bound to the two parts of each
2520 @item for @var{var} being the key-codes of @var{keymap}
2521 This clause iterates over the entries in @var{keymap}.
2522 The iteration does not enter nested keymaps or inherited (parent) keymaps.
2523 You can use @samp{the key-bindings} to access the commands bound to
2524 the keys rather than the key codes, and you can add a @code{using}
2525 clause to access both the codes and the bindings together.
2527 @item for @var{var} being the key-seqs of @var{keymap}
2528 This clause iterates over all key sequences defined by @var{keymap}
2529 and its nested keymaps, where @var{var} takes on values which are
2530 vectors. The strings or vectors
2531 are reused for each iteration, so you must copy them if you wish to keep
2532 them permanently. You can add a @samp{using (key-bindings ...)}
2533 clause to get the command bindings as well.
2535 @item for @var{var} being the overlays [of @var{buffer}] @dots{}
2536 This clause iterates over the ``overlays'' of a buffer
2537 (the clause @code{extents} is synonymous
2538 with @code{overlays}). If the @code{of} term is omitted, the current
2540 This clause also accepts optional @samp{from @var{pos}} and
2541 @samp{to @var{pos}} terms, limiting the clause to overlays which
2542 overlap the specified region.
2544 @item for @var{var} being the intervals [of @var{buffer}] @dots{}
2545 This clause iterates over all intervals of a buffer with constant
2546 text properties. The variable @var{var} will be bound to conses
2547 of start and end positions, where one start position is always equal
2548 to the previous end position. The clause allows @code{of},
2549 @code{from}, @code{to}, and @code{property} terms, where the latter
2550 term restricts the search to just the specified property. The
2551 @code{of} term may specify either a buffer or a string.
2553 @item for @var{var} being the frames
2554 This clause iterates over all frames, i.e., X window system windows
2555 open on Emacs files. The
2556 clause @code{screens} is a synonym for @code{frames}. The frames
2557 are visited in @code{next-frame} order starting from
2558 @code{selected-frame}.
2560 @item for @var{var} being the windows [of @var{frame}]
2561 This clause iterates over the windows (in the Emacs sense) of
2562 the current frame, or of the specified @var{frame}.
2564 @item for @var{var} being the buffers
2565 This clause iterates over all buffers in Emacs. It is equivalent
2566 to @samp{for @var{var} in (buffer-list)}.
2568 @item for @var{var} = @var{expr1} then @var{expr2}
2569 This clause does a general iteration. The first time through
2570 the loop, @var{var} will be bound to @var{expr1}. On the second
2571 and successive iterations it will be set by evaluating @var{expr2}
2572 (which may refer to the old value of @var{var}). For example,
2573 these two loops are effectively the same:
2576 (loop for x on my-list by 'cddr do ...)
2577 (loop for x = my-list then (cddr x) while x do ...)
2580 Note that this type of @code{for} clause does not imply any sort
2581 of terminating condition; the above example combines it with a
2582 @code{while} clause to tell when to end the loop.
2584 If you omit the @code{then} term, @var{expr1} is used both for
2585 the initial setting and for successive settings:
2588 (loop for x = (random) when (> x 0) return x)
2592 This loop keeps taking random numbers from the @code{(random)}
2593 function until it gets a positive one, which it then returns.
2596 If you include several @code{for} clauses in a row, they are
2597 treated sequentially (as if by @code{let*} and @code{setq}).
2598 You can instead use the word @code{and} to link the clauses,
2599 in which case they are processed in parallel (as if by @code{let}
2603 (loop for x below 5 for y = nil then x collect (list x y))
2604 @result{} ((0 nil) (1 1) (2 2) (3 3) (4 4))
2605 (loop for x below 5 and y = nil then x collect (list x y))
2606 @result{} ((0 nil) (1 0) (2 1) (3 2) (4 3))
2610 In the first loop, @code{y} is set based on the value of @code{x}
2611 that was just set by the previous clause; in the second loop,
2612 @code{x} and @code{y} are set simultaneously so @code{y} is set
2613 based on the value of @code{x} left over from the previous time
2616 Another feature of the @code{loop} macro is @dfn{destructuring},
2617 similar in concept to the destructuring provided by @code{defmacro}.
2618 The @var{var} part of any @code{for} clause can be given as a list
2619 of variables instead of a single variable. The values produced
2620 during loop execution must be lists; the values in the lists are
2621 stored in the corresponding variables.
2624 (loop for (x y) in '((2 3) (4 5) (6 7)) collect (+ x y))
2628 In loop destructuring, if there are more values than variables
2629 the trailing values are ignored, and if there are more variables
2630 than values the trailing variables get the value @code{nil}.
2631 If @code{nil} is used as a variable name, the corresponding
2632 values are ignored. Destructuring may be nested, and dotted
2633 lists of variables like @code{(x . y)} are allowed.
2635 @node Iteration Clauses, Accumulation Clauses, For Clauses, Loop Facility
2636 @subsection Iteration Clauses
2639 Aside from @code{for} clauses, there are several other loop clauses
2640 that control the way the loop operates. They might be used by
2641 themselves, or in conjunction with one or more @code{for} clauses.
2644 @item repeat @var{integer}
2645 This clause simply counts up to the specified number using an
2646 internal temporary variable. The loops
2649 (loop repeat n do ...)
2650 (loop for temp to n do ...)
2654 are identical except that the second one forces you to choose
2655 a name for a variable you aren't actually going to use.
2657 @item while @var{condition}
2658 This clause stops the loop when the specified condition (any Lisp
2659 expression) becomes @code{nil}. For example, the following two
2660 loops are equivalent, except for the implicit @code{nil} block
2661 that surrounds the second one:
2664 (while @var{cond} @var{forms}@dots{})
2665 (loop while @var{cond} do @var{forms}@dots{})
2668 @item until @var{condition}
2669 This clause stops the loop when the specified condition is true,
2670 i.e., non-@code{nil}.
2672 @item always @var{condition}
2673 This clause stops the loop when the specified condition is @code{nil}.
2674 Unlike @code{while}, it stops the loop using @code{return nil} so that
2675 the @code{finally} clauses are not executed. If all the conditions
2676 were non-@code{nil}, the loop returns @code{t}:
2679 (if (loop for size in size-list always (> size 10))
2684 @item never @var{condition}
2685 This clause is like @code{always}, except that the loop returns
2686 @code{t} if any conditions were false, or @code{nil} otherwise.
2688 @item thereis @var{condition}
2689 This clause stops the loop when the specified form is non-@code{nil};
2690 in this case, it returns that non-@code{nil} value. If all the
2691 values were @code{nil}, the loop returns @code{nil}.
2694 @node Accumulation Clauses, Other Clauses, Iteration Clauses, Loop Facility
2695 @subsection Accumulation Clauses
2698 These clauses cause the loop to accumulate information about the
2699 specified Lisp @var{form}. The accumulated result is returned
2700 from the loop unless overridden, say, by a @code{return} clause.
2703 @item collect @var{form}
2704 This clause collects the values of @var{form} into a list. Several
2705 examples of @code{collect} appear elsewhere in this manual.
2707 The word @code{collecting} is a synonym for @code{collect}, and
2708 likewise for the other accumulation clauses.
2710 @item append @var{form}
2711 This clause collects lists of values into a result list using
2714 @item nconc @var{form}
2715 This clause collects lists of values into a result list by
2716 destructively modifying the lists rather than copying them.
2718 @item concat @var{form}
2719 This clause concatenates the values of the specified @var{form}
2720 into a string. (It and the following clause are extensions to
2721 standard Common Lisp.)
2723 @item vconcat @var{form}
2724 This clause concatenates the values of the specified @var{form}
2727 @item count @var{form}
2728 This clause counts the number of times the specified @var{form}
2729 evaluates to a non-@code{nil} value.
2731 @item sum @var{form}
2732 This clause accumulates the sum of the values of the specified
2733 @var{form}, which must evaluate to a number.
2735 @item maximize @var{form}
2736 This clause accumulates the maximum value of the specified @var{form},
2737 which must evaluate to a number. The return value is undefined if
2738 @code{maximize} is executed zero times.
2740 @item minimize @var{form}
2741 This clause accumulates the minimum value of the specified @var{form}.
2744 Accumulation clauses can be followed by @samp{into @var{var}} to
2745 cause the data to be collected into variable @var{var} (which is
2746 automatically @code{let}-bound during the loop) rather than an
2747 unnamed temporary variable. Also, @code{into} accumulations do
2748 not automatically imply a return value. The loop must use some
2749 explicit mechanism, such as @code{finally return}, to return
2750 the accumulated result.
2752 It is legal for several accumulation clauses of the same type to
2753 accumulate into the same place. From Steele:
2756 (loop for name in '(fred sue alice joe june)
2757 for kids in '((bob ken) () () (kris sunshine) ())
2760 @result{} (fred bob ken sue alice joe kris sunshine june)
2763 @node Other Clauses, , Accumulation Clauses, Loop Facility
2764 @subsection Other Clauses
2767 This section describes the remaining loop clauses.
2770 @item with @var{var} = @var{value}
2771 This clause binds a variable to a value around the loop, but
2772 otherwise leaves the variable alone during the loop. The following
2773 loops are basically equivalent:
2776 (loop with x = 17 do ...)
2777 (let ((x 17)) (loop do ...))
2778 (loop for x = 17 then x do ...)
2781 Naturally, the variable @var{var} might be used for some purpose
2782 in the rest of the loop. For example:
2785 (loop for x in my-list with res = nil do (push x res)
2789 This loop inserts the elements of @code{my-list} at the front of
2790 a new list being accumulated in @code{res}, then returns the
2791 list @code{res} at the end of the loop. The effect is similar
2792 to that of a @code{collect} clause, but the list gets reversed
2793 by virtue of the fact that elements are being pushed onto the
2794 front of @code{res} rather than the end.
2796 If you omit the @code{=} term, the variable is initialized to
2797 @code{nil}. (Thus the @samp{= nil} in the above example is
2800 Bindings made by @code{with} are sequential by default, as if
2801 by @code{let*}. Just like @code{for} clauses, @code{with} clauses
2802 can be linked with @code{and} to cause the bindings to be made by
2805 @item if @var{condition} @var{clause}
2806 This clause executes the following loop clause only if the specified
2807 condition is true. The following @var{clause} should be an accumulation,
2808 @code{do}, @code{return}, @code{if}, or @code{unless} clause.
2809 Several clauses may be linked by separating them with @code{and}.
2810 These clauses may be followed by @code{else} and a clause or clauses
2811 to execute if the condition was false. The whole construct may
2812 optionally be followed by the word @code{end} (which may be used to
2813 disambiguate an @code{else} or @code{and} in a nested @code{if}).
2815 The actual non-@code{nil} value of the condition form is available
2816 by the name @code{it} in the ``then'' part. For example:
2819 (setq funny-numbers '(6 13 -1))
2821 (loop for x below 10
2824 and if (memq x funny-numbers) return (cdr it) end
2826 collect x into evens
2827 finally return (vector odds evens))
2828 @result{} [(1 3 5 7 9) (0 2 4 6 8)]
2829 (setq funny-numbers '(6 7 13 -1))
2830 @result{} (6 7 13 -1)
2831 (loop <@r{same thing again}>)
2835 Note the use of @code{and} to put two clauses into the ``then''
2836 part, one of which is itself an @code{if} clause. Note also that
2837 @code{end}, while normally optional, was necessary here to make
2838 it clear that the @code{else} refers to the outermost @code{if}
2839 clause. In the first case, the loop returns a vector of lists
2840 of the odd and even values of @var{x}. In the second case, the
2841 odd number 7 is one of the @code{funny-numbers} so the loop
2842 returns early; the actual returned value is based on the result
2843 of the @code{memq} call.
2845 @item when @var{condition} @var{clause}
2846 This clause is just a synonym for @code{if}.
2848 @item unless @var{condition} @var{clause}
2849 The @code{unless} clause is just like @code{if} except that the
2850 sense of the condition is reversed.
2852 @item named @var{name}
2853 This clause gives a name other than @code{nil} to the implicit
2854 block surrounding the loop. The @var{name} is the symbol to be
2855 used as the block name.
2857 @item initially [do] @var{forms}...
2858 This keyword introduces one or more Lisp forms which will be
2859 executed before the loop itself begins (but after any variables
2860 requested by @code{for} or @code{with} have been bound to their
2861 initial values). @code{initially} clauses can appear anywhere;
2862 if there are several, they are executed in the order they appear
2863 in the loop. The keyword @code{do} is optional.
2865 @item finally [do] @var{forms}...
2866 This introduces Lisp forms which will be executed after the loop
2867 finishes (say, on request of a @code{for} or @code{while}).
2868 @code{initially} and @code{finally} clauses may appear anywhere
2869 in the loop construct, but they are executed (in the specified
2870 order) at the beginning or end, respectively, of the loop.
2872 @item finally return @var{form}
2873 This says that @var{form} should be executed after the loop
2874 is done to obtain a return value. (Without this, or some other
2875 clause like @code{collect} or @code{return}, the loop will simply
2876 return @code{nil}.) Variables bound by @code{for}, @code{with},
2877 or @code{into} will still contain their final values when @var{form}
2880 @item do @var{forms}...
2881 The word @code{do} may be followed by any number of Lisp expressions
2882 which are executed as an implicit @code{progn} in the body of the
2883 loop. Many of the examples in this section illustrate the use of
2886 @item return @var{form}
2887 This clause causes the loop to return immediately. The following
2888 Lisp form is evaluated to give the return value of the @code{loop}
2889 form. The @code{finally} clauses, if any, are not executed.
2890 Of course, @code{return} is generally used inside an @code{if} or
2891 @code{unless}, as its use in a top-level loop clause would mean
2892 the loop would never get to ``loop'' more than once.
2894 The clause @samp{return @var{form}} is equivalent to
2895 @samp{do (return @var{form})} (or @code{return-from} if the loop
2896 was named). The @code{return} clause is implemented a bit more
2897 efficiently, though.
2900 While there is no high-level way to add user extensions to @code{loop}
2901 (comparable to @code{defsetf} for @code{setf}, say), this package
2902 does offer two properties called @code{cl-loop-handler} and
2903 @code{cl-loop-for-handler} which are functions to be called when
2904 a given symbol is encountered as a top-level loop clause or
2905 @code{for} clause, respectively. Consult the source code in
2906 file @file{cl-macs.el} for details.
2908 This package's @code{loop} macro is compatible with that of Common
2909 Lisp, except that a few features are not implemented: @code{loop-finish}
2910 and data-type specifiers. Naturally, the @code{for} clauses which
2911 iterate over keymaps, overlays, intervals, frames, windows, and
2912 buffers are Emacs-specific extensions.
2914 @node Multiple Values, , Loop Facility, Control Structure
2915 @section Multiple Values
2918 Common Lisp functions can return zero or more results. Emacs Lisp
2919 functions, by contrast, always return exactly one result. This
2920 package makes no attempt to emulate Common Lisp multiple return
2921 values; Emacs versions of Common Lisp functions that return more
2922 than one value either return just the first value (as in
2923 @code{compiler-macroexpand}) or return a list of values (as in
2924 @code{get-setf-method}). This package @emph{does} define placeholders
2925 for the Common Lisp functions that work with multiple values, but
2926 in Emacs Lisp these functions simply operate on lists instead.
2927 The @code{values} form, for example, is a synonym for @code{list}
2930 @defspec multiple-value-bind (var@dots{}) values-form forms@dots{}
2931 This form evaluates @var{values-form}, which must return a list of
2932 values. It then binds the @var{var}s to these respective values,
2933 as if by @code{let}, and then executes the body @var{forms}.
2934 If there are more @var{var}s than values, the extra @var{var}s
2935 are bound to @code{nil}. If there are fewer @var{var}s than
2936 values, the excess values are ignored.
2939 @defspec multiple-value-setq (var@dots{}) form
2940 This form evaluates @var{form}, which must return a list of values.
2941 It then sets the @var{var}s to these respective values, as if by
2942 @code{setq}. Extra @var{var}s or values are treated the same as
2943 in @code{multiple-value-bind}.
2946 The older Quiroz package attempted a more faithful (but still
2947 imperfect) emulation of Common Lisp multiple values. The old
2948 method ``usually'' simulated true multiple values quite well,
2949 but under certain circumstances would leave spurious return
2950 values in memory where a later, unrelated @code{multiple-value-bind}
2951 form would see them.
2953 Since a perfect emulation is not feasible in Emacs Lisp, this
2954 package opts to keep it as simple and predictable as possible.
2956 @node Macros, Declarations, Control Structure, Top
2960 This package implements the various Common Lisp features of
2961 @code{defmacro}, such as destructuring, @code{&environment},
2962 and @code{&body}. Top-level @code{&whole} is not implemented
2963 for @code{defmacro} due to technical difficulties.
2964 @xref{Argument Lists}.
2966 Destructuring is made available to the user by way of the
2969 @defspec destructuring-bind arglist expr forms@dots{}
2970 This macro expands to code which executes @var{forms}, with
2971 the variables in @var{arglist} bound to the list of values
2972 returned by @var{expr}. The @var{arglist} can include all
2973 the features allowed for @code{defmacro} argument lists,
2974 including destructuring. (The @code{&environment} keyword
2975 is not allowed.) The macro expansion will signal an error
2976 if @var{expr} returns a list of the wrong number of arguments
2977 or with incorrect keyword arguments.
2980 This package also includes the Common Lisp @code{define-compiler-macro}
2981 facility, which allows you to define compile-time expansions and
2982 optimizations for your functions.
2984 @defspec define-compiler-macro name arglist forms@dots{}
2985 This form is similar to @code{defmacro}, except that it only expands
2986 calls to @var{name} at compile-time; calls processed by the Lisp
2987 interpreter are not expanded, nor are they expanded by the
2988 @code{macroexpand} function.
2990 The argument list may begin with a @code{&whole} keyword and a
2991 variable. This variable is bound to the macro-call form itself,
2992 i.e., to a list of the form @samp{(@var{name} @var{args}@dots{})}.
2993 If the macro expander returns this form unchanged, then the
2994 compiler treats it as a normal function call. This allows
2995 compiler macros to work as optimizers for special cases of a
2996 function, leaving complicated cases alone.
2998 For example, here is a simplified version of a definition that
2999 appears as a standard part of this package:
3002 (define-compiler-macro member* (&whole form a list &rest keys)
3003 (if (and (null keys)
3004 (eq (car-safe a) 'quote)
3005 (not (floatp-safe (cadr a))))
3011 This definition causes @code{(member* @var{a} @var{list})} to change
3012 to a call to the faster @code{memq} in the common case where @var{a}
3013 is a non-floating-point constant; if @var{a} is anything else, or
3014 if there are any keyword arguments in the call, then the original
3015 @code{member*} call is left intact. (The actual compiler macro
3016 for @code{member*} optimizes a number of other cases, including
3017 common @code{:test} predicates.)
3020 @defun compiler-macroexpand form
3021 This function is analogous to @code{macroexpand}, except that it
3022 expands compiler macros rather than regular macros. It returns
3023 @var{form} unchanged if it is not a call to a function for which
3024 a compiler macro has been defined, or if that compiler macro
3025 decided to punt by returning its @code{&whole} argument. Like
3026 @code{macroexpand}, it expands repeatedly until it reaches a form
3027 for which no further expansion is possible.
3030 @xref{Macro Bindings}, for descriptions of the @code{macrolet}
3031 and @code{symbol-macrolet} forms for making ``local'' macro
3034 @node Declarations, Symbols, Macros, Top
3035 @chapter Declarations
3038 Common Lisp includes a complex and powerful ``declaration''
3039 mechanism that allows you to give the compiler special hints
3040 about the types of data that will be stored in particular variables,
3041 and about the ways those variables and functions will be used. This
3042 package defines versions of all the Common Lisp declaration forms:
3043 @code{declare}, @code{locally}, @code{proclaim}, @code{declaim},
3046 Most of the Common Lisp declarations are not currently useful in
3047 Emacs Lisp, as the byte-code system provides little opportunity
3048 to benefit from type information, and @code{special} declarations
3049 are redundant in a fully dynamically-scoped Lisp. A few
3050 declarations are meaningful when the optimizing byte
3051 compiler is being used, however. Under the earlier non-optimizing
3052 compiler, these declarations will effectively be ignored.
3054 @defun proclaim decl-spec
3055 This function records a ``global'' declaration specified by
3056 @var{decl-spec}. Since @code{proclaim} is a function, @var{decl-spec}
3057 is evaluated and thus should normally be quoted.
3060 @defspec declaim decl-specs@dots{}
3061 This macro is like @code{proclaim}, except that it takes any number
3062 of @var{decl-spec} arguments, and the arguments are unevaluated and
3063 unquoted. The @code{declaim} macro also puts an @code{(eval-when
3064 (compile load eval) ...)} around the declarations so that they will
3065 be registered at compile-time as well as at run-time. (This is vital,
3066 since normally the declarations are meant to influence the way the
3067 compiler treats the rest of the file that contains the @code{declaim}
3071 @defspec declare decl-specs@dots{}
3072 This macro is used to make declarations within functions and other
3073 code. Common Lisp allows declarations in various locations, generally
3074 at the beginning of any of the many ``implicit @code{progn}s''
3075 throughout Lisp syntax, such as function bodies, @code{let} bodies,
3076 etc. Currently the only declaration understood by @code{declare}
3080 @defspec locally declarations@dots{} forms@dots{}
3081 In this package, @code{locally} is no different from @code{progn}.
3084 @defspec the type form
3085 Type information provided by @code{the} is ignored in this package;
3086 in other words, @code{(the @var{type} @var{form})} is equivalent
3087 to @var{form}. Future versions of the optimizing byte-compiler may
3088 make use of this information.
3090 For example, @code{mapcar} can map over both lists and arrays. It is
3091 hard for the compiler to expand @code{mapcar} into an in-line loop
3092 unless it knows whether the sequence will be a list or an array ahead
3093 of time. With @code{(mapcar 'car (the vector foo))}, a future
3094 compiler would have enough information to expand the loop in-line.
3095 For now, Emacs Lisp will treat the above code as exactly equivalent
3096 to @code{(mapcar 'car foo)}.
3099 Each @var{decl-spec} in a @code{proclaim}, @code{declaim}, or
3100 @code{declare} should be a list beginning with a symbol that says
3101 what kind of declaration it is. This package currently understands
3102 @code{special}, @code{inline}, @code{notinline}, @code{optimize},
3103 and @code{warn} declarations. (The @code{warn} declaration is an
3104 extension of standard Common Lisp.) Other Common Lisp declarations,
3105 such as @code{type} and @code{ftype}, are silently ignored.
3109 Since all variables in Emacs Lisp are ``special'' (in the Common
3110 Lisp sense), @code{special} declarations are only advisory. They
3111 simply tell the optimizing byte compiler that the specified
3112 variables are intentionally being referred to without being
3113 bound in the body of the function. The compiler normally emits
3114 warnings for such references, since they could be typographical
3115 errors for references to local variables.
3117 The declaration @code{(declare (special @var{var1} @var{var2}))} is
3118 equivalent to @code{(defvar @var{var1}) (defvar @var{var2})} in the
3119 optimizing compiler, or to nothing at all in older compilers (which
3120 do not warn for non-local references).
3122 In top-level contexts, it is generally better to write
3123 @code{(defvar @var{var})} than @code{(declaim (special @var{var}))},
3124 since @code{defvar} makes your intentions clearer. But the older
3125 byte compilers can not handle @code{defvar}s appearing inside of
3126 functions, while @code{(declare (special @var{var}))} takes care
3127 to work correctly with all compilers.
3130 The @code{inline} @var{decl-spec} lists one or more functions
3131 whose bodies should be expanded ``in-line'' into calling functions
3132 whenever the compiler is able to arrange for it. For example,
3133 the Common Lisp function @code{cadr} is declared @code{inline}
3134 by this package so that the form @code{(cadr @var{x})} will
3135 expand directly into @code{(car (cdr @var{x}))} when it is called
3136 in user functions, for a savings of one (relatively expensive)
3139 The following declarations are all equivalent. Note that the
3140 @code{defsubst} form is a convenient way to define a function
3141 and declare it inline all at once.
3144 (declaim (inline foo bar))
3145 (eval-when (compile load eval) (proclaim '(inline foo bar)))
3146 (defsubst foo (...) ...) ; instead of defun
3149 @strong{Note:} This declaration remains in effect after the
3150 containing source file is done. It is correct to use it to
3151 request that a function you have defined should be inlined,
3152 but it is impolite to use it to request inlining of an external
3155 In Common Lisp, it is possible to use @code{(declare (inline @dots{}))}
3156 before a particular call to a function to cause just that call to
3157 be inlined; the current byte compilers provide no way to implement
3158 this, so @code{(declare (inline @dots{}))} is currently ignored by
3162 The @code{notinline} declaration lists functions which should
3163 not be inlined after all; it cancels a previous @code{inline}
3167 This declaration controls how much optimization is performed by
3168 the compiler. Naturally, it is ignored by the earlier non-optimizing
3171 The word @code{optimize} is followed by any number of lists like
3172 @code{(speed 3)} or @code{(safety 2)}. Common Lisp defines several
3173 optimization ``qualities''; this package ignores all but @code{speed}
3174 and @code{safety}. The value of a quality should be an integer from
3175 0 to 3, with 0 meaning ``unimportant'' and 3 meaning ``very important.''
3176 The default level for both qualities is 1.
3178 In this package, with the optimizing compiler, the
3179 @code{speed} quality is tied to the @code{byte-compile-optimize}
3180 flag, which is set to @code{nil} for @code{(speed 0)} and to
3181 @code{t} for higher settings; and the @code{safety} quality is
3182 tied to the @code{byte-compile-delete-errors} flag, which is
3183 set to @code{t} for @code{(safety 3)} and to @code{nil} for all
3184 lower settings. (The latter flag controls whether the compiler
3185 is allowed to optimize out code whose only side-effect could
3186 be to signal an error, e.g., rewriting @code{(progn foo bar)} to
3187 @code{bar} when it is not known whether @code{foo} will be bound
3190 Note that even compiling with @code{(safety 0)}, the Emacs
3191 byte-code system provides sufficient checking to prevent real
3192 harm from being done. For example, barring serious bugs in
3193 Emacs itself, Emacs will not crash with a segmentation fault
3194 just because of an error in a fully-optimized Lisp program.
3196 The @code{optimize} declaration is normally used in a top-level
3197 @code{proclaim} or @code{declaim} in a file; Common Lisp allows
3198 it to be used with @code{declare} to set the level of optimization
3199 locally for a given form, but this will not work correctly with the
3200 current version of the optimizing compiler. (The @code{declare}
3201 will set the new optimization level, but that level will not
3202 automatically be unset after the enclosing form is done.)
3205 This declaration controls what sorts of warnings are generated
3206 by the byte compiler. Again, only the optimizing compiler
3207 generates warnings. The word @code{warn} is followed by any
3208 number of ``warning qualities,'' similar in form to optimization
3209 qualities. The currently supported warning types are
3210 @code{redefine}, @code{callargs}, @code{unresolved}, and
3211 @code{free-vars}; in the current system, a value of 0 will
3212 disable these warnings and any higher value will enable them.
3213 See the documentation for the optimizing byte compiler for details.
3216 @node Symbols, Numbers, Declarations, Top
3220 This package defines several symbol-related features that were
3221 missing from Emacs Lisp.
3224 * Property Lists:: `get*', `remprop', `getf', `remf'
3225 * Creating Symbols:: `gensym', `gentemp'
3228 @node Property Lists, Creating Symbols, Symbols, Symbols
3229 @section Property Lists
3232 These functions augment the standard Emacs Lisp functions @code{get}
3233 and @code{put} for operating on properties attached to symbols.
3234 There are also functions for working with property lists as
3235 first-class data structures not attached to particular symbols.
3237 @defun get* symbol property &optional default
3238 This function is like @code{get}, except that if the property is
3239 not found, the @var{default} argument provides the return value.
3240 (The Emacs Lisp @code{get} function always uses @code{nil} as
3241 the default; this package's @code{get*} is equivalent to Common
3244 The @code{get*} function is @code{setf}-able; when used in this
3245 fashion, the @var{default} argument is allowed but ignored.
3248 @defun remprop symbol property
3249 This function removes the entry for @var{property} from the property
3250 list of @var{symbol}. It returns a true value if the property was
3251 indeed found and removed, or @code{nil} if there was no such property.
3252 (This function was probably omitted from Emacs originally because,
3253 since @code{get} did not allow a @var{default}, it was very difficult
3254 to distinguish between a missing property and a property whose value
3255 was @code{nil}; thus, setting a property to @code{nil} was close
3256 enough to @code{remprop} for most purposes.)
3259 @defun getf place property &optional default
3260 This function scans the list @var{place} as if it were a property
3261 list, i.e., a list of alternating property names and values. If
3262 an even-numbered element of @var{place} is found which is @code{eq}
3263 to @var{property}, the following odd-numbered element is returned.
3264 Otherwise, @var{default} is returned (or @code{nil} if no default
3270 (get sym prop) @equiv{} (getf (symbol-plist sym) prop)
3273 It is legal to use @code{getf} as a @code{setf} place, in which case
3274 its @var{place} argument must itself be a legal @code{setf} place.
3275 The @var{default} argument, if any, is ignored in this context.
3276 The effect is to change (via @code{setcar}) the value cell in the
3277 list that corresponds to @var{property}, or to cons a new property-value
3278 pair onto the list if the property is not yet present.
3281 (put sym prop val) @equiv{} (setf (getf (symbol-plist sym) prop) val)
3284 The @code{get} and @code{get*} functions are also @code{setf}-able.
3285 The fact that @code{default} is ignored can sometimes be useful:
3288 (incf (get* 'foo 'usage-count 0))
3291 Here, symbol @code{foo}'s @code{usage-count} property is incremented
3292 if it exists, or set to 1 (an incremented 0) otherwise.
3294 When not used as a @code{setf} form, @code{getf} is just a regular
3295 function and its @var{place} argument can actually be any Lisp
3299 @defspec remf place property
3300 This macro removes the property-value pair for @var{property} from
3301 the property list stored at @var{place}, which is any @code{setf}-able
3302 place expression. It returns true if the property was found. Note
3303 that if @var{property} happens to be first on the list, this will
3304 effectively do a @code{(setf @var{place} (cddr @var{place}))},
3305 whereas if it occurs later, this simply uses @code{setcdr} to splice
3306 out the property and value cells.
3313 @node Creating Symbols, , Property Lists, Symbols
3314 @section Creating Symbols
3317 These functions create unique symbols, typically for use as
3318 temporary variables.
3320 @defun gensym &optional x
3321 This function creates a new, uninterned symbol (using @code{make-symbol})
3322 with a unique name. (The name of an uninterned symbol is relevant
3323 only if the symbol is printed.) By default, the name is generated
3324 from an increasing sequence of numbers, @samp{G1000}, @samp{G1001},
3325 @samp{G1002}, etc. If the optional argument @var{x} is a string, that
3326 string is used as a prefix instead of @samp{G}. Uninterned symbols
3327 are used in macro expansions for temporary variables, to ensure that
3328 their names will not conflict with ``real'' variables in the user's
3332 @defvar *gensym-counter*
3333 This variable holds the counter used to generate @code{gensym} names.
3334 It is incremented after each use by @code{gensym}. In Common Lisp
3335 this is initialized with 0, but this package initializes it with a
3336 random (time-dependent) value to avoid trouble when two files that
3337 each used @code{gensym} in their compilation are loaded together.
3338 (Uninterned symbols become interned when the compiler writes them
3339 out to a file and the Emacs loader loads them, so their names have to
3340 be treated a bit more carefully than in Common Lisp where uninterned
3341 symbols remain uninterned after loading.)
3344 @defun gentemp &optional x
3345 This function is like @code{gensym}, except that it produces a new
3346 @emph{interned} symbol. If the symbol that is generated already
3347 exists, the function keeps incrementing the counter and trying
3348 again until a new symbol is generated.
3351 The Quiroz @file{cl.el} package also defined a @code{defkeyword}
3352 form for creating self-quoting keyword symbols. This package
3353 automatically creates all keywords that are called for by
3354 @code{&key} argument specifiers, and discourages the use of
3355 keywords as data unrelated to keyword arguments, so the
3356 @code{defkeyword} form has been discontinued.
3362 @node Numbers, Sequences, Symbols, Top
3366 This section defines a few simple Common Lisp operations on numbers
3367 which were left out of Emacs Lisp.
3370 * Predicates on Numbers:: `plusp', `oddp', `floatp-safe', etc.
3371 * Numerical Functions:: `abs', `floor*', etc.
3372 * Random Numbers:: `random*', `make-random-state'
3373 * Implementation Parameters:: `most-positive-float'
3380 @node Predicates on Numbers, Numerical Functions, Numbers, Numbers
3381 @section Predicates on Numbers
3384 These functions return @code{t} if the specified condition is
3385 true of the numerical argument, or @code{nil} otherwise.
3388 This predicate tests whether @var{number} is positive. It is an
3389 error if the argument is not a number.
3392 @defun minusp number
3393 This predicate tests whether @var{number} is negative. It is an
3394 error if the argument is not a number.
3398 This predicate tests whether @var{integer} is odd. It is an
3399 error if the argument is not an integer.
3402 @defun evenp integer
3403 This predicate tests whether @var{integer} is even. It is an
3404 error if the argument is not an integer.
3407 @defun floatp-safe object
3408 This predicate tests whether @var{object} is a floating-point
3409 number. On systems that support floating-point, this is equivalent
3410 to @code{floatp}. On other systems, this always returns @code{nil}.
3417 @node Numerical Functions, Random Numbers, Predicates on Numbers, Numbers
3418 @section Numerical Functions
3421 These functions perform various arithmetic operations on numbers.
3423 @defun gcd &rest integers
3424 This function returns the Greatest Common Divisor of the arguments.
3425 For one argument, it returns the absolute value of that argument.
3426 For zero arguments, it returns zero.
3429 @defun lcm &rest integers
3430 This function returns the Least Common Multiple of the arguments.
3431 For one argument, it returns the absolute value of that argument.
3432 For zero arguments, it returns one.
3435 @defun isqrt integer
3436 This function computes the ``integer square root'' of its integer
3437 argument, i.e., the greatest integer less than or equal to the true
3438 square root of the argument.
3441 @defun floor* number &optional divisor
3442 This function implements the Common Lisp @code{floor} function.
3443 It is called @code{floor*} to avoid name conflicts with the
3444 simpler @code{floor} function built-in to Emacs.
3446 With one argument, @code{floor*} returns a list of two numbers:
3447 The argument rounded down (toward minus infinity) to an integer,
3448 and the ``remainder'' which would have to be added back to the
3449 first return value to yield the argument again. If the argument
3450 is an integer @var{x}, the result is always the list @code{(@var{x} 0)}.
3451 If the argument is a floating-point number, the first
3452 result is a Lisp integer and the second is a Lisp float between
3453 0 (inclusive) and 1 (exclusive).
3455 With two arguments, @code{floor*} divides @var{number} by
3456 @var{divisor}, and returns the floor of the quotient and the
3457 corresponding remainder as a list of two numbers. If
3458 @code{(floor* @var{x} @var{y})} returns @code{(@var{q} @var{r})},
3459 then @code{@var{q}*@var{y} + @var{r} = @var{x}}, with @var{r}
3460 between 0 (inclusive) and @var{r} (exclusive). Also, note
3461 that @code{(floor* @var{x})} is exactly equivalent to
3462 @code{(floor* @var{x} 1)}.
3464 This function is entirely compatible with Common Lisp's @code{floor}
3465 function, except that it returns the two results in a list since
3466 Emacs Lisp does not support multiple-valued functions.
3469 @defun ceiling* number &optional divisor
3470 This function implements the Common Lisp @code{ceiling} function,
3471 which is analogous to @code{floor} except that it rounds the
3472 argument or quotient of the arguments up toward plus infinity.
3473 The remainder will be between 0 and minus @var{r}.
3476 @defun truncate* number &optional divisor
3477 This function implements the Common Lisp @code{truncate} function,
3478 which is analogous to @code{floor} except that it rounds the
3479 argument or quotient of the arguments toward zero. Thus it is
3480 equivalent to @code{floor*} if the argument or quotient is
3481 positive, or to @code{ceiling*} otherwise. The remainder has
3482 the same sign as @var{number}.
3485 @defun round* number &optional divisor
3486 This function implements the Common Lisp @code{round} function,
3487 which is analogous to @code{floor} except that it rounds the
3488 argument or quotient of the arguments to the nearest integer.
3489 In the case of a tie (the argument or quotient is exactly
3490 halfway between two integers), it rounds to the even integer.
3493 @defun mod* number divisor
3494 This function returns the same value as the second return value
3498 @defun rem* number divisor
3499 This function returns the same value as the second return value
3503 These definitions are compatible with those in the Quiroz
3504 @file{cl.el} package, except that this package appends @samp{*}
3505 to certain function names to avoid conflicts with existing
3506 Emacs functions, and that the mechanism for returning
3507 multiple values is different.
3513 @node Random Numbers, Implementation Parameters, Numerical Functions, Numbers
3514 @section Random Numbers
3517 This package also provides an implementation of the Common Lisp
3518 random number generator. It uses its own additive-congruential
3519 algorithm, which is much more likely to give statistically clean
3520 random numbers than the simple generators supplied by many
3523 @defun random* number &optional state
3524 This function returns a random nonnegative number less than
3525 @var{number}, and of the same type (either integer or floating-point).
3526 The @var{state} argument should be a @code{random-state} object
3527 which holds the state of the random number generator. The
3528 function modifies this state object as a side effect. If
3529 @var{state} is omitted, it defaults to the variable
3530 @code{*random-state*}, which contains a pre-initialized
3531 @code{random-state} object.
3534 @defvar *random-state*
3535 This variable contains the system ``default'' @code{random-state}
3536 object, used for calls to @code{random*} that do not specify an
3537 alternative state object. Since any number of programs in the
3538 Emacs process may be accessing @code{*random-state*} in interleaved
3539 fashion, the sequence generated from this variable will be
3540 irreproducible for all intents and purposes.
3543 @defun make-random-state &optional state
3544 This function creates or copies a @code{random-state} object.
3545 If @var{state} is omitted or @code{nil}, it returns a new copy of
3546 @code{*random-state*}. This is a copy in the sense that future
3547 sequences of calls to @code{(random* @var{n})} and
3548 @code{(random* @var{n} @var{s})} (where @var{s} is the new
3549 random-state object) will return identical sequences of random
3552 If @var{state} is a @code{random-state} object, this function
3553 returns a copy of that object. If @var{state} is @code{t}, this
3554 function returns a new @code{random-state} object seeded from the
3555 date and time. As an extension to Common Lisp, @var{state} may also
3556 be an integer in which case the new object is seeded from that
3557 integer; each different integer seed will result in a completely
3558 different sequence of random numbers.
3560 It is legal to print a @code{random-state} object to a buffer or
3561 file and later read it back with @code{read}. If a program wishes
3562 to use a sequence of pseudo-random numbers which can be reproduced
3563 later for debugging, it can call @code{(make-random-state t)} to
3564 get a new sequence, then print this sequence to a file. When the
3565 program is later rerun, it can read the original run's random-state
3569 @defun random-state-p object
3570 This predicate returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a
3571 @code{random-state} object, or @code{nil} otherwise.
3574 @node Implementation Parameters, , Random Numbers, Numbers
3575 @section Implementation Parameters
3578 This package defines several useful constants having to with numbers.
3580 The following parameters have to do with floating-point numbers.
3581 This package determines their values by exercising the computer's
3582 floating-point arithmetic in various ways. Because this operation
3583 might be slow, the code for initializing them is kept in a separate
3584 function that must be called before the parameters can be used.
3586 @defun cl-float-limits
3587 This function makes sure that the Common Lisp floating-point parameters
3588 like @code{most-positive-float} have been initialized. Until it is
3589 called, these parameters will be @code{nil}. If this version of Emacs
3590 does not support floats, the parameters will remain @code{nil}. If the
3591 parameters have already been initialized, the function returns
3594 The algorithm makes assumptions that will be valid for most modern
3595 machines, but will fail if the machine's arithmetic is extremely
3596 unusual, e.g., decimal.
3599 Since true Common Lisp supports up to four different floating-point
3600 precisions, it has families of constants like
3601 @code{most-positive-single-float}, @code{most-positive-double-float},
3602 @code{most-positive-long-float}, and so on. Emacs has only one
3603 floating-point precision, so this package omits the precision word
3604 from the constants' names.
3606 @defvar most-positive-float
3607 This constant equals the largest value a Lisp float can hold.
3608 For those systems whose arithmetic supports infinities, this is
3609 the largest @emph{finite} value. For IEEE machines, the value
3610 is approximately @code{1.79e+308}.
3613 @defvar most-negative-float
3614 This constant equals the most-negative value a Lisp float can hold.
3615 (It is assumed to be equal to @code{(- most-positive-float)}.)
3618 @defvar least-positive-float
3619 This constant equals the smallest Lisp float value greater than zero.
3620 For IEEE machines, it is about @code{4.94e-324} if denormals are
3621 supported or @code{2.22e-308} if not.
3624 @defvar least-positive-normalized-float
3625 This constant equals the smallest @emph{normalized} Lisp float greater
3626 than zero, i.e., the smallest value for which IEEE denormalization
3627 will not result in a loss of precision. For IEEE machines, this
3628 value is about @code{2.22e-308}. For machines that do not support
3629 the concept of denormalization and gradual underflow, this constant
3630 will always equal @code{least-positive-float}.
3633 @defvar least-negative-float
3634 This constant is the negative counterpart of @code{least-positive-float}.
3637 @defvar least-negative-normalized-float
3638 This constant is the negative counterpart of
3639 @code{least-positive-normalized-float}.
3642 @defvar float-epsilon
3643 This constant is the smallest positive Lisp float that can be added
3644 to 1.0 to produce a distinct value. Adding a smaller number to 1.0
3645 will yield 1.0 again due to roundoff. For IEEE machines, epsilon
3646 is about @code{2.22e-16}.
3649 @defvar float-negative-epsilon
3650 This is the smallest positive value that can be subtracted from
3651 1.0 to produce a distinct value. For IEEE machines, it is about
3659 @node Sequences, Lists, Numbers, Top
3663 Common Lisp defines a number of functions that operate on
3664 @dfn{sequences}, which are either lists, strings, or vectors.
3665 Emacs Lisp includes a few of these, notably @code{elt} and
3666 @code{length}; this package defines most of the rest.
3669 * Sequence Basics:: Arguments shared by all sequence functions
3670 * Mapping over Sequences:: `mapcar*', `mapcan', `map', `every', etc.
3671 * Sequence Functions:: `subseq', `remove*', `substitute', etc.
3672 * Searching Sequences:: `find', `position', `count', `search', etc.
3673 * Sorting Sequences:: `sort*', `stable-sort', `merge'
3676 @node Sequence Basics, Mapping over Sequences, Sequences, Sequences
3677 @section Sequence Basics
3680 Many of the sequence functions take keyword arguments; @pxref{Argument
3681 Lists}. All keyword arguments are optional and, if specified,
3682 may appear in any order.
3684 The @code{:key} argument should be passed either @code{nil}, or a
3685 function of one argument. This key function is used as a filter
3686 through which the elements of the sequence are seen; for example,
3687 @code{(find x y :key 'car)} is similar to @code{(assoc* x y)}:
3688 It searches for an element of the list whose @code{car} equals
3689 @code{x}, rather than for an element which equals @code{x} itself.
3690 If @code{:key} is omitted or @code{nil}, the filter is effectively
3691 the identity function.
3693 The @code{:test} and @code{:test-not} arguments should be either
3694 @code{nil}, or functions of two arguments. The test function is
3695 used to compare two sequence elements, or to compare a search value
3696 with sequence elements. (The two values are passed to the test
3697 function in the same order as the original sequence function
3698 arguments from which they are derived, or, if they both come from
3699 the same sequence, in the same order as they appear in that sequence.)
3700 The @code{:test} argument specifies a function which must return
3701 true (non-@code{nil}) to indicate a match; instead, you may use
3702 @code{:test-not} to give a function which returns @emph{false} to
3703 indicate a match. The default test function is @code{:test 'eql}.
3705 Many functions which take @var{item} and @code{:test} or @code{:test-not}
3706 arguments also come in @code{-if} and @code{-if-not} varieties,
3707 where a @var{predicate} function is passed instead of @var{item},
3708 and sequence elements match if the predicate returns true on them
3709 (or false in the case of @code{-if-not}). For example:
3712 (remove* 0 seq :test '=) @equiv{} (remove-if 'zerop seq)
3716 to remove all zeros from sequence @code{seq}.
3718 Some operations can work on a subsequence of the argument sequence;
3719 these function take @code{:start} and @code{:end} arguments which
3720 default to zero and the length of the sequence, respectively.
3721 Only elements between @var{start} (inclusive) and @var{end}
3722 (exclusive) are affected by the operation. The @var{end} argument
3723 may be passed @code{nil} to signify the length of the sequence;
3724 otherwise, both @var{start} and @var{end} must be integers, with
3725 @code{0 <= @var{start} <= @var{end} <= (length @var{seq})}.
3726 If the function takes two sequence arguments, the limits are
3727 defined by keywords @code{:start1} and @code{:end1} for the first,
3728 and @code{:start2} and @code{:end2} for the second.
3730 A few functions accept a @code{:from-end} argument, which, if
3731 non-@code{nil}, causes the operation to go from right-to-left
3732 through the sequence instead of left-to-right, and a @code{:count}
3733 argument, which specifies an integer maximum number of elements
3734 to be removed or otherwise processed.
3736 The sequence functions make no guarantees about the order in
3737 which the @code{:test}, @code{:test-not}, and @code{:key} functions
3738 are called on various elements. Therefore, it is a bad idea to depend
3739 on side effects of these functions. For example, @code{:from-end}
3740 may cause the sequence to be scanned actually in reverse, or it may
3741 be scanned forwards but computing a result ``as if'' it were scanned
3742 backwards. (Some functions, like @code{mapcar*} and @code{every},
3743 @emph{do} specify exactly the order in which the function is called
3744 so side effects are perfectly acceptable in those cases.)
3746 Strings may contain ``text properties'' as well
3747 as character data. Except as noted, it is undefined whether or
3748 not text properties are preserved by sequence functions. For
3749 example, @code{(remove* ?A @var{str})} may or may not preserve
3750 the properties of the characters copied from @var{str} into the
3753 @node Mapping over Sequences, Sequence Functions, Sequence Basics, Sequences
3754 @section Mapping over Sequences
3757 These functions ``map'' the function you specify over the elements
3758 of lists or arrays. They are all variations on the theme of the
3759 built-in function @code{mapcar}.
3761 @defun mapcar* function seq &rest more-seqs
3762 This function calls @var{function} on successive parallel sets of
3763 elements from its argument sequences. Given a single @var{seq}
3764 argument it is equivalent to @code{mapcar}; given @var{n} sequences,
3765 it calls the function with the first elements of each of the sequences
3766 as the @var{n} arguments to yield the first element of the result
3767 list, then with the second elements, and so on. The mapping stops as
3768 soon as the shortest sequence runs out. The argument sequences may
3769 be any mixture of lists, strings, and vectors; the return sequence
3772 Common Lisp's @code{mapcar} accepts multiple arguments but works
3773 only on lists; Emacs Lisp's @code{mapcar} accepts a single sequence
3774 argument. This package's @code{mapcar*} works as a compatible
3778 @defun map result-type function seq &rest more-seqs
3779 This function maps @var{function} over the argument sequences,
3780 just like @code{mapcar*}, but it returns a sequence of type
3781 @var{result-type} rather than a list. @var{result-type} must
3782 be one of the following symbols: @code{vector}, @code{string},
3783 @code{list} (in which case the effect is the same as for
3784 @code{mapcar*}), or @code{nil} (in which case the results are
3785 thrown away and @code{map} returns @code{nil}).
3788 @defun maplist function list &rest more-lists
3789 This function calls @var{function} on each of its argument lists,
3790 then on the @code{cdr}s of those lists, and so on, until the
3791 shortest list runs out. The results are returned in the form
3792 of a list. Thus, @code{maplist} is like @code{mapcar*} except
3793 that it passes in the list pointers themselves rather than the
3794 @code{car}s of the advancing pointers.
3797 @defun mapc function seq &rest more-seqs
3798 This function is like @code{mapcar*}, except that the values returned
3799 by @var{function} are ignored and thrown away rather than being
3800 collected into a list. The return value of @code{mapc} is @var{seq},
3801 the first sequence. This function is more general than the Emacs
3802 primitive @code{mapc}.
3805 @defun mapl function list &rest more-lists
3806 This function is like @code{maplist}, except that it throws away
3807 the values returned by @var{function}.
3810 @defun mapcan function seq &rest more-seqs
3811 This function is like @code{mapcar*}, except that it concatenates
3812 the return values (which must be lists) using @code{nconc},
3813 rather than simply collecting them into a list.
3816 @defun mapcon function list &rest more-lists
3817 This function is like @code{maplist}, except that it concatenates
3818 the return values using @code{nconc}.
3821 @defun some predicate seq &rest more-seqs
3822 This function calls @var{predicate} on each element of @var{seq}
3823 in turn; if @var{predicate} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3824 @code{some} returns that value, otherwise it returns @code{nil}.
3825 Given several sequence arguments, it steps through the sequences
3826 in parallel until the shortest one runs out, just as in
3827 @code{mapcar*}. You can rely on the left-to-right order in which
3828 the elements are visited, and on the fact that mapping stops
3829 immediately as soon as @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
3832 @defun every predicate seq &rest more-seqs
3833 This function calls @var{predicate} on each element of the sequence(s)
3834 in turn; it returns @code{nil} as soon as @var{predicate} returns
3835 @code{nil} for any element, or @code{t} if the predicate was true
3839 @defun notany predicate seq &rest more-seqs
3840 This function calls @var{predicate} on each element of the sequence(s)
3841 in turn; it returns @code{nil} as soon as @var{predicate} returns
3842 a non-@code{nil} value for any element, or @code{t} if the predicate
3843 was @code{nil} for all elements.
3846 @defun notevery predicate seq &rest more-seqs
3847 This function calls @var{predicate} on each element of the sequence(s)
3848 in turn; it returns a non-@code{nil} value as soon as @var{predicate}
3849 returns @code{nil} for any element, or @code{t} if the predicate was
3850 true for all elements.
3853 @defun reduce function seq @t{&key :from-end :start :end :initial-value :key}
3854 This function combines the elements of @var{seq} using an associative
3855 binary operation. Suppose @var{function} is @code{*} and @var{seq} is
3856 the list @code{(2 3 4 5)}. The first two elements of the list are
3857 combined with @code{(* 2 3) = 6}; this is combined with the next
3858 element, @code{(* 6 4) = 24}, and that is combined with the final
3859 element: @code{(* 24 5) = 120}. Note that the @code{*} function happens
3860 to be self-reducing, so that @code{(* 2 3 4 5)} has the same effect as
3861 an explicit call to @code{reduce}.
3863 If @code{:from-end} is true, the reduction is right-associative instead
3864 of left-associative:
3867 (reduce '- '(1 2 3 4))
3868 @equiv{} (- (- (- 1 2) 3) 4) @result{} -8
3869 (reduce '- '(1 2 3 4) :from-end t)
3870 @equiv{} (- 1 (- 2 (- 3 4))) @result{} -2
3873 If @code{:key} is specified, it is a function of one argument which
3874 is called on each of the sequence elements in turn.
3876 If @code{:initial-value} is specified, it is effectively added to the
3877 front (or rear in the case of @code{:from-end}) of the sequence.
3878 The @code{:key} function is @emph{not} applied to the initial value.
3880 If the sequence, including the initial value, has exactly one element
3881 then that element is returned without ever calling @var{function}.
3882 If the sequence is empty (and there is no initial value), then
3883 @var{function} is called with no arguments to obtain the return value.
3886 All of these mapping operations can be expressed conveniently in
3887 terms of the @code{loop} macro. In compiled code, @code{loop} will
3888 be faster since it generates the loop as in-line code with no
3891 @node Sequence Functions, Searching Sequences, Mapping over Sequences, Sequences
3892 @section Sequence Functions
3895 This section describes a number of Common Lisp functions for
3896 operating on sequences.
3898 @defun subseq sequence start &optional end
3899 This function returns a given subsequence of the argument
3900 @var{sequence}, which may be a list, string, or vector.
3901 The indices @var{start} and @var{end} must be in range, and
3902 @var{start} must be no greater than @var{end}. If @var{end}
3903 is omitted, it defaults to the length of the sequence. The
3904 return value is always a copy; it does not share structure
3905 with @var{sequence}.
3907 As an extension to Common Lisp, @var{start} and/or @var{end}
3908 may be negative, in which case they represent a distance back
3909 from the end of the sequence. This is for compatibility with
3910 Emacs' @code{substring} function. Note that @code{subseq} is
3911 the @emph{only} sequence function that allows negative
3912 @var{start} and @var{end}.
3914 You can use @code{setf} on a @code{subseq} form to replace a
3915 specified range of elements with elements from another sequence.
3916 The replacement is done as if by @code{replace}, described below.
3919 @defun concatenate result-type &rest seqs
3920 This function concatenates the argument sequences together to
3921 form a result sequence of type @var{result-type}, one of the
3922 symbols @code{vector}, @code{string}, or @code{list}. The
3923 arguments are always copied, even in cases such as
3924 @code{(concatenate 'list '(1 2 3))} where the result is
3925 identical to an argument.
3928 @defun fill seq item @t{&key :start :end}
3929 This function fills the elements of the sequence (or the specified
3930 part of the sequence) with the value @var{item}.
3933 @defun replace seq1 seq2 @t{&key :start1 :end1 :start2 :end2}
3934 This function copies part of @var{seq2} into part of @var{seq1}.
3935 The sequence @var{seq1} is not stretched or resized; the amount
3936 of data copied is simply the shorter of the source and destination
3937 (sub)sequences. The function returns @var{seq1}.
3939 If @var{seq1} and @var{seq2} are @code{eq}, then the replacement
3940 will work correctly even if the regions indicated by the start
3941 and end arguments overlap. However, if @var{seq1} and @var{seq2}
3942 are lists which share storage but are not @code{eq}, and the
3943 start and end arguments specify overlapping regions, the effect
3947 @defun remove* item seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :count :start :end :from-end}
3948 This returns a copy of @var{seq} with all elements matching
3949 @var{item} removed. The result may share storage with or be
3950 @code{eq} to @var{seq} in some circumstances, but the original
3951 @var{seq} will not be modified. The @code{:test}, @code{:test-not},
3952 and @code{:key} arguments define the matching test that is used;
3953 by default, elements @code{eql} to @var{item} are removed. The
3954 @code{:count} argument specifies the maximum number of matching
3955 elements that can be removed (only the leftmost @var{count} matches
3956 are removed). The @code{:start} and @code{:end} arguments specify
3957 a region in @var{seq} in which elements will be removed; elements
3958 outside that region are not matched or removed. The @code{:from-end}
3959 argument, if true, says that elements should be deleted from the
3960 end of the sequence rather than the beginning (this matters only
3961 if @var{count} was also specified).
3964 @defun delete* item seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :count :start :end :from-end}
3965 This deletes all elements of @var{seq} which match @var{item}.
3966 It is a destructive operation. Since Emacs Lisp does not support
3967 stretchable strings or vectors, this is the same as @code{remove*}
3968 for those sequence types. On lists, @code{remove*} will copy the
3969 list if necessary to preserve the original list, whereas
3970 @code{delete*} will splice out parts of the argument list.
3971 Compare @code{append} and @code{nconc}, which are analogous
3972 non-destructive and destructive list operations in Emacs Lisp.
3976 @findex remove-if-not
3978 @findex delete-if-not
3979 The predicate-oriented functions @code{remove-if}, @code{remove-if-not},
3980 @code{delete-if}, and @code{delete-if-not} are defined similarly.
3982 @defun remove-duplicates seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :start :end :from-end}
3983 This function returns a copy of @var{seq} with duplicate elements
3984 removed. Specifically, if two elements from the sequence match
3985 according to the @code{:test}, @code{:test-not}, and @code{:key}
3986 arguments, only the rightmost one is retained. If @code{:from-end}
3987 is true, the leftmost one is retained instead. If @code{:start} or
3988 @code{:end} is specified, only elements within that subsequence are
3989 examined or removed.
3992 @defun delete-duplicates seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :start :end :from-end}
3993 This function deletes duplicate elements from @var{seq}. It is
3994 a destructive version of @code{remove-duplicates}.
3997 @defun substitute new old seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :count :start :end :from-end}
3998 This function returns a copy of @var{seq}, with all elements
3999 matching @var{old} replaced with @var{new}. The @code{:count},
4000 @code{:start}, @code{:end}, and @code{:from-end} arguments may be
4001 used to limit the number of substitutions made.
4004 @defun nsubstitute new old seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :count :start :end :from-end}
4005 This is a destructive version of @code{substitute}; it performs
4006 the substitution using @code{setcar} or @code{aset} rather than
4007 by returning a changed copy of the sequence.
4010 @findex substitute-if
4011 @findex substitute-if-not
4012 @findex nsubstitute-if
4013 @findex nsubstitute-if-not
4014 The @code{substitute-if}, @code{substitute-if-not}, @code{nsubstitute-if},
4015 and @code{nsubstitute-if-not} functions are defined similarly. For
4016 these, a @var{predicate} is given in place of the @var{old} argument.
4018 @node Searching Sequences, Sorting Sequences, Sequence Functions, Sequences
4019 @section Searching Sequences
4022 These functions search for elements or subsequences in a sequence.
4023 (See also @code{member*} and @code{assoc*}; @pxref{Lists}.)
4025 @defun find item seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :start :end :from-end}
4026 This function searches @var{seq} for an element matching @var{item}.
4027 If it finds a match, it returns the matching element. Otherwise,
4028 it returns @code{nil}. It returns the leftmost match, unless
4029 @code{:from-end} is true, in which case it returns the rightmost
4030 match. The @code{:start} and @code{:end} arguments may be used to
4031 limit the range of elements that are searched.
4034 @defun position item seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :start :end :from-end}
4035 This function is like @code{find}, except that it returns the
4036 integer position in the sequence of the matching item rather than
4037 the item itself. The position is relative to the start of the
4038 sequence as a whole, even if @code{:start} is non-zero. The function
4039 returns @code{nil} if no matching element was found.
4042 @defun count item seq @t{&key :test :test-not :key :start :end}
4043 This function returns the number of elements of @var{seq} which
4044 match @var{item}. The result is always a nonnegative integer.
4050 @findex position-if-not
4052 @findex count-if-not
4053 The @code{find-if}, @code{find-if-not}, @code{position-if},
4054 @code{position-if-not}, @code{count-if}, and @code{count-if-not}
4055 functions are defined similarly.
4057 @defun mismatch seq1 seq2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key :start1 :end1 :start2 :end2 :from-end}
4058 This function compares the specified parts of @var{seq1} and
4059 @var{seq2}. If they are the same length and the corresponding
4060 elements match (according to @code{:test}, @code{:test-not},
4061 and @code{:key}), the function returns @code{nil}. If there is
4062 a mismatch, the function returns the index (relative to @var{seq1})
4063 of the first mismatching element. This will be the leftmost pair of
4064 elements which do not match, or the position at which the shorter of
4065 the two otherwise-matching sequences runs out.
4067 If @code{:from-end} is true, then the elements are compared from right
4068 to left starting at @code{(1- @var{end1})} and @code{(1- @var{end2})}.
4069 If the sequences differ, then one plus the index of the rightmost
4070 difference (relative to @var{seq1}) is returned.
4072 An interesting example is @code{(mismatch str1 str2 :key 'upcase)},
4073 which compares two strings case-insensitively.
4076 @defun search seq1 seq2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key :from-end :start1 :end1 :start2 :end2}
4077 This function searches @var{seq2} for a subsequence that matches
4078 @var{seq1} (or part of it specified by @code{:start1} and
4079 @code{:end1}.) Only matches which fall entirely within the region
4080 defined by @code{:start2} and @code{:end2} will be considered.
4081 The return value is the index of the leftmost element of the
4082 leftmost match, relative to the start of @var{seq2}, or @code{nil}
4083 if no matches were found. If @code{:from-end} is true, the
4084 function finds the @emph{rightmost} matching subsequence.
4087 @node Sorting Sequences, , Searching Sequences, Sequences
4088 @section Sorting Sequences
4090 @defun sort* seq predicate @t{&key :key}
4091 This function sorts @var{seq} into increasing order as determined
4092 by using @var{predicate} to compare pairs of elements. @var{predicate}
4093 should return true (non-@code{nil}) if and only if its first argument
4094 is less than (not equal to) its second argument. For example,
4095 @code{<} and @code{string-lessp} are suitable predicate functions
4096 for sorting numbers and strings, respectively; @code{>} would sort
4097 numbers into decreasing rather than increasing order.
4099 This function differs from Emacs' built-in @code{sort} in that it
4100 can operate on any type of sequence, not just lists. Also, it
4101 accepts a @code{:key} argument which is used to preprocess data
4102 fed to the @var{predicate} function. For example,
4105 (setq data (sort data 'string-lessp :key 'downcase))
4109 sorts @var{data}, a sequence of strings, into increasing alphabetical
4110 order without regard to case. A @code{:key} function of @code{car}
4111 would be useful for sorting association lists.
4113 The @code{sort*} function is destructive; it sorts lists by actually
4114 rearranging the @code{cdr} pointers in suitable fashion.
4117 @defun stable-sort seq predicate @t{&key :key}
4118 This function sorts @var{seq} @dfn{stably}, meaning two elements
4119 which are equal in terms of @var{predicate} are guaranteed not to
4120 be rearranged out of their original order by the sort.
4122 In practice, @code{sort*} and @code{stable-sort} are equivalent
4123 in Emacs Lisp because the underlying @code{sort} function is
4124 stable by default. However, this package reserves the right to
4125 use non-stable methods for @code{sort*} in the future.
4128 @defun merge type seq1 seq2 predicate @t{&key :key}
4129 This function merges two sequences @var{seq1} and @var{seq2} by
4130 interleaving their elements. The result sequence, of type @var{type}
4131 (in the sense of @code{concatenate}), has length equal to the sum
4132 of the lengths of the two input sequences. The sequences may be
4133 modified destructively. Order of elements within @var{seq1} and
4134 @var{seq2} is preserved in the interleaving; elements of the two
4135 sequences are compared by @var{predicate} (in the sense of
4136 @code{sort}) and the lesser element goes first in the result.
4137 When elements are equal, those from @var{seq1} precede those from
4138 @var{seq2} in the result. Thus, if @var{seq1} and @var{seq2} are
4139 both sorted according to @var{predicate}, then the result will be
4140 a merged sequence which is (stably) sorted according to
4144 @node Lists, Structures, Sequences, Top
4148 The functions described here operate on lists.
4151 * List Functions:: `caddr', `first', `list*', etc.
4152 * Substitution of Expressions:: `subst', `sublis', etc.
4153 * Lists as Sets:: `member*', `adjoin', `union', etc.
4154 * Association Lists:: `assoc*', `rassoc*', `acons', `pairlis'
4157 @node List Functions, Substitution of Expressions, Lists, Lists
4158 @section List Functions
4161 This section describes a number of simple operations on lists,
4162 i.e., chains of cons cells.
4165 This function is equivalent to @code{(car (cdr (cdr @var{x})))}.
4166 Likewise, this package defines all 28 @code{c@var{xxx}r} functions
4167 where @var{xxx} is up to four @samp{a}s and/or @samp{d}s.
4168 All of these functions are @code{setf}-able, and calls to them
4169 are expanded inline by the byte-compiler for maximum efficiency.
4173 This function is a synonym for @code{(car @var{x})}. Likewise,
4174 the functions @code{second}, @code{third}, @dots{}, through
4175 @code{tenth} return the given element of the list @var{x}.
4179 This function is a synonym for @code{(cdr @var{x})}.
4183 Common Lisp defines this function to act like @code{null}, but
4184 signaling an error if @code{x} is neither a @code{nil} nor a
4185 cons cell. This package simply defines @code{endp} as a synonym
4189 @defun list-length x
4190 This function returns the length of list @var{x}, exactly like
4191 @code{(length @var{x})}, except that if @var{x} is a circular
4192 list (where the cdr-chain forms a loop rather than terminating
4193 with @code{nil}), this function returns @code{nil}. (The regular
4194 @code{length} function would get stuck if given a circular list.)
4197 @defun list* arg &rest others
4198 This function constructs a list of its arguments. The final
4199 argument becomes the @code{cdr} of the last cell constructed.
4200 Thus, @code{(list* @var{a} @var{b} @var{c})} is equivalent to
4201 @code{(cons @var{a} (cons @var{b} @var{c}))}, and
4202 @code{(list* @var{a} @var{b} nil)} is equivalent to
4203 @code{(list @var{a} @var{b})}.
4205 (Note that this function really is called @code{list*} in Common
4206 Lisp; it is not a name invented for this package like @code{member*}
4210 @defun ldiff list sublist
4211 If @var{sublist} is a sublist of @var{list}, i.e., is @code{eq} to
4212 one of the cons cells of @var{list}, then this function returns
4213 a copy of the part of @var{list} up to but not including
4214 @var{sublist}. For example, @code{(ldiff x (cddr x))} returns
4215 the first two elements of the list @code{x}. The result is a
4216 copy; the original @var{list} is not modified. If @var{sublist}
4217 is not a sublist of @var{list}, a copy of the entire @var{list}
4221 @defun copy-list list
4222 This function returns a copy of the list @var{list}. It copies
4223 dotted lists like @code{(1 2 . 3)} correctly.
4226 @defun copy-tree x &optional vecp
4227 This function returns a copy of the tree of cons cells @var{x}.
4228 Unlike @code{copy-sequence} (and its alias @code{copy-list}),
4229 which copies only along the @code{cdr} direction, this function
4230 copies (recursively) along both the @code{car} and the @code{cdr}
4231 directions. If @var{x} is not a cons cell, the function simply
4232 returns @var{x} unchanged. If the optional @var{vecp} argument
4233 is true, this function copies vectors (recursively) as well as
4237 @defun tree-equal x y @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4238 This function compares two trees of cons cells. If @var{x} and
4239 @var{y} are both cons cells, their @code{car}s and @code{cdr}s are
4240 compared recursively. If neither @var{x} nor @var{y} is a cons
4241 cell, they are compared by @code{eql}, or according to the
4242 specified test. The @code{:key} function, if specified, is
4243 applied to the elements of both trees. @xref{Sequences}.
4250 @node Substitution of Expressions, Lists as Sets, List Functions, Lists
4251 @section Substitution of Expressions
4254 These functions substitute elements throughout a tree of cons
4255 cells. (@xref{Sequence Functions}, for the @code{substitute}
4256 function, which works on just the top-level elements of a list.)
4258 @defun subst new old tree @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4259 This function substitutes occurrences of @var{old} with @var{new}
4260 in @var{tree}, a tree of cons cells. It returns a substituted
4261 tree, which will be a copy except that it may share storage with
4262 the argument @var{tree} in parts where no substitutions occurred.
4263 The original @var{tree} is not modified. This function recurses
4264 on, and compares against @var{old}, both @code{car}s and @code{cdr}s
4265 of the component cons cells. If @var{old} is itself a cons cell,
4266 then matching cells in the tree are substituted as usual without
4267 recursively substituting in that cell. Comparisons with @var{old}
4268 are done according to the specified test (@code{eql} by default).
4269 The @code{:key} function is applied to the elements of the tree
4270 but not to @var{old}.
4273 @defun nsubst new old tree @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4274 This function is like @code{subst}, except that it works by
4275 destructive modification (by @code{setcar} or @code{setcdr})
4276 rather than copying.
4280 @findex subst-if-not
4282 @findex nsubst-if-not
4283 The @code{subst-if}, @code{subst-if-not}, @code{nsubst-if}, and
4284 @code{nsubst-if-not} functions are defined similarly.
4286 @defun sublis alist tree @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4287 This function is like @code{subst}, except that it takes an
4288 association list @var{alist} of @var{old}-@var{new} pairs.
4289 Each element of the tree (after applying the @code{:key}
4290 function, if any), is compared with the @code{car}s of
4291 @var{alist}; if it matches, it is replaced by the corresponding
4295 @defun nsublis alist tree @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4296 This is a destructive version of @code{sublis}.
4299 @node Lists as Sets, Association Lists, Substitution of Expressions, Lists
4300 @section Lists as Sets
4303 These functions perform operations on lists which represent sets
4306 @defun member* item list @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4307 This function searches @var{list} for an element matching @var{item}.
4308 If a match is found, it returns the cons cell whose @code{car} was
4309 the matching element. Otherwise, it returns @code{nil}. Elements
4310 are compared by @code{eql} by default; you can use the @code{:test},
4311 @code{:test-not}, and @code{:key} arguments to modify this behavior.
4314 Note that this function's name is suffixed by @samp{*} to avoid
4315 the incompatible @code{member} function defined in Emacs.
4316 (That function uses @code{equal} for comparisons; it is equivalent
4317 to @code{(member* @var{item} @var{list} :test 'equal)}.)
4321 @findex member-if-not
4322 The @code{member-if} and @code{member-if-not} functions
4323 analogously search for elements which satisfy a given predicate.
4325 @defun tailp sublist list
4326 This function returns @code{t} if @var{sublist} is a sublist of
4327 @var{list}, i.e., if @var{sublist} is @code{eql} to @var{list} or to
4328 any of its @code{cdr}s.
4331 @defun adjoin item list @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4332 This function conses @var{item} onto the front of @var{list},
4333 like @code{(cons @var{item} @var{list})}, but only if @var{item}
4334 is not already present on the list (as determined by @code{member*}).
4335 If a @code{:key} argument is specified, it is applied to
4336 @var{item} as well as to the elements of @var{list} during
4337 the search, on the reasoning that @var{item} is ``about'' to
4338 become part of the list.
4341 @defun union list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4342 This function combines two lists which represent sets of items,
4343 returning a list that represents the union of those two sets.
4344 The result list will contain all items which appear in @var{list1}
4345 or @var{list2}, and no others. If an item appears in both
4346 @var{list1} and @var{list2} it will be copied only once. If
4347 an item is duplicated in @var{list1} or @var{list2}, it is
4348 undefined whether or not that duplication will survive in the
4349 result list. The order of elements in the result list is also
4353 @defun nunion list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4354 This is a destructive version of @code{union}; rather than copying,
4355 it tries to reuse the storage of the argument lists if possible.
4358 @defun intersection list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4359 This function computes the intersection of the sets represented
4360 by @var{list1} and @var{list2}. It returns the list of items
4361 which appear in both @var{list1} and @var{list2}.
4364 @defun nintersection list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4365 This is a destructive version of @code{intersection}. It
4366 tries to reuse storage of @var{list1} rather than copying.
4367 It does @emph{not} reuse the storage of @var{list2}.
4370 @defun set-difference list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4371 This function computes the ``set difference'' of @var{list1}
4372 and @var{list2}, i.e., the set of elements that appear in
4373 @var{list1} but @emph{not} in @var{list2}.
4376 @defun nset-difference list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4377 This is a destructive @code{set-difference}, which will try
4378 to reuse @var{list1} if possible.
4381 @defun set-exclusive-or list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4382 This function computes the ``set exclusive or'' of @var{list1}
4383 and @var{list2}, i.e., the set of elements that appear in
4384 exactly one of @var{list1} and @var{list2}.
4387 @defun nset-exclusive-or list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4388 This is a destructive @code{set-exclusive-or}, which will try
4389 to reuse @var{list1} and @var{list2} if possible.
4392 @defun subsetp list1 list2 @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4393 This function checks whether @var{list1} represents a subset
4394 of @var{list2}, i.e., whether every element of @var{list1}
4395 also appears in @var{list2}.
4398 @node Association Lists, , Lists as Sets, Lists
4399 @section Association Lists
4402 An @dfn{association list} is a list representing a mapping from
4403 one set of values to another; any list whose elements are cons
4404 cells is an association list.
4406 @defun assoc* item a-list @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4407 This function searches the association list @var{a-list} for an
4408 element whose @code{car} matches (in the sense of @code{:test},
4409 @code{:test-not}, and @code{:key}, or by comparison with @code{eql})
4410 a given @var{item}. It returns the matching element, if any,
4411 otherwise @code{nil}. It ignores elements of @var{a-list} which
4412 are not cons cells. (This corresponds to the behavior of
4413 @code{assq} and @code{assoc} in Emacs Lisp; Common Lisp's
4414 @code{assoc} ignores @code{nil}s but considers any other non-cons
4415 elements of @var{a-list} to be an error.)
4418 @defun rassoc* item a-list @t{&key :test :test-not :key}
4419 This function searches for an element whose @code{cdr} matches
4420 @var{item}. If @var{a-list} represents a mapping, this applies
4421 the inverse of the mapping to @var{item}.
4425 @findex assoc-if-not
4427 @findex rassoc-if-not
4428 The @code{assoc-if}, @code{assoc-if-not}, @code{rassoc-if},
4429 and @code{rassoc-if-not} functions are defined similarly.
4431 Two simple functions for constructing association lists are:
4433 @defun acons key value alist
4434 This is equivalent to @code{(cons (cons @var{key} @var{value}) @var{alist})}.
4437 @defun pairlis keys values &optional alist
4438 This is equivalent to @code{(nconc (mapcar* 'cons @var{keys} @var{values})
4446 @node Structures, Assertions, Lists, Top
4450 The Common Lisp @dfn{structure} mechanism provides a general way
4451 to define data types similar to C's @code{struct} types. A
4452 structure is a Lisp object containing some number of @dfn{slots},
4453 each of which can hold any Lisp data object. Functions are
4454 provided for accessing and setting the slots, creating or copying
4455 structure objects, and recognizing objects of a particular structure
4458 In true Common Lisp, each structure type is a new type distinct
4459 from all existing Lisp types. Since the underlying Emacs Lisp
4460 system provides no way to create new distinct types, this package
4461 implements structures as vectors (or lists upon request) with a
4462 special ``tag'' symbol to identify them.
4464 @defspec defstruct name slots@dots{}
4465 The @code{defstruct} form defines a new structure type called
4466 @var{name}, with the specified @var{slots}. (The @var{slots}
4467 may begin with a string which documents the structure type.)
4468 In the simplest case, @var{name} and each of the @var{slots}
4469 are symbols. For example,
4472 (defstruct person name age sex)
4476 defines a struct type called @code{person} which contains three
4477 slots. Given a @code{person} object @var{p}, you can access those
4478 slots by calling @code{(person-name @var{p})}, @code{(person-age @var{p})},
4479 and @code{(person-sex @var{p})}. You can also change these slots by
4480 using @code{setf} on any of these place forms:
4483 (incf (person-age birthday-boy))
4486 You can create a new @code{person} by calling @code{make-person},
4487 which takes keyword arguments @code{:name}, @code{:age}, and
4488 @code{:sex} to specify the initial values of these slots in the
4489 new object. (Omitting any of these arguments leaves the corresponding
4490 slot ``undefined,'' according to the Common Lisp standard; in Emacs
4491 Lisp, such uninitialized slots are filled with @code{nil}.)
4493 Given a @code{person}, @code{(copy-person @var{p})} makes a new
4494 object of the same type whose slots are @code{eq} to those of @var{p}.
4496 Given any Lisp object @var{x}, @code{(person-p @var{x})} returns
4497 true if @var{x} looks like a @code{person}, false otherwise. (Again,
4498 in Common Lisp this predicate would be exact; in Emacs Lisp the
4499 best it can do is verify that @var{x} is a vector of the correct
4500 length which starts with the correct tag symbol.)
4502 Accessors like @code{person-name} normally check their arguments
4503 (effectively using @code{person-p}) and signal an error if the
4504 argument is the wrong type. This check is affected by
4505 @code{(optimize (safety @dots{}))} declarations. Safety level 1,
4506 the default, uses a somewhat optimized check that will detect all
4507 incorrect arguments, but may use an uninformative error message
4508 (e.g., ``expected a vector'' instead of ``expected a @code{person}'').
4509 Safety level 0 omits all checks except as provided by the underlying
4510 @code{aref} call; safety levels 2 and 3 do rigorous checking that will
4511 always print a descriptive error message for incorrect inputs.
4512 @xref{Declarations}.
4515 (setq dave (make-person :name "Dave" :sex 'male))
4516 @result{} [cl-struct-person "Dave" nil male]
4517 (setq other (copy-person dave))
4518 @result{} [cl-struct-person "Dave" nil male]
4521 (eq (person-name dave) (person-name other))
4525 (person-p [1 2 3 4])
4529 (person-p '[cl-struct-person counterfeit person object])
4533 In general, @var{name} is either a name symbol or a list of a name
4534 symbol followed by any number of @dfn{struct options}; each @var{slot}
4535 is either a slot symbol or a list of the form @samp{(@var{slot-name}
4536 @var{default-value} @var{slot-options}@dots{})}. The @var{default-value}
4537 is a Lisp form which is evaluated any time an instance of the
4538 structure type is created without specifying that slot's value.
4540 Common Lisp defines several slot options, but the only one
4541 implemented in this package is @code{:read-only}. A non-@code{nil}
4542 value for this option means the slot should not be @code{setf}-able;
4543 the slot's value is determined when the object is created and does
4544 not change afterward.
4548 (name nil :read-only t)
4553 Any slot options other than @code{:read-only} are ignored.
4555 For obscure historical reasons, structure options take a different
4556 form than slot options. A structure option is either a keyword
4557 symbol, or a list beginning with a keyword symbol possibly followed
4558 by arguments. (By contrast, slot options are key-value pairs not
4562 (defstruct (person (:constructor create-person)
4568 The following structure options are recognized.
4573 @advance@leftskip-.5@tableindent
4576 The argument is a symbol whose print name is used as the prefix for
4577 the names of slot accessor functions. The default is the name of
4578 the struct type followed by a hyphen. The option @code{(:conc-name p-)}
4579 would change this prefix to @code{p-}. Specifying @code{nil} as an
4580 argument means no prefix, so that the slot names themselves are used
4581 to name the accessor functions.
4584 In the simple case, this option takes one argument which is an
4585 alternate name to use for the constructor function. The default
4586 is @code{make-@var{name}}, e.g., @code{make-person}. The above
4587 example changes this to @code{create-person}. Specifying @code{nil}
4588 as an argument means that no standard constructor should be
4591 In the full form of this option, the constructor name is followed
4592 by an arbitrary argument list. @xref{Program Structure}, for a
4593 description of the format of Common Lisp argument lists. All
4594 options, such as @code{&rest} and @code{&key}, are supported.
4595 The argument names should match the slot names; each slot is
4596 initialized from the corresponding argument. Slots whose names
4597 do not appear in the argument list are initialized based on the
4598 @var{default-value} in their slot descriptor. Also, @code{&optional}
4599 and @code{&key} arguments which don't specify defaults take their
4600 defaults from the slot descriptor. It is legal to include arguments
4601 which don't correspond to slot names; these are useful if they are
4602 referred to in the defaults for optional, keyword, or @code{&aux}
4603 arguments which @emph{do} correspond to slots.
4605 You can specify any number of full-format @code{:constructor}
4606 options on a structure. The default constructor is still generated
4607 as well unless you disable it with a simple-format @code{:constructor}
4613 (:constructor nil) ; no default constructor
4614 (:constructor new-person (name sex &optional (age 0)))
4615 (:constructor new-hound (&key (name "Rover")
4617 &aux (age (* 7 dog-years))
4622 The first constructor here takes its arguments positionally rather
4623 than by keyword. (In official Common Lisp terminology, constructors
4624 that work By Order of Arguments instead of by keyword are called
4625 ``BOA constructors.'' No, I'm not making this up.) For example,
4626 @code{(new-person "Jane" 'female)} generates a person whose slots
4627 are @code{"Jane"}, 0, and @code{female}, respectively.
4629 The second constructor takes two keyword arguments, @code{:name},
4630 which initializes the @code{name} slot and defaults to @code{"Rover"},
4631 and @code{:dog-years}, which does not itself correspond to a slot
4632 but which is used to initialize the @code{age} slot. The @code{sex}
4633 slot is forced to the symbol @code{canine} with no syntax for
4637 The argument is an alternate name for the copier function for
4638 this type. The default is @code{copy-@var{name}}. @code{nil}
4639 means not to generate a copier function. (In this implementation,
4640 all copier functions are simply synonyms for @code{copy-sequence}.)
4643 The argument is an alternate name for the predicate which recognizes
4644 objects of this type. The default is @code{@var{name}-p}. @code{nil}
4645 means not to generate a predicate function. (If the @code{:type}
4646 option is used without the @code{:named} option, no predicate is
4649 In true Common Lisp, @code{typep} is always able to recognize a
4650 structure object even if @code{:predicate} was used. In this
4651 package, @code{typep} simply looks for a function called
4652 @code{@var{typename}-p}, so it will work for structure types
4653 only if they used the default predicate name.
4656 This option implements a very limited form of C++-style inheritance.
4657 The argument is the name of another structure type previously
4658 created with @code{defstruct}. The effect is to cause the new
4659 structure type to inherit all of the included structure's slots
4660 (plus, of course, any new slots described by this struct's slot
4661 descriptors). The new structure is considered a ``specialization''
4662 of the included one. In fact, the predicate and slot accessors
4663 for the included type will also accept objects of the new type.
4665 If there are extra arguments to the @code{:include} option after
4666 the included-structure name, these options are treated as replacement
4667 slot descriptors for slots in the included structure, possibly with
4668 modified default values. Borrowing an example from Steele:
4671 (defstruct person name (age 0) sex)
4673 (defstruct (astronaut (:include person (age 45)))
4675 (favorite-beverage 'tang))
4678 (setq joe (make-person :name "Joe"))
4679 @result{} [cl-struct-person "Joe" 0 nil]
4680 (setq buzz (make-astronaut :name "Buzz"))
4681 @result{} [cl-struct-astronaut "Buzz" 45 nil nil tang]
4683 (list (person-p joe) (person-p buzz))
4685 (list (astronaut-p joe) (astronaut-p buzz))
4690 (astronaut-name joe)
4691 @result{} error: "astronaut-name accessing a non-astronaut"
4694 Thus, if @code{astronaut} is a specialization of @code{person},
4695 then every @code{astronaut} is also a @code{person} (but not the
4696 other way around). Every @code{astronaut} includes all the slots
4697 of a @code{person}, plus extra slots that are specific to
4698 astronauts. Operations that work on people (like @code{person-name})
4699 work on astronauts just like other people.
4701 @item :print-function
4702 In full Common Lisp, this option allows you to specify a function
4703 which is called to print an instance of the structure type. The
4704 Emacs Lisp system offers no hooks into the Lisp printer which would
4705 allow for such a feature, so this package simply ignores
4706 @code{:print-function}.
4709 The argument should be one of the symbols @code{vector} or @code{list}.
4710 This tells which underlying Lisp data type should be used to implement
4711 the new structure type. Vectors are used by default, but
4712 @code{(:type list)} will cause structure objects to be stored as
4715 The vector representation for structure objects has the advantage
4716 that all structure slots can be accessed quickly, although creating
4717 vectors is a bit slower in Emacs Lisp. Lists are easier to create,
4718 but take a relatively long time accessing the later slots.
4721 This option, which takes no arguments, causes a characteristic ``tag''
4722 symbol to be stored at the front of the structure object. Using
4723 @code{:type} without also using @code{:named} will result in a
4724 structure type stored as plain vectors or lists with no identifying
4727 The default, if you don't specify @code{:type} explicitly, is to
4728 use named vectors. Therefore, @code{:named} is only useful in
4729 conjunction with @code{:type}.
4732 (defstruct (person1) name age sex)
4733 (defstruct (person2 (:type list) :named) name age sex)
4734 (defstruct (person3 (:type list)) name age sex)
4736 (setq p1 (make-person1))
4737 @result{} [cl-struct-person1 nil nil nil]
4738 (setq p2 (make-person2))
4739 @result{} (person2 nil nil nil)
4740 (setq p3 (make-person3))
4741 @result{} (nil nil nil)
4748 @result{} error: function person3-p undefined
4751 Since unnamed structures don't have tags, @code{defstruct} is not
4752 able to make a useful predicate for recognizing them. Also,
4753 accessors like @code{person3-name} will be generated but they
4754 will not be able to do any type checking. The @code{person3-name}
4755 function, for example, will simply be a synonym for @code{car} in
4756 this case. By contrast, @code{person2-name} is able to verify
4757 that its argument is indeed a @code{person2} object before
4760 @item :initial-offset
4761 The argument must be a nonnegative integer. It specifies a
4762 number of slots to be left ``empty'' at the front of the
4763 structure. If the structure is named, the tag appears at the
4764 specified position in the list or vector; otherwise, the first
4765 slot appears at that position. Earlier positions are filled
4766 with @code{nil} by the constructors and ignored otherwise. If
4767 the type @code{:include}s another type, then @code{:initial-offset}
4768 specifies a number of slots to be skipped between the last slot
4769 of the included type and the first new slot.
4773 Except as noted, the @code{defstruct} facility of this package is
4774 entirely compatible with that of Common Lisp.
4780 @node Assertions, Efficiency Concerns, Structures, Top
4781 @chapter Assertions and Errors
4784 This section describes two macros that test @dfn{assertions}, i.e.,
4785 conditions which must be true if the program is operating correctly.
4786 Assertions never add to the behavior of a Lisp program; they simply
4787 make ``sanity checks'' to make sure everything is as it should be.
4789 If the optimization property @code{speed} has been set to 3, and
4790 @code{safety} is less than 3, then the byte-compiler will optimize
4791 away the following assertions. Because assertions might be optimized
4792 away, it is a bad idea for them to include side-effects.
4794 @defspec assert test-form [show-args string args@dots{}]
4795 This form verifies that @var{test-form} is true (i.e., evaluates to
4796 a non-@code{nil} value). If so, it returns @code{nil}. If the test
4797 is not satisfied, @code{assert} signals an error.
4799 A default error message will be supplied which includes @var{test-form}.
4800 You can specify a different error message by including a @var{string}
4801 argument plus optional extra arguments. Those arguments are simply
4802 passed to @code{error} to signal the error.
4804 If the optional second argument @var{show-args} is @code{t} instead
4805 of @code{nil}, then the error message (with or without @var{string})
4806 will also include all non-constant arguments of the top-level
4807 @var{form}. For example:
4810 (assert (> x 10) t "x is too small: %d")
4813 This usage of @var{show-args} is an extension to Common Lisp. In
4814 true Common Lisp, the second argument gives a list of @var{places}
4815 which can be @code{setf}'d by the user before continuing from the
4816 error. Since Emacs Lisp does not support continuable errors, it
4817 makes no sense to specify @var{places}.
4820 @defspec check-type form type [string]
4821 This form verifies that @var{form} evaluates to a value of type
4822 @var{type}. If so, it returns @code{nil}. If not, @code{check-type}
4823 signals a @code{wrong-type-argument} error. The default error message
4824 lists the erroneous value along with @var{type} and @var{form}
4825 themselves. If @var{string} is specified, it is included in the
4826 error message in place of @var{type}. For example:
4829 (check-type x (integer 1 *) "a positive integer")
4832 @xref{Type Predicates}, for a description of the type specifiers
4833 that may be used for @var{type}.
4835 Note that in Common Lisp, the first argument to @code{check-type}
4836 must be a @var{place} suitable for use by @code{setf}, because
4837 @code{check-type} signals a continuable error that allows the
4838 user to modify @var{place}.
4841 The following error-related macro is also defined:
4843 @defspec ignore-errors forms@dots{}
4844 This executes @var{forms} exactly like a @code{progn}, except that
4845 errors are ignored during the @var{forms}. More precisely, if
4846 an error is signaled then @code{ignore-errors} immediately
4847 aborts execution of the @var{forms} and returns @code{nil}.
4848 If the @var{forms} complete successfully, @code{ignore-errors}
4849 returns the result of the last @var{form}.
4852 @node Efficiency Concerns, Common Lisp Compatibility, Assertions, Top
4853 @appendix Efficiency Concerns
4858 Many of the advanced features of this package, such as @code{defun*},
4859 @code{loop}, and @code{setf}, are implemented as Lisp macros. In
4860 byte-compiled code, these complex notations will be expanded into
4861 equivalent Lisp code which is simple and efficient. For example,
4870 are expanded at compile-time to the Lisp forms
4874 (setcar p (cons x (car p)))
4878 which are the most efficient ways of doing these respective operations
4879 in Lisp. Thus, there is no performance penalty for using the more
4880 readable @code{incf} and @code{push} forms in your compiled code.
4882 @emph{Interpreted} code, on the other hand, must expand these macros
4883 every time they are executed. For this reason it is strongly
4884 recommended that code making heavy use of macros be compiled.
4885 (The features labeled ``Special Form'' instead of ``Function'' in
4886 this manual are macros.) A loop using @code{incf} a hundred times
4887 will execute considerably faster if compiled, and will also
4888 garbage-collect less because the macro expansion will not have
4889 to be generated, used, and thrown away a hundred times.
4891 You can find out how a macro expands by using the
4892 @code{cl-prettyexpand} function.
4894 @defun cl-prettyexpand form &optional full
4895 This function takes a single Lisp form as an argument and inserts
4896 a nicely formatted copy of it in the current buffer (which must be
4897 in Lisp mode so that indentation works properly). It also expands
4898 all Lisp macros which appear in the form. The easiest way to use
4899 this function is to go to the @code{*scratch*} buffer and type, say,
4902 (cl-prettyexpand '(loop for x below 10 collect x))
4906 and type @kbd{C-x C-e} immediately after the closing parenthesis;
4914 (setq G1004 (cons x G1004))
4920 will be inserted into the buffer. (The @code{block} macro is
4921 expanded differently in the interpreter and compiler, so
4922 @code{cl-prettyexpand} just leaves it alone. The temporary
4923 variable @code{G1004} was created by @code{gensym}.)
4925 If the optional argument @var{full} is true, then @emph{all}
4926 macros are expanded, including @code{block}, @code{eval-when},
4927 and compiler macros. Expansion is done as if @var{form} were
4928 a top-level form in a file being compiled. For example,
4931 (cl-prettyexpand '(pushnew 'x list))
4932 @print{} (setq list (adjoin 'x list))
4933 (cl-prettyexpand '(pushnew 'x list) t)
4934 @print{} (setq list (if (memq 'x list) list (cons 'x list)))
4935 (cl-prettyexpand '(caddr (member* 'a list)) t)
4936 @print{} (car (cdr (cdr (memq 'a list))))
4939 Note that @code{adjoin}, @code{caddr}, and @code{member*} all
4940 have built-in compiler macros to optimize them in common cases.
4948 @appendixsec Error Checking
4951 Common Lisp compliance has in general not been sacrificed for the
4952 sake of efficiency. A few exceptions have been made for cases
4953 where substantial gains were possible at the expense of marginal
4956 The Common Lisp standard (as embodied in Steele's book) uses the
4957 phrase ``it is an error if'' to indicate a situation which is not
4958 supposed to arise in complying programs; implementations are strongly
4959 encouraged but not required to signal an error in these situations.
4960 This package sometimes omits such error checking in the interest of
4961 compactness and efficiency. For example, @code{do} variable
4962 specifiers are supposed to be lists of one, two, or three forms;
4963 extra forms are ignored by this package rather than signaling a
4964 syntax error. The @code{endp} function is simply a synonym for
4965 @code{null} in this package. Functions taking keyword arguments
4966 will accept an odd number of arguments, treating the trailing
4967 keyword as if it were followed by the value @code{nil}.
4969 Argument lists (as processed by @code{defun*} and friends)
4970 @emph{are} checked rigorously except for the minor point just
4971 mentioned; in particular, keyword arguments are checked for
4972 validity, and @code{&allow-other-keys} and @code{:allow-other-keys}
4973 are fully implemented. Keyword validity checking is slightly
4974 time consuming (though not too bad in byte-compiled code);
4975 you can use @code{&allow-other-keys} to omit this check. Functions
4976 defined in this package such as @code{find} and @code{member*}
4977 do check their keyword arguments for validity.
4984 @appendixsec Optimizing Compiler
4987 Use of the optimizing Emacs compiler is highly recommended; many of the Common
4989 code which can be improved by optimization. In particular,
4990 @code{block}s (whether explicit or implicit in constructs like
4991 @code{defun*} and @code{loop}) carry a fair run-time penalty; the
4992 optimizing compiler removes @code{block}s which are not actually
4993 referenced by @code{return} or @code{return-from} inside the block.
4995 @node Common Lisp Compatibility, Old CL Compatibility, Efficiency Concerns, Top
4996 @appendix Common Lisp Compatibility
4999 Following is a list of all known incompatibilities between this
5000 package and Common Lisp as documented in Steele (2nd edition).
5002 Certain function names, such as @code{member}, @code{assoc}, and
5003 @code{floor}, were already taken by (incompatible) Emacs Lisp
5004 functions; this package appends @samp{*} to the names of its
5005 Common Lisp versions of these functions.
5007 The word @code{defun*} is required instead of @code{defun} in order
5008 to use extended Common Lisp argument lists in a function. Likewise,
5009 @code{defmacro*} and @code{function*} are versions of those forms
5010 which understand full-featured argument lists. The @code{&whole}
5011 keyword does not work in @code{defmacro} argument lists (except
5012 inside recursive argument lists).
5014 The @code{eql} and @code{equal} predicates do not distinguish
5015 between IEEE floating-point plus and minus zero. The @code{equalp}
5016 predicate has several differences with Common Lisp; @pxref{Predicates}.
5018 The @code{setf} mechanism is entirely compatible, except that
5019 setf-methods return a list of five values rather than five
5020 values directly. Also, the new ``@code{setf} function'' concept
5021 (typified by @code{(defun (setf foo) @dots{})}) is not implemented.
5023 The @code{do-all-symbols} form is the same as @code{do-symbols}
5024 with no @var{obarray} argument. In Common Lisp, this form would
5025 iterate over all symbols in all packages. Since Emacs obarrays
5026 are not a first-class package mechanism, there is no way for
5027 @code{do-all-symbols} to locate any but the default obarray.
5029 The @code{loop} macro is complete except that @code{loop-finish}
5030 and type specifiers are unimplemented.
5032 The multiple-value return facility treats lists as multiple
5033 values, since Emacs Lisp cannot support multiple return values
5034 directly. The macros will be compatible with Common Lisp if
5035 @code{values} or @code{values-list} is always used to return to
5036 a @code{multiple-value-bind} or other multiple-value receiver;
5037 if @code{values} is used without @code{multiple-value-@dots{}}
5038 or vice-versa the effect will be different from Common Lisp.
5040 Many Common Lisp declarations are ignored, and others match
5041 the Common Lisp standard in concept but not in detail. For
5042 example, local @code{special} declarations, which are purely
5043 advisory in Emacs Lisp, do not rigorously obey the scoping rules
5044 set down in Steele's book.
5046 The variable @code{*gensym-counter*} starts out with a pseudo-random
5047 value rather than with zero. This is to cope with the fact that
5048 generated symbols become interned when they are written to and
5049 loaded back from a file.
5051 The @code{defstruct} facility is compatible, except that structures
5052 are of type @code{:type vector :named} by default rather than some
5053 special, distinct type. Also, the @code{:type} slot option is ignored.
5055 The second argument of @code{check-type} is treated differently.
5057 @node Old CL Compatibility, Porting Common Lisp, Common Lisp Compatibility, Top
5058 @appendix Old CL Compatibility
5061 Following is a list of all known incompatibilities between this package
5062 and the older Quiroz @file{cl.el} package.
5064 This package's emulation of multiple return values in functions is
5065 incompatible with that of the older package. That package attempted
5066 to come as close as possible to true Common Lisp multiple return
5067 values; unfortunately, it could not be 100% reliable and so was prone
5068 to occasional surprises if used freely. This package uses a simpler
5069 method, namely replacing multiple values with lists of values, which
5070 is more predictable though more noticeably different from Common Lisp.
5072 The @code{defkeyword} form and @code{keywordp} function are not
5073 implemented in this package.
5075 The @code{member}, @code{floor}, @code{ceiling}, @code{truncate},
5076 @code{round}, @code{mod}, and @code{rem} functions are suffixed
5077 by @samp{*} in this package to avoid collision with existing
5078 functions in Emacs. The older package simply
5079 redefined these functions, overwriting the built-in meanings and
5080 causing serious portability problems. (Some more
5081 recent versions of the Quiroz package changed the names to
5082 @code{cl-member}, etc.; this package defines the latter names as
5083 aliases for @code{member*}, etc.)
5085 Certain functions in the old package which were buggy or inconsistent
5086 with the Common Lisp standard are incompatible with the conforming
5087 versions in this package. For example, @code{eql} and @code{member}
5088 were synonyms for @code{eq} and @code{memq} in that package, @code{setf}
5089 failed to preserve correct order of evaluation of its arguments, etc.
5091 Finally, unlike the older package, this package is careful to
5092 prefix all of its internal names with @code{cl-}. Except for a
5093 few functions which are explicitly defined as additional features
5094 (such as @code{floatp-safe} and @code{letf}), this package does not
5095 export any non-@samp{cl-} symbols which are not also part of Common
5103 @appendixsec The @code{cl-compat} package
5106 The @dfn{CL} package includes emulations of some features of the
5107 old @file{cl.el}, in the form of a compatibility package
5108 @code{cl-compat}. To use it, put @code{(require 'cl-compat)} in
5111 The old package defined a number of internal routines without
5112 @code{cl-} prefixes or other annotations. Call to these routines
5113 may have crept into existing Lisp code. @code{cl-compat}
5114 provides emulations of the following internal routines:
5115 @code{pair-with-newsyms}, @code{zip-lists}, @code{unzip-lists},
5116 @code{reassemble-arglists}, @code{duplicate-symbols-p},
5119 Some @code{setf} forms translated into calls to internal
5120 functions that user code might call directly. The functions
5121 @code{setnth}, @code{setnthcdr}, and @code{setelt} fall in
5122 this category; they are defined by @code{cl-compat}, but the
5123 best fix is to change to use @code{setf} properly.
5125 The @code{cl-compat} file defines the keyword functions
5126 @code{keywordp}, @code{keyword-of}, and @code{defkeyword},
5127 which are not defined by the new @dfn{CL} package because the
5128 use of keywords as data is discouraged.
5130 The @code{build-klist} mechanism for parsing keyword arguments
5131 is emulated by @code{cl-compat}; the @code{with-keyword-args}
5132 macro is not, however, and in any case it's best to change to
5133 use the more natural keyword argument processing offered by
5136 Multiple return values are treated differently by the two
5137 Common Lisp packages. The old package's method was more
5138 compatible with true Common Lisp, though it used heuristics
5139 that caused it to report spurious multiple return values in
5140 certain cases. The @code{cl-compat} package defines a set
5141 of multiple-value macros that are compatible with the old
5142 CL package; again, they are heuristic in nature, but they
5143 are guaranteed to work in any case where the old package's
5144 macros worked. To avoid name collision with the ``official''
5145 multiple-value facilities, the ones in @code{cl-compat} have
5146 capitalized names: @code{Values}, @code{Values-list},
5147 @code{Multiple-value-bind}, etc.
5149 The functions @code{cl-floor}, @code{cl-ceiling}, @code{cl-truncate},
5150 and @code{cl-round} are defined by @code{cl-compat} to use the
5151 old-style multiple-value mechanism, just as they did in the old
5152 package. The newer @code{floor*} and friends return their two
5153 results in a list rather than as multiple values. Note that
5154 older versions of the old package used the unadorned names
5155 @code{floor}, @code{ceiling}, etc.; @code{cl-compat} cannot use
5156 these names because they conflict with Emacs built-ins.
5158 @node Porting Common Lisp, Function Index, Old CL Compatibility, Top
5159 @appendix Porting Common Lisp
5162 This package is meant to be used as an extension to Emacs Lisp,
5163 not as an Emacs implementation of true Common Lisp. Some of the
5164 remaining differences between Emacs Lisp and Common Lisp make it
5165 difficult to port large Common Lisp applications to Emacs. For
5166 one, some of the features in this package are not fully compliant
5167 with ANSI or Steele; @pxref{Common Lisp Compatibility}. But there
5168 are also quite a few features that this package does not provide
5169 at all. Here are some major omissions that you will want watch out
5170 for when bringing Common Lisp code into Emacs.
5174 Case-insensitivity. Symbols in Common Lisp are case-insensitive
5175 by default. Some programs refer to a function or variable as
5176 @code{foo} in one place and @code{Foo} or @code{FOO} in another.
5177 Emacs Lisp will treat these as three distinct symbols.
5179 Some Common Lisp code is written entirely in upper case. While Emacs
5180 is happy to let the program's own functions and variables use
5181 this convention, calls to Lisp builtins like @code{if} and
5182 @code{defun} will have to be changed to lower case.
5185 Lexical scoping. In Common Lisp, function arguments and @code{let}
5186 bindings apply only to references physically within their bodies
5187 (or within macro expansions in their bodies). Emacs Lisp, by
5188 contrast, uses @dfn{dynamic scoping} wherein a binding to a
5189 variable is visible even inside functions called from the body.
5191 Variables in Common Lisp can be made dynamically scoped by
5192 declaring them @code{special} or using @code{defvar}. In Emacs
5193 Lisp it is as if all variables were declared @code{special}.
5195 Often you can use code that was written for lexical scoping
5196 even in a dynamically scoped Lisp, but not always. Here is
5197 an example of a Common Lisp code fragment that would fail in
5201 (defun map-odd-elements (func list)
5203 for flag = t then (not flag)
5204 collect (if flag x (funcall func x))))
5206 (defun add-odd-elements (list x)
5207 (map-odd-elements (lambda (a) (+ a x))) list)
5211 In Common Lisp, the two functions' usages of @code{x} are completely
5212 independent. In Emacs Lisp, the binding to @code{x} made by
5213 @code{add-odd-elements} will have been hidden by the binding
5214 in @code{map-odd-elements} by the time the @code{(+ a x)} function
5217 (This package avoids such problems in its own mapping functions
5218 by using names like @code{cl-x} instead of @code{x} internally;
5219 as long as you don't use the @code{cl-} prefix for your own
5220 variables no collision can occur.)
5222 @xref{Lexical Bindings}, for a description of the @code{lexical-let}
5223 form which establishes a Common Lisp-style lexical binding, and some
5224 examples of how it differs from Emacs' regular @code{let}.
5227 Reader macros. Common Lisp includes a second type of macro that
5228 works at the level of individual characters. For example, Common
5229 Lisp implements the quote notation by a reader macro called @code{'},
5230 whereas Emacs Lisp's parser just treats quote as a special case.
5231 Some Lisp packages use reader macros to create special syntaxes
5232 for themselves, which the Emacs parser is incapable of reading.
5234 The lack of reader macros, incidentally, is the reason behind
5235 Emacs Lisp's unusual backquote syntax. Since backquotes are
5236 implemented as a Lisp package and not built-in to the Emacs
5237 parser, they are forced to use a regular macro named @code{`}
5238 which is used with the standard function/macro call notation.
5241 Other syntactic features. Common Lisp provides a number of
5242 notations beginning with @code{#} that the Emacs Lisp parser
5243 won't understand. For example, @samp{#| ... |#} is an
5244 alternate comment notation, and @samp{#+lucid (foo)} tells
5245 the parser to ignore the @code{(foo)} except in Lucid Common
5249 Packages. In Common Lisp, symbols are divided into @dfn{packages}.
5250 Symbols that are Lisp built-ins are typically stored in one package;
5251 symbols that are vendor extensions are put in another, and each
5252 application program would have a package for its own symbols.
5253 Certain symbols are ``exported'' by a package and others are
5254 internal; certain packages ``use'' or import the exported symbols
5255 of other packages. To access symbols that would not normally be
5256 visible due to this importing and exporting, Common Lisp provides
5257 a syntax like @code{package:symbol} or @code{package::symbol}.
5259 Emacs Lisp has a single namespace for all interned symbols, and
5260 then uses a naming convention of putting a prefix like @code{cl-}
5261 in front of the name. Some Emacs packages adopt the Common Lisp-like
5262 convention of using @code{cl:} or @code{cl::} as the prefix.
5263 However, the Emacs parser does not understand colons and just
5264 treats them as part of the symbol name. Thus, while @code{mapcar}
5265 and @code{lisp:mapcar} may refer to the same symbol in Common
5266 Lisp, they are totally distinct in Emacs Lisp. Common Lisp
5267 programs which refer to a symbol by the full name sometimes
5268 and the short name other times will not port cleanly to Emacs.
5270 Emacs Lisp does have a concept of ``obarrays,'' which are
5271 package-like collections of symbols, but this feature is not
5272 strong enough to be used as a true package mechanism.
5275 The @code{format} function is quite different between Common
5276 Lisp and Emacs Lisp. It takes an additional ``destination''
5277 argument before the format string. A destination of @code{nil}
5278 means to format to a string as in Emacs Lisp; a destination
5279 of @code{t} means to write to the terminal (similar to
5280 @code{message} in Emacs). Also, format control strings are
5281 utterly different; @code{~} is used instead of @code{%} to
5282 introduce format codes, and the set of available codes is
5283 much richer. There are no notations like @code{\n} for
5284 string literals; instead, @code{format} is used with the
5285 ``newline'' format code, @code{~%}. More advanced formatting
5286 codes provide such features as paragraph filling, case
5287 conversion, and even loops and conditionals.
5289 While it would have been possible to implement most of Common
5290 Lisp @code{format} in this package (under the name @code{format*},
5291 of course), it was not deemed worthwhile. It would have required
5292 a huge amount of code to implement even a decent subset of
5293 @code{format*}, yet the functionality it would provide over
5294 Emacs Lisp's @code{format} would rarely be useful.
5297 Vector constants use square brackets in Emacs Lisp, but
5298 @code{#(a b c)} notation in Common Lisp. To further complicate
5299 matters, Emacs has its own @code{#(} notation for
5300 something entirely different---strings with properties.
5303 Characters are distinct from integers in Common Lisp. The
5304 notation for character constants is also different: @code{#\A}
5305 instead of @code{?A}. Also, @code{string=} and @code{string-equal}
5306 are synonyms in Emacs Lisp whereas the latter is case-insensitive
5310 Data types. Some Common Lisp data types do not exist in Emacs
5311 Lisp. Rational numbers and complex numbers are not present,
5312 nor are large integers (all integers are ``fixnums''). All
5313 arrays are one-dimensional. There are no readtables or pathnames;
5314 streams are a set of existing data types rather than a new data
5315 type of their own. Hash tables, random-states, structures, and
5316 packages (obarrays) are built from Lisp vectors or lists rather
5317 than being distinct types.
5320 The Common Lisp Object System (CLOS) is not implemented,
5321 nor is the Common Lisp Condition System. However, the EIEIO package
5322 from @uref{ftp://ftp.ultranet.com/pub/zappo} does implement some
5326 Common Lisp features that are completely redundant with Emacs
5327 Lisp features of a different name generally have not been
5328 implemented. For example, Common Lisp writes @code{defconstant}
5329 where Emacs Lisp uses @code{defconst}. Similarly, @code{make-list}
5330 takes its arguments in different ways in the two Lisps but does
5331 exactly the same thing, so this package has not bothered to
5332 implement a Common Lisp-style @code{make-list}.
5335 A few more notable Common Lisp features not included in this
5336 package: @code{compiler-let}, @code{tagbody}, @code{prog},
5337 @code{ldb/dpb}, @code{parse-integer}, @code{cerror}.
5340 Recursion. While recursion works in Emacs Lisp just like it
5341 does in Common Lisp, various details of the Emacs Lisp system
5342 and compiler make recursion much less efficient than it is in
5343 most Lisps. Some schools of thought prefer to use recursion
5344 in Lisp over other techniques; they would sum a list of
5345 numbers using something like
5348 (defun sum-list (list)
5350 (+ (car list) (sum-list (cdr list)))
5355 where a more iteratively-minded programmer might write one of
5359 (let ((total 0)) (dolist (x my-list) (incf total x)) total)
5360 (loop for x in my-list sum x)
5363 While this would be mainly a stylistic choice in most Common Lisps,
5364 in Emacs Lisp you should be aware that the iterative forms are
5365 much faster than recursion. Also, Lisp programmers will want to
5366 note that the current Emacs Lisp compiler does not optimize tail
5370 @node Function Index, Variable Index, Porting Common Lisp, Top
5371 @unnumbered Function Index
5375 @node Variable Index, , Function Index, Top
5376 @unnumbered Variable Index
5380 @setchapternewpage odd