| 1 | @c -*-texinfo-*- |
| 2 | @c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual. |
| 3 | @c Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, |
| 4 | @c 2004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc. |
| 5 | @c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions. |
| 6 | @setfilename ../info/objects |
| 7 | @node Lisp Data Types, Numbers, Introduction, Top |
| 8 | @chapter Lisp Data Types |
| 9 | @cindex object |
| 10 | @cindex Lisp object |
| 11 | @cindex type |
| 12 | @cindex data type |
| 13 | |
| 14 | A Lisp @dfn{object} is a piece of data used and manipulated by Lisp |
| 15 | programs. For our purposes, a @dfn{type} or @dfn{data type} is a set of |
| 16 | possible objects. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Every object belongs to at least one type. Objects of the same type |
| 19 | have similar structures and may usually be used in the same contexts. |
| 20 | Types can overlap, and objects can belong to two or more types. |
| 21 | Consequently, we can ask whether an object belongs to a particular type, |
| 22 | but not for ``the'' type of an object. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | @cindex primitive type |
| 25 | A few fundamental object types are built into Emacs. These, from |
| 26 | which all other types are constructed, are called @dfn{primitive types}. |
| 27 | Each object belongs to one and only one primitive type. These types |
| 28 | include @dfn{integer}, @dfn{float}, @dfn{cons}, @dfn{symbol}, |
| 29 | @dfn{string}, @dfn{vector}, @dfn{hash-table}, @dfn{subr}, and |
| 30 | @dfn{byte-code function}, plus several special types, such as |
| 31 | @dfn{buffer}, that are related to editing. (@xref{Editing Types}.) |
| 32 | |
| 33 | Each primitive type has a corresponding Lisp function that checks |
| 34 | whether an object is a member of that type. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | Note that Lisp is unlike many other languages in that Lisp objects are |
| 37 | @dfn{self-typing}: the primitive type of the object is implicit in the |
| 38 | object itself. For example, if an object is a vector, nothing can treat |
| 39 | it as a number; Lisp knows it is a vector, not a number. |
| 40 | |
| 41 | In most languages, the programmer must declare the data type of each |
| 42 | variable, and the type is known by the compiler but not represented in |
| 43 | the data. Such type declarations do not exist in Emacs Lisp. A Lisp |
| 44 | variable can have any type of value, and it remembers whatever value |
| 45 | you store in it, type and all. (Actually, a small number of Emacs |
| 46 | Lisp variables can only take on values of a certain type. |
| 47 | @xref{Variables with Restricted Values}.) |
| 48 | |
| 49 | This chapter describes the purpose, printed representation, and read |
| 50 | syntax of each of the standard types in GNU Emacs Lisp. Details on how |
| 51 | to use these types can be found in later chapters. |
| 52 | |
| 53 | @menu |
| 54 | * Printed Representation:: How Lisp objects are represented as text. |
| 55 | * Comments:: Comments and their formatting conventions. |
| 56 | * Programming Types:: Types found in all Lisp systems. |
| 57 | * Editing Types:: Types specific to Emacs. |
| 58 | * Circular Objects:: Read syntax for circular structure. |
| 59 | * Type Predicates:: Tests related to types. |
| 60 | * Equality Predicates:: Tests of equality between any two objects. |
| 61 | @end menu |
| 62 | |
| 63 | @node Printed Representation |
| 64 | @comment node-name, next, previous, up |
| 65 | @section Printed Representation and Read Syntax |
| 66 | @cindex printed representation |
| 67 | @cindex read syntax |
| 68 | |
| 69 | The @dfn{printed representation} of an object is the format of the |
| 70 | output generated by the Lisp printer (the function @code{prin1}) for |
| 71 | that object. Every data type has a unique printed representation. |
| 72 | The @dfn{read syntax} of an object is the format of the input accepted |
| 73 | by the Lisp reader (the function @code{read}) for that object. This |
| 74 | is not necessarily unique; many kinds of object have more than one |
| 75 | syntax. @xref{Read and Print}. |
| 76 | |
| 77 | @cindex hash notation |
| 78 | In most cases, an object's printed representation is also a read |
| 79 | syntax for the object. However, some types have no read syntax, since |
| 80 | it does not make sense to enter objects of these types as constants in |
| 81 | a Lisp program. These objects are printed in @dfn{hash notation}, |
| 82 | which consists of the characters @samp{#<}, a descriptive string |
| 83 | (typically the type name followed by the name of the object), and a |
| 84 | closing @samp{>}. For example: |
| 85 | |
| 86 | @example |
| 87 | (current-buffer) |
| 88 | @result{} #<buffer objects.texi> |
| 89 | @end example |
| 90 | |
| 91 | @noindent |
| 92 | Hash notation cannot be read at all, so the Lisp reader signals the |
| 93 | error @code{invalid-read-syntax} whenever it encounters @samp{#<}. |
| 94 | @kindex invalid-read-syntax |
| 95 | |
| 96 | In other languages, an expression is text; it has no other form. In |
| 97 | Lisp, an expression is primarily a Lisp object and only secondarily the |
| 98 | text that is the object's read syntax. Often there is no need to |
| 99 | emphasize this distinction, but you must keep it in the back of your |
| 100 | mind, or you will occasionally be very confused. |
| 101 | |
| 102 | When you evaluate an expression interactively, the Lisp interpreter |
| 103 | first reads the textual representation of it, producing a Lisp object, |
| 104 | and then evaluates that object (@pxref{Evaluation}). However, |
| 105 | evaluation and reading are separate activities. Reading returns the |
| 106 | Lisp object represented by the text that is read; the object may or may |
| 107 | not be evaluated later. @xref{Input Functions}, for a description of |
| 108 | @code{read}, the basic function for reading objects. |
| 109 | |
| 110 | @node Comments |
| 111 | @comment node-name, next, previous, up |
| 112 | @section Comments |
| 113 | @cindex comments |
| 114 | @cindex @samp{;} in comment |
| 115 | |
| 116 | A @dfn{comment} is text that is written in a program only for the sake |
| 117 | of humans that read the program, and that has no effect on the meaning |
| 118 | of the program. In Lisp, a semicolon (@samp{;}) starts a comment if it |
| 119 | is not within a string or character constant. The comment continues to |
| 120 | the end of line. The Lisp reader discards comments; they do not become |
| 121 | part of the Lisp objects which represent the program within the Lisp |
| 122 | system. |
| 123 | |
| 124 | The @samp{#@@@var{count}} construct, which skips the next @var{count} |
| 125 | characters, is useful for program-generated comments containing binary |
| 126 | data. The Emacs Lisp byte compiler uses this in its output files |
| 127 | (@pxref{Byte Compilation}). It isn't meant for source files, however. |
| 128 | |
| 129 | @xref{Comment Tips}, for conventions for formatting comments. |
| 130 | |
| 131 | @node Programming Types |
| 132 | @section Programming Types |
| 133 | @cindex programming types |
| 134 | |
| 135 | There are two general categories of types in Emacs Lisp: those having |
| 136 | to do with Lisp programming, and those having to do with editing. The |
| 137 | former exist in many Lisp implementations, in one form or another. The |
| 138 | latter are unique to Emacs Lisp. |
| 139 | |
| 140 | @menu |
| 141 | * Integer Type:: Numbers without fractional parts. |
| 142 | * Floating Point Type:: Numbers with fractional parts and with a large range. |
| 143 | * Character Type:: The representation of letters, numbers and |
| 144 | control characters. |
| 145 | * Symbol Type:: A multi-use object that refers to a function, |
| 146 | variable, or property list, and has a unique identity. |
| 147 | * Sequence Type:: Both lists and arrays are classified as sequences. |
| 148 | * Cons Cell Type:: Cons cells, and lists (which are made from cons cells). |
| 149 | * Array Type:: Arrays include strings and vectors. |
| 150 | * String Type:: An (efficient) array of characters. |
| 151 | * Vector Type:: One-dimensional arrays. |
| 152 | * Char-Table Type:: One-dimensional sparse arrays indexed by characters. |
| 153 | * Bool-Vector Type:: One-dimensional arrays of @code{t} or @code{nil}. |
| 154 | * Hash Table Type:: Super-fast lookup tables. |
| 155 | * Function Type:: A piece of executable code you can call from elsewhere. |
| 156 | * Macro Type:: A method of expanding an expression into another |
| 157 | expression, more fundamental but less pretty. |
| 158 | * Primitive Function Type:: A function written in C, callable from Lisp. |
| 159 | * Byte-Code Type:: A function written in Lisp, then compiled. |
| 160 | * Autoload Type:: A type used for automatically loading seldom-used |
| 161 | functions. |
| 162 | @end menu |
| 163 | |
| 164 | @node Integer Type |
| 165 | @subsection Integer Type |
| 166 | |
| 167 | The range of values for integers in Emacs Lisp is @minus{}268435456 to |
| 168 | 268435455 (29 bits; i.e., |
| 169 | @ifnottex |
| 170 | -2**28 |
| 171 | @end ifnottex |
| 172 | @tex |
| 173 | @math{-2^{28}} |
| 174 | @end tex |
| 175 | to |
| 176 | @ifnottex |
| 177 | 2**28 - 1) |
| 178 | @end ifnottex |
| 179 | @tex |
| 180 | @math{2^{28}-1}) |
| 181 | @end tex |
| 182 | on most machines. (Some machines may provide a wider range.) It is |
| 183 | important to note that the Emacs Lisp arithmetic functions do not check |
| 184 | for overflow. Thus @code{(1+ 268435455)} is @minus{}268435456 on most |
| 185 | machines. |
| 186 | |
| 187 | The read syntax for integers is a sequence of (base ten) digits with an |
| 188 | optional sign at the beginning and an optional period at the end. The |
| 189 | printed representation produced by the Lisp interpreter never has a |
| 190 | leading @samp{+} or a final @samp{.}. |
| 191 | |
| 192 | @example |
| 193 | @group |
| 194 | -1 ; @r{The integer -1.} |
| 195 | 1 ; @r{The integer 1.} |
| 196 | 1. ; @r{Also the integer 1.} |
| 197 | +1 ; @r{Also the integer 1.} |
| 198 | 536870913 ; @r{Also the integer 1 on a 29-bit implementation.} |
| 199 | @end group |
| 200 | @end example |
| 201 | |
| 202 | @xref{Numbers}, for more information. |
| 203 | |
| 204 | @node Floating Point Type |
| 205 | @subsection Floating Point Type |
| 206 | |
| 207 | Floating point numbers are the computer equivalent of scientific |
| 208 | notation; you can think of a floating point number as a fraction |
| 209 | together with a power of ten. The precise number of significant |
| 210 | figures and the range of possible exponents is machine-specific; Emacs |
| 211 | uses the C data type @code{double} to store the value, and internally |
| 212 | this records a power of 2 rather than a power of 10. |
| 213 | |
| 214 | The printed representation for floating point numbers requires either |
| 215 | a decimal point (with at least one digit following), an exponent, or |
| 216 | both. For example, @samp{1500.0}, @samp{15e2}, @samp{15.0e2}, |
| 217 | @samp{1.5e3}, and @samp{.15e4} are five ways of writing a floating point |
| 218 | number whose value is 1500. They are all equivalent. |
| 219 | |
| 220 | @xref{Numbers}, for more information. |
| 221 | |
| 222 | @node Character Type |
| 223 | @subsection Character Type |
| 224 | @cindex @acronym{ASCII} character codes |
| 225 | |
| 226 | A @dfn{character} in Emacs Lisp is nothing more than an integer. In |
| 227 | other words, characters are represented by their character codes. For |
| 228 | example, the character @kbd{A} is represented as the @w{integer 65}. |
| 229 | |
| 230 | Individual characters are not often used in programs. It is far more |
| 231 | common to work with @emph{strings}, which are sequences composed of |
| 232 | characters. @xref{String Type}. |
| 233 | |
| 234 | Characters in strings, buffers, and files are currently limited to |
| 235 | the range of 0 to 524287---nineteen bits. But not all values in that |
| 236 | range are valid character codes. Codes 0 through 127 are |
| 237 | @acronym{ASCII} codes; the rest are non-@acronym{ASCII} |
| 238 | (@pxref{Non-ASCII Characters}). Characters that represent keyboard |
| 239 | input have a much wider range, to encode modifier keys such as |
| 240 | Control, Meta and Shift. |
| 241 | |
| 242 | @cindex read syntax for characters |
| 243 | @cindex printed representation for characters |
| 244 | @cindex syntax for characters |
| 245 | @cindex @samp{?} in character constant |
| 246 | @cindex question mark in character constant |
| 247 | Since characters are really integers, the printed representation of a |
| 248 | character is a decimal number. This is also a possible read syntax for |
| 249 | a character, but writing characters that way in Lisp programs is a very |
| 250 | bad idea. You should @emph{always} use the special read syntax formats |
| 251 | that Emacs Lisp provides for characters. These syntax formats start |
| 252 | with a question mark. |
| 253 | |
| 254 | The usual read syntax for alphanumeric characters is a question mark |
| 255 | followed by the character; thus, @samp{?A} for the character |
| 256 | @kbd{A}, @samp{?B} for the character @kbd{B}, and @samp{?a} for the |
| 257 | character @kbd{a}. |
| 258 | |
| 259 | For example: |
| 260 | |
| 261 | @example |
| 262 | ?Q @result{} 81 ?q @result{} 113 |
| 263 | @end example |
| 264 | |
| 265 | You can use the same syntax for punctuation characters, but it is |
| 266 | often a good idea to add a @samp{\} so that the Emacs commands for |
| 267 | editing Lisp code don't get confused. For example, @samp{?\(} is the |
| 268 | way to write the open-paren character. If the character is @samp{\}, |
| 269 | you @emph{must} use a second @samp{\} to quote it: @samp{?\\}. |
| 270 | |
| 271 | @cindex whitespace |
| 272 | @cindex bell character |
| 273 | @cindex @samp{\a} |
| 274 | @cindex backspace |
| 275 | @cindex @samp{\b} |
| 276 | @cindex tab |
| 277 | @cindex @samp{\t} |
| 278 | @cindex vertical tab |
| 279 | @cindex @samp{\v} |
| 280 | @cindex formfeed |
| 281 | @cindex @samp{\f} |
| 282 | @cindex newline |
| 283 | @cindex @samp{\n} |
| 284 | @cindex return |
| 285 | @cindex @samp{\r} |
| 286 | @cindex escape |
| 287 | @cindex @samp{\e} |
| 288 | @cindex space |
| 289 | @cindex @samp{\s} |
| 290 | You can express the characters control-g, backspace, tab, newline, |
| 291 | vertical tab, formfeed, space, return, del, and escape as @samp{?\a}, |
| 292 | @samp{?\b}, @samp{?\t}, @samp{?\n}, @samp{?\v}, @samp{?\f}, |
| 293 | @samp{?\s}, @samp{?\r}, @samp{?\d}, and @samp{?\e}, respectively. |
| 294 | (@samp{?\s} followed by a dash has a different meaning---it applies |
| 295 | the ``super'' modifier to the following character.) Thus, |
| 296 | |
| 297 | @example |
| 298 | ?\a @result{} 7 ; @r{control-g, @kbd{C-g}} |
| 299 | ?\b @result{} 8 ; @r{backspace, @key{BS}, @kbd{C-h}} |
| 300 | ?\t @result{} 9 ; @r{tab, @key{TAB}, @kbd{C-i}} |
| 301 | ?\n @result{} 10 ; @r{newline, @kbd{C-j}} |
| 302 | ?\v @result{} 11 ; @r{vertical tab, @kbd{C-k}} |
| 303 | ?\f @result{} 12 ; @r{formfeed character, @kbd{C-l}} |
| 304 | ?\r @result{} 13 ; @r{carriage return, @key{RET}, @kbd{C-m}} |
| 305 | ?\e @result{} 27 ; @r{escape character, @key{ESC}, @kbd{C-[}} |
| 306 | ?\s @result{} 32 ; @r{space character, @key{SPC}} |
| 307 | ?\\ @result{} 92 ; @r{backslash character, @kbd{\}} |
| 308 | ?\d @result{} 127 ; @r{delete character, @key{DEL}} |
| 309 | @end example |
| 310 | |
| 311 | @cindex escape sequence |
| 312 | These sequences which start with backslash are also known as |
| 313 | @dfn{escape sequences}, because backslash plays the role of an |
| 314 | ``escape character''; this terminology has nothing to do with the |
| 315 | character @key{ESC}. @samp{\s} is meant for use in character |
| 316 | constants; in string constants, just write the space. |
| 317 | |
| 318 | @cindex control characters |
| 319 | Control characters may be represented using yet another read syntax. |
| 320 | This consists of a question mark followed by a backslash, caret, and the |
| 321 | corresponding non-control character, in either upper or lower case. For |
| 322 | example, both @samp{?\^I} and @samp{?\^i} are valid read syntax for the |
| 323 | character @kbd{C-i}, the character whose value is 9. |
| 324 | |
| 325 | Instead of the @samp{^}, you can use @samp{C-}; thus, @samp{?\C-i} is |
| 326 | equivalent to @samp{?\^I} and to @samp{?\^i}: |
| 327 | |
| 328 | @example |
| 329 | ?\^I @result{} 9 ?\C-I @result{} 9 |
| 330 | @end example |
| 331 | |
| 332 | In strings and buffers, the only control characters allowed are those |
| 333 | that exist in @acronym{ASCII}; but for keyboard input purposes, you can turn |
| 334 | any character into a control character with @samp{C-}. The character |
| 335 | codes for these non-@acronym{ASCII} control characters include the |
| 336 | @tex |
| 337 | @math{2^{26}} |
| 338 | @end tex |
| 339 | @ifnottex |
| 340 | 2**26 |
| 341 | @end ifnottex |
| 342 | bit as well as the code for the corresponding non-control |
| 343 | character. Ordinary terminals have no way of generating non-@acronym{ASCII} |
| 344 | control characters, but you can generate them straightforwardly using X |
| 345 | and other window systems. |
| 346 | |
| 347 | For historical reasons, Emacs treats the @key{DEL} character as |
| 348 | the control equivalent of @kbd{?}: |
| 349 | |
| 350 | @example |
| 351 | ?\^? @result{} 127 ?\C-? @result{} 127 |
| 352 | @end example |
| 353 | |
| 354 | @noindent |
| 355 | As a result, it is currently not possible to represent the character |
| 356 | @kbd{Control-?}, which is a meaningful input character under X, using |
| 357 | @samp{\C-}. It is not easy to change this, as various Lisp files refer |
| 358 | to @key{DEL} in this way. |
| 359 | |
| 360 | For representing control characters to be found in files or strings, |
| 361 | we recommend the @samp{^} syntax; for control characters in keyboard |
| 362 | input, we prefer the @samp{C-} syntax. Which one you use does not |
| 363 | affect the meaning of the program, but may guide the understanding of |
| 364 | people who read it. |
| 365 | |
| 366 | @cindex meta characters |
| 367 | A @dfn{meta character} is a character typed with the @key{META} |
| 368 | modifier key. The integer that represents such a character has the |
| 369 | @tex |
| 370 | @math{2^{27}} |
| 371 | @end tex |
| 372 | @ifnottex |
| 373 | 2**27 |
| 374 | @end ifnottex |
| 375 | bit set. We use high bits for this and other modifiers to make |
| 376 | possible a wide range of basic character codes. |
| 377 | |
| 378 | In a string, the |
| 379 | @tex |
| 380 | @math{2^{7}} |
| 381 | @end tex |
| 382 | @ifnottex |
| 383 | 2**7 |
| 384 | @end ifnottex |
| 385 | bit attached to an @acronym{ASCII} character indicates a meta |
| 386 | character; thus, the meta characters that can fit in a string have |
| 387 | codes in the range from 128 to 255, and are the meta versions of the |
| 388 | ordinary @acronym{ASCII} characters. (In Emacs versions 18 and older, |
| 389 | this convention was used for characters outside of strings as well.) |
| 390 | |
| 391 | The read syntax for meta characters uses @samp{\M-}. For example, |
| 392 | @samp{?\M-A} stands for @kbd{M-A}. You can use @samp{\M-} together with |
| 393 | octal character codes (see below), with @samp{\C-}, or with any other |
| 394 | syntax for a character. Thus, you can write @kbd{M-A} as @samp{?\M-A}, |
| 395 | or as @samp{?\M-\101}. Likewise, you can write @kbd{C-M-b} as |
| 396 | @samp{?\M-\C-b}, @samp{?\C-\M-b}, or @samp{?\M-\002}. |
| 397 | |
| 398 | The case of a graphic character is indicated by its character code; |
| 399 | for example, @acronym{ASCII} distinguishes between the characters @samp{a} |
| 400 | and @samp{A}. But @acronym{ASCII} has no way to represent whether a control |
| 401 | character is upper case or lower case. Emacs uses the |
| 402 | @tex |
| 403 | @math{2^{25}} |
| 404 | @end tex |
| 405 | @ifnottex |
| 406 | 2**25 |
| 407 | @end ifnottex |
| 408 | bit to indicate that the shift key was used in typing a control |
| 409 | character. This distinction is possible only when you use X terminals |
| 410 | or other special terminals; ordinary terminals do not report the |
| 411 | distinction to the computer in any way. The Lisp syntax for |
| 412 | the shift bit is @samp{\S-}; thus, @samp{?\C-\S-o} or @samp{?\C-\S-O} |
| 413 | represents the shifted-control-o character. |
| 414 | |
| 415 | @cindex hyper characters |
| 416 | @cindex super characters |
| 417 | @cindex alt characters |
| 418 | The X Window System defines three other |
| 419 | @anchor{modifier bits}modifier bits that can be set |
| 420 | in a character: @dfn{hyper}, @dfn{super} and @dfn{alt}. The syntaxes |
| 421 | for these bits are @samp{\H-}, @samp{\s-} and @samp{\A-}. (Case is |
| 422 | significant in these prefixes.) Thus, @samp{?\H-\M-\A-x} represents |
| 423 | @kbd{Alt-Hyper-Meta-x}. (Note that @samp{\s} with no following @samp{-} |
| 424 | represents the space character.) |
| 425 | @tex |
| 426 | Numerically, the bit values are @math{2^{22}} for alt, @math{2^{23}} |
| 427 | for super and @math{2^{24}} for hyper. |
| 428 | @end tex |
| 429 | @ifnottex |
| 430 | Numerically, the |
| 431 | bit values are 2**22 for alt, 2**23 for super and 2**24 for hyper. |
| 432 | @end ifnottex |
| 433 | |
| 434 | @cindex @samp{\} in character constant |
| 435 | @cindex backslash in character constant |
| 436 | @cindex octal character code |
| 437 | Finally, the most general read syntax for a character represents the |
| 438 | character code in either octal or hex. To use octal, write a question |
| 439 | mark followed by a backslash and the octal character code (up to three |
| 440 | octal digits); thus, @samp{?\101} for the character @kbd{A}, |
| 441 | @samp{?\001} for the character @kbd{C-a}, and @code{?\002} for the |
| 442 | character @kbd{C-b}. Although this syntax can represent any @acronym{ASCII} |
| 443 | character, it is preferred only when the precise octal value is more |
| 444 | important than the @acronym{ASCII} representation. |
| 445 | |
| 446 | @example |
| 447 | @group |
| 448 | ?\012 @result{} 10 ?\n @result{} 10 ?\C-j @result{} 10 |
| 449 | ?\101 @result{} 65 ?A @result{} 65 |
| 450 | @end group |
| 451 | @end example |
| 452 | |
| 453 | To use hex, write a question mark followed by a backslash, @samp{x}, |
| 454 | and the hexadecimal character code. You can use any number of hex |
| 455 | digits, so you can represent any character code in this way. |
| 456 | Thus, @samp{?\x41} for the character @kbd{A}, @samp{?\x1} for the |
| 457 | character @kbd{C-a}, and @code{?\x8e0} for the Latin-1 character |
| 458 | @iftex |
| 459 | @samp{@`a}. |
| 460 | @end iftex |
| 461 | @ifnottex |
| 462 | @samp{a} with grave accent. |
| 463 | @end ifnottex |
| 464 | |
| 465 | A backslash is allowed, and harmless, preceding any character without |
| 466 | a special escape meaning; thus, @samp{?\+} is equivalent to @samp{?+}. |
| 467 | There is no reason to add a backslash before most characters. However, |
| 468 | you should add a backslash before any of the characters |
| 469 | @samp{()\|;'`"#.,} to avoid confusing the Emacs commands for editing |
| 470 | Lisp code. You can also add a backslash before whitespace characters such as |
| 471 | space, tab, newline and formfeed. However, it is cleaner to use one of |
| 472 | the easily readable escape sequences, such as @samp{\t} or @samp{\s}, |
| 473 | instead of an actual whitespace character such as a tab or a space. |
| 474 | (If you do write backslash followed by a space, you should write |
| 475 | an extra space after the character constant to separate it from the |
| 476 | following text.) |
| 477 | |
| 478 | @node Symbol Type |
| 479 | @subsection Symbol Type |
| 480 | |
| 481 | A @dfn{symbol} in GNU Emacs Lisp is an object with a name. The |
| 482 | symbol name serves as the printed representation of the symbol. In |
| 483 | ordinary Lisp use, with one single obarray (@pxref{Creating Symbols}, |
| 484 | a symbol's name is unique---no two symbols have the same name. |
| 485 | |
| 486 | A symbol can serve as a variable, as a function name, or to hold a |
| 487 | property list. Or it may serve only to be distinct from all other Lisp |
| 488 | objects, so that its presence in a data structure may be recognized |
| 489 | reliably. In a given context, usually only one of these uses is |
| 490 | intended. But you can use one symbol in all of these ways, |
| 491 | independently. |
| 492 | |
| 493 | A symbol whose name starts with a colon (@samp{:}) is called a |
| 494 | @dfn{keyword symbol}. These symbols automatically act as constants, and |
| 495 | are normally used only by comparing an unknown symbol with a few |
| 496 | specific alternatives. |
| 497 | |
| 498 | @cindex @samp{\} in symbols |
| 499 | @cindex backslash in symbols |
| 500 | A symbol name can contain any characters whatever. Most symbol names |
| 501 | are written with letters, digits, and the punctuation characters |
| 502 | @samp{-+=*/}. Such names require no special punctuation; the characters |
| 503 | of the name suffice as long as the name does not look like a number. |
| 504 | (If it does, write a @samp{\} at the beginning of the name to force |
| 505 | interpretation as a symbol.) The characters @samp{_~!@@$%^&:<>@{@}?} are |
| 506 | less often used but also require no special punctuation. Any other |
| 507 | characters may be included in a symbol's name by escaping them with a |
| 508 | backslash. In contrast to its use in strings, however, a backslash in |
| 509 | the name of a symbol simply quotes the single character that follows the |
| 510 | backslash. For example, in a string, @samp{\t} represents a tab |
| 511 | character; in the name of a symbol, however, @samp{\t} merely quotes the |
| 512 | letter @samp{t}. To have a symbol with a tab character in its name, you |
| 513 | must actually use a tab (preceded with a backslash). But it's rare to |
| 514 | do such a thing. |
| 515 | |
| 516 | @cindex CL note---case of letters |
| 517 | @quotation |
| 518 | @b{Common Lisp note:} In Common Lisp, lower case letters are always |
| 519 | ``folded'' to upper case, unless they are explicitly escaped. In Emacs |
| 520 | Lisp, upper case and lower case letters are distinct. |
| 521 | @end quotation |
| 522 | |
| 523 | Here are several examples of symbol names. Note that the @samp{+} in |
| 524 | the fifth example is escaped to prevent it from being read as a number. |
| 525 | This is not necessary in the fourth example because the rest of the name |
| 526 | makes it invalid as a number. |
| 527 | |
| 528 | @example |
| 529 | @group |
| 530 | foo ; @r{A symbol named @samp{foo}.} |
| 531 | FOO ; @r{A symbol named @samp{FOO}, different from @samp{foo}.} |
| 532 | char-to-string ; @r{A symbol named @samp{char-to-string}.} |
| 533 | @end group |
| 534 | @group |
| 535 | 1+ ; @r{A symbol named @samp{1+}} |
| 536 | ; @r{(not @samp{+1}, which is an integer).} |
| 537 | @end group |
| 538 | @group |
| 539 | \+1 ; @r{A symbol named @samp{+1}} |
| 540 | ; @r{(not a very readable name).} |
| 541 | @end group |
| 542 | @group |
| 543 | \(*\ 1\ 2\) ; @r{A symbol named @samp{(* 1 2)} (a worse name).} |
| 544 | @c the @'s in this next line use up three characters, hence the |
| 545 | @c apparent misalignment of the comment. |
| 546 | +-*/_~!@@$%^&=:<>@{@} ; @r{A symbol named @samp{+-*/_~!@@$%^&=:<>@{@}}.} |
| 547 | ; @r{These characters need not be escaped.} |
| 548 | @end group |
| 549 | @end example |
| 550 | |
| 551 | @ifinfo |
| 552 | @c This uses ``colon'' instead of a literal `:' because Info cannot |
| 553 | @c cope with a `:' in a menu |
| 554 | @cindex @samp{#@var{colon}} read syntax |
| 555 | @end ifinfo |
| 556 | @ifnotinfo |
| 557 | @cindex @samp{#:} read syntax |
| 558 | @end ifnotinfo |
| 559 | Normally the Lisp reader interns all symbols (@pxref{Creating |
| 560 | Symbols}). To prevent interning, you can write @samp{#:} before the |
| 561 | name of the symbol. |
| 562 | |
| 563 | @node Sequence Type |
| 564 | @subsection Sequence Types |
| 565 | |
| 566 | A @dfn{sequence} is a Lisp object that represents an ordered set of |
| 567 | elements. There are two kinds of sequence in Emacs Lisp, lists and |
| 568 | arrays. Thus, an object of type list or of type array is also |
| 569 | considered a sequence. |
| 570 | |
| 571 | Arrays are further subdivided into strings, vectors, char-tables and |
| 572 | bool-vectors. Vectors can hold elements of any type, but string |
| 573 | elements must be characters, and bool-vector elements must be @code{t} |
| 574 | or @code{nil}. Char-tables are like vectors except that they are |
| 575 | indexed by any valid character code. The characters in a string can |
| 576 | have text properties like characters in a buffer (@pxref{Text |
| 577 | Properties}), but vectors do not support text properties, even when |
| 578 | their elements happen to be characters. |
| 579 | |
| 580 | Lists, strings and the other array types are different, but they have |
| 581 | important similarities. For example, all have a length @var{l}, and all |
| 582 | have elements which can be indexed from zero to @var{l} minus one. |
| 583 | Several functions, called sequence functions, accept any kind of |
| 584 | sequence. For example, the function @code{elt} can be used to extract |
| 585 | an element of a sequence, given its index. @xref{Sequences Arrays |
| 586 | Vectors}. |
| 587 | |
| 588 | It is generally impossible to read the same sequence twice, since |
| 589 | sequences are always created anew upon reading. If you read the read |
| 590 | syntax for a sequence twice, you get two sequences with equal contents. |
| 591 | There is one exception: the empty list @code{()} always stands for the |
| 592 | same object, @code{nil}. |
| 593 | |
| 594 | @node Cons Cell Type |
| 595 | @subsection Cons Cell and List Types |
| 596 | @cindex address field of register |
| 597 | @cindex decrement field of register |
| 598 | @cindex pointers |
| 599 | |
| 600 | A @dfn{cons cell} is an object that consists of two slots, called the |
| 601 | @sc{car} slot and the @sc{cdr} slot. Each slot can @dfn{hold} or |
| 602 | @dfn{refer to} any Lisp object. We also say that ``the @sc{car} of |
| 603 | this cons cell is'' whatever object its @sc{car} slot currently holds, |
| 604 | and likewise for the @sc{cdr}. |
| 605 | |
| 606 | @quotation |
| 607 | A note to C programmers: in Lisp, we do not distinguish between |
| 608 | ``holding'' a value and ``pointing to'' the value, because pointers in |
| 609 | Lisp are implicit. |
| 610 | @end quotation |
| 611 | |
| 612 | A @dfn{list} is a series of cons cells, linked together so that the |
| 613 | @sc{cdr} slot of each cons cell holds either the next cons cell or the |
| 614 | empty list. The empty list is actually the symbol @code{nil}. |
| 615 | @xref{Lists}, for functions that work on lists. Because most cons |
| 616 | cells are used as part of lists, the phrase @dfn{list structure} has |
| 617 | come to refer to any structure made out of cons cells. |
| 618 | |
| 619 | @cindex atom |
| 620 | Because cons cells are so central to Lisp, we also have a word for |
| 621 | ``an object which is not a cons cell''. These objects are called |
| 622 | @dfn{atoms}. |
| 623 | |
| 624 | @cindex parenthesis |
| 625 | @cindex @samp{(@dots{})} in lists |
| 626 | The read syntax and printed representation for lists are identical, and |
| 627 | consist of a left parenthesis, an arbitrary number of elements, and a |
| 628 | right parenthesis. Here are examples of lists: |
| 629 | |
| 630 | @example |
| 631 | (A 2 "A") ; @r{A list of three elements.} |
| 632 | () ; @r{A list of no elements (the empty list).} |
| 633 | nil ; @r{A list of no elements (the empty list).} |
| 634 | ("A ()") ; @r{A list of one element: the string @code{"A ()"}.} |
| 635 | (A ()) ; @r{A list of two elements: @code{A} and the empty list.} |
| 636 | (A nil) ; @r{Equivalent to the previous.} |
| 637 | ((A B C)) ; @r{A list of one element} |
| 638 | ; @r{(which is a list of three elements).} |
| 639 | @end example |
| 640 | |
| 641 | Upon reading, each object inside the parentheses becomes an element |
| 642 | of the list. That is, a cons cell is made for each element. The |
| 643 | @sc{car} slot of the cons cell holds the element, and its @sc{cdr} |
| 644 | slot refers to the next cons cell of the list, which holds the next |
| 645 | element in the list. The @sc{cdr} slot of the last cons cell is set to |
| 646 | hold @code{nil}. |
| 647 | |
| 648 | The names @sc{car} and @sc{cdr} derive from the history of Lisp. The |
| 649 | original Lisp implementation ran on an @w{IBM 704} computer which |
| 650 | divided words into two parts, called the ``address'' part and the |
| 651 | ``decrement''; @sc{car} was an instruction to extract the contents of |
| 652 | the address part of a register, and @sc{cdr} an instruction to extract |
| 653 | the contents of the decrement. By contrast, ``cons cells'' are named |
| 654 | for the function @code{cons} that creates them, which in turn was named |
| 655 | for its purpose, the construction of cells. |
| 656 | |
| 657 | @menu |
| 658 | * Box Diagrams:: Drawing pictures of lists. |
| 659 | * Dotted Pair Notation:: A general syntax for cons cells. |
| 660 | * Association List Type:: A specially constructed list. |
| 661 | @end menu |
| 662 | |
| 663 | @node Box Diagrams |
| 664 | @subsubsection Drawing Lists as Box Diagrams |
| 665 | @cindex box diagrams, for lists |
| 666 | @cindex diagrams, boxed, for lists |
| 667 | |
| 668 | A list can be illustrated by a diagram in which the cons cells are |
| 669 | shown as pairs of boxes, like dominoes. (The Lisp reader cannot read |
| 670 | such an illustration; unlike the textual notation, which can be |
| 671 | understood by both humans and computers, the box illustrations can be |
| 672 | understood only by humans.) This picture represents the three-element |
| 673 | list @code{(rose violet buttercup)}: |
| 674 | |
| 675 | @example |
| 676 | @group |
| 677 | --- --- --- --- --- --- |
| 678 | | | |--> | | |--> | | |--> nil |
| 679 | --- --- --- --- --- --- |
| 680 | | | | |
| 681 | | | | |
| 682 | --> rose --> violet --> buttercup |
| 683 | @end group |
| 684 | @end example |
| 685 | |
| 686 | In this diagram, each box represents a slot that can hold or refer to |
| 687 | any Lisp object. Each pair of boxes represents a cons cell. Each arrow |
| 688 | represents a reference to a Lisp object, either an atom or another cons |
| 689 | cell. |
| 690 | |
| 691 | In this example, the first box, which holds the @sc{car} of the first |
| 692 | cons cell, refers to or ``holds'' @code{rose} (a symbol). The second |
| 693 | box, holding the @sc{cdr} of the first cons cell, refers to the next |
| 694 | pair of boxes, the second cons cell. The @sc{car} of the second cons |
| 695 | cell is @code{violet}, and its @sc{cdr} is the third cons cell. The |
| 696 | @sc{cdr} of the third (and last) cons cell is @code{nil}. |
| 697 | |
| 698 | Here is another diagram of the same list, @code{(rose violet |
| 699 | buttercup)}, sketched in a different manner: |
| 700 | |
| 701 | @smallexample |
| 702 | @group |
| 703 | --------------- ---------------- ------------------- |
| 704 | | car | cdr | | car | cdr | | car | cdr | |
| 705 | | rose | o-------->| violet | o-------->| buttercup | nil | |
| 706 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 707 | --------------- ---------------- ------------------- |
| 708 | @end group |
| 709 | @end smallexample |
| 710 | |
| 711 | @cindex @code{nil} in lists |
| 712 | @cindex empty list |
| 713 | A list with no elements in it is the @dfn{empty list}; it is identical |
| 714 | to the symbol @code{nil}. In other words, @code{nil} is both a symbol |
| 715 | and a list. |
| 716 | |
| 717 | Here is the list @code{(A ())}, or equivalently @code{(A nil)}, |
| 718 | depicted with boxes and arrows: |
| 719 | |
| 720 | @example |
| 721 | @group |
| 722 | --- --- --- --- |
| 723 | | | |--> | | |--> nil |
| 724 | --- --- --- --- |
| 725 | | | |
| 726 | | | |
| 727 | --> A --> nil |
| 728 | @end group |
| 729 | @end example |
| 730 | |
| 731 | Here is a more complex illustration, showing the three-element list, |
| 732 | @code{((pine needles) oak maple)}, the first element of which is a |
| 733 | two-element list: |
| 734 | |
| 735 | @example |
| 736 | @group |
| 737 | --- --- --- --- --- --- |
| 738 | | | |--> | | |--> | | |--> nil |
| 739 | --- --- --- --- --- --- |
| 740 | | | | |
| 741 | | | | |
| 742 | | --> oak --> maple |
| 743 | | |
| 744 | | --- --- --- --- |
| 745 | --> | | |--> | | |--> nil |
| 746 | --- --- --- --- |
| 747 | | | |
| 748 | | | |
| 749 | --> pine --> needles |
| 750 | @end group |
| 751 | @end example |
| 752 | |
| 753 | The same list represented in the second box notation looks like this: |
| 754 | |
| 755 | @example |
| 756 | @group |
| 757 | -------------- -------------- -------------- |
| 758 | | car | cdr | | car | cdr | | car | cdr | |
| 759 | | o | o------->| oak | o------->| maple | nil | |
| 760 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 761 | -- | --------- -------------- -------------- |
| 762 | | |
| 763 | | |
| 764 | | -------------- ---------------- |
| 765 | | | car | cdr | | car | cdr | |
| 766 | ------>| pine | o------->| needles | nil | |
| 767 | | | | | | | |
| 768 | -------------- ---------------- |
| 769 | @end group |
| 770 | @end example |
| 771 | |
| 772 | @node Dotted Pair Notation |
| 773 | @subsubsection Dotted Pair Notation |
| 774 | @cindex dotted pair notation |
| 775 | @cindex @samp{.} in lists |
| 776 | |
| 777 | @dfn{Dotted pair notation} is a general syntax for cons cells that |
| 778 | represents the @sc{car} and @sc{cdr} explicitly. In this syntax, |
| 779 | @code{(@var{a} .@: @var{b})} stands for a cons cell whose @sc{car} is |
| 780 | the object @var{a} and whose @sc{cdr} is the object @var{b}. Dotted |
| 781 | pair notation is more general than list syntax because the @sc{cdr} |
| 782 | does not have to be a list. However, it is more cumbersome in cases |
| 783 | where list syntax would work. In dotted pair notation, the list |
| 784 | @samp{(1 2 3)} is written as @samp{(1 . (2 . (3 . nil)))}. For |
| 785 | @code{nil}-terminated lists, you can use either notation, but list |
| 786 | notation is usually clearer and more convenient. When printing a |
| 787 | list, the dotted pair notation is only used if the @sc{cdr} of a cons |
| 788 | cell is not a list. |
| 789 | |
| 790 | Here's an example using boxes to illustrate dotted pair notation. |
| 791 | This example shows the pair @code{(rose . violet)}: |
| 792 | |
| 793 | @example |
| 794 | @group |
| 795 | --- --- |
| 796 | | | |--> violet |
| 797 | --- --- |
| 798 | | |
| 799 | | |
| 800 | --> rose |
| 801 | @end group |
| 802 | @end example |
| 803 | |
| 804 | You can combine dotted pair notation with list notation to represent |
| 805 | conveniently a chain of cons cells with a non-@code{nil} final @sc{cdr}. |
| 806 | You write a dot after the last element of the list, followed by the |
| 807 | @sc{cdr} of the final cons cell. For example, @code{(rose violet |
| 808 | . buttercup)} is equivalent to @code{(rose . (violet . buttercup))}. |
| 809 | The object looks like this: |
| 810 | |
| 811 | @example |
| 812 | @group |
| 813 | --- --- --- --- |
| 814 | | | |--> | | |--> buttercup |
| 815 | --- --- --- --- |
| 816 | | | |
| 817 | | | |
| 818 | --> rose --> violet |
| 819 | @end group |
| 820 | @end example |
| 821 | |
| 822 | The syntax @code{(rose .@: violet .@: buttercup)} is invalid because |
| 823 | there is nothing that it could mean. If anything, it would say to put |
| 824 | @code{buttercup} in the @sc{cdr} of a cons cell whose @sc{cdr} is already |
| 825 | used for @code{violet}. |
| 826 | |
| 827 | The list @code{(rose violet)} is equivalent to @code{(rose . (violet))}, |
| 828 | and looks like this: |
| 829 | |
| 830 | @example |
| 831 | @group |
| 832 | --- --- --- --- |
| 833 | | | |--> | | |--> nil |
| 834 | --- --- --- --- |
| 835 | | | |
| 836 | | | |
| 837 | --> rose --> violet |
| 838 | @end group |
| 839 | @end example |
| 840 | |
| 841 | Similarly, the three-element list @code{(rose violet buttercup)} |
| 842 | is equivalent to @code{(rose . (violet . (buttercup)))}. |
| 843 | @ifnottex |
| 844 | It looks like this: |
| 845 | |
| 846 | @example |
| 847 | @group |
| 848 | --- --- --- --- --- --- |
| 849 | | | |--> | | |--> | | |--> nil |
| 850 | --- --- --- --- --- --- |
| 851 | | | | |
| 852 | | | | |
| 853 | --> rose --> violet --> buttercup |
| 854 | @end group |
| 855 | @end example |
| 856 | @end ifnottex |
| 857 | |
| 858 | @node Association List Type |
| 859 | @comment node-name, next, previous, up |
| 860 | @subsubsection Association List Type |
| 861 | |
| 862 | An @dfn{association list} or @dfn{alist} is a specially-constructed |
| 863 | list whose elements are cons cells. In each element, the @sc{car} is |
| 864 | considered a @dfn{key}, and the @sc{cdr} is considered an |
| 865 | @dfn{associated value}. (In some cases, the associated value is stored |
| 866 | in the @sc{car} of the @sc{cdr}.) Association lists are often used as |
| 867 | stacks, since it is easy to add or remove associations at the front of |
| 868 | the list. |
| 869 | |
| 870 | For example, |
| 871 | |
| 872 | @example |
| 873 | (setq alist-of-colors |
| 874 | '((rose . red) (lily . white) (buttercup . yellow))) |
| 875 | @end example |
| 876 | |
| 877 | @noindent |
| 878 | sets the variable @code{alist-of-colors} to an alist of three elements. In the |
| 879 | first element, @code{rose} is the key and @code{red} is the value. |
| 880 | |
| 881 | @xref{Association Lists}, for a further explanation of alists and for |
| 882 | functions that work on alists. @xref{Hash Tables}, for another kind of |
| 883 | lookup table, which is much faster for handling a large number of keys. |
| 884 | |
| 885 | @node Array Type |
| 886 | @subsection Array Type |
| 887 | |
| 888 | An @dfn{array} is composed of an arbitrary number of slots for |
| 889 | holding or referring to other Lisp objects, arranged in a contiguous block of |
| 890 | memory. Accessing any element of an array takes approximately the same |
| 891 | amount of time. In contrast, accessing an element of a list requires |
| 892 | time proportional to the position of the element in the list. (Elements |
| 893 | at the end of a list take longer to access than elements at the |
| 894 | beginning of a list.) |
| 895 | |
| 896 | Emacs defines four types of array: strings, vectors, bool-vectors, and |
| 897 | char-tables. |
| 898 | |
| 899 | A string is an array of characters and a vector is an array of |
| 900 | arbitrary objects. A bool-vector can hold only @code{t} or @code{nil}. |
| 901 | These kinds of array may have any length up to the largest integer. |
| 902 | Char-tables are sparse arrays indexed by any valid character code; they |
| 903 | can hold arbitrary objects. |
| 904 | |
| 905 | The first element of an array has index zero, the second element has |
| 906 | index 1, and so on. This is called @dfn{zero-origin} indexing. For |
| 907 | example, an array of four elements has indices 0, 1, 2, @w{and 3}. The |
| 908 | largest possible index value is one less than the length of the array. |
| 909 | Once an array is created, its length is fixed. |
| 910 | |
| 911 | All Emacs Lisp arrays are one-dimensional. (Most other programming |
| 912 | languages support multidimensional arrays, but they are not essential; |
| 913 | you can get the same effect with nested one-dimensional arrays.) Each |
| 914 | type of array has its own read syntax; see the following sections for |
| 915 | details. |
| 916 | |
| 917 | The array type is a subset of the sequence type, and contains the |
| 918 | string type, the vector type, the bool-vector type, and the char-table |
| 919 | type. |
| 920 | |
| 921 | @node String Type |
| 922 | @subsection String Type |
| 923 | |
| 924 | A @dfn{string} is an array of characters. Strings are used for many |
| 925 | purposes in Emacs, as can be expected in a text editor; for example, as |
| 926 | the names of Lisp symbols, as messages for the user, and to represent |
| 927 | text extracted from buffers. Strings in Lisp are constants: evaluation |
| 928 | of a string returns the same string. |
| 929 | |
| 930 | @xref{Strings and Characters}, for functions that operate on strings. |
| 931 | |
| 932 | @menu |
| 933 | * Syntax for Strings:: |
| 934 | * Non-ASCII in Strings:: |
| 935 | * Nonprinting Characters:: |
| 936 | * Text Props and Strings:: |
| 937 | @end menu |
| 938 | |
| 939 | @node Syntax for Strings |
| 940 | @subsubsection Syntax for Strings |
| 941 | |
| 942 | @cindex @samp{"} in strings |
| 943 | @cindex double-quote in strings |
| 944 | @cindex @samp{\} in strings |
| 945 | @cindex backslash in strings |
| 946 | The read syntax for strings is a double-quote, an arbitrary number of |
| 947 | characters, and another double-quote, @code{"like this"}. To include a |
| 948 | double-quote in a string, precede it with a backslash; thus, @code{"\""} |
| 949 | is a string containing just a single double-quote character. Likewise, |
| 950 | you can include a backslash by preceding it with another backslash, like |
| 951 | this: @code{"this \\ is a single embedded backslash"}. |
| 952 | |
| 953 | @cindex newline in strings |
| 954 | The newline character is not special in the read syntax for strings; |
| 955 | if you write a new line between the double-quotes, it becomes a |
| 956 | character in the string. But an escaped newline---one that is preceded |
| 957 | by @samp{\}---does not become part of the string; i.e., the Lisp reader |
| 958 | ignores an escaped newline while reading a string. An escaped space |
| 959 | @w{@samp{\ }} is likewise ignored. |
| 960 | |
| 961 | @example |
| 962 | "It is useful to include newlines |
| 963 | in documentation strings, |
| 964 | but the newline is \ |
| 965 | ignored if escaped." |
| 966 | @result{} "It is useful to include newlines |
| 967 | in documentation strings, |
| 968 | but the newline is ignored if escaped." |
| 969 | @end example |
| 970 | |
| 971 | @node Non-ASCII in Strings |
| 972 | @subsubsection Non-@acronym{ASCII} Characters in Strings |
| 973 | |
| 974 | You can include a non-@acronym{ASCII} international character in a string |
| 975 | constant by writing it literally. There are two text representations |
| 976 | for non-@acronym{ASCII} characters in Emacs strings (and in buffers): unibyte |
| 977 | and multibyte. If the string constant is read from a multibyte source, |
| 978 | such as a multibyte buffer or string, or a file that would be visited as |
| 979 | multibyte, then the character is read as a multibyte character, and that |
| 980 | makes the string multibyte. If the string constant is read from a |
| 981 | unibyte source, then the character is read as unibyte and that makes the |
| 982 | string unibyte. |
| 983 | |
| 984 | You can also represent a multibyte non-@acronym{ASCII} character with its |
| 985 | character code: use a hex escape, @samp{\x@var{nnnnnnn}}, with as many |
| 986 | digits as necessary. (Multibyte non-@acronym{ASCII} character codes are all |
| 987 | greater than 256.) Any character which is not a valid hex digit |
| 988 | terminates this construct. If the next character in the string could be |
| 989 | interpreted as a hex digit, write @w{@samp{\ }} (backslash and space) to |
| 990 | terminate the hex escape---for example, @w{@samp{\x8e0\ }} represents |
| 991 | one character, @samp{a} with grave accent. @w{@samp{\ }} in a string |
| 992 | constant is just like backslash-newline; it does not contribute any |
| 993 | character to the string, but it does terminate the preceding hex escape. |
| 994 | |
| 995 | You can represent a unibyte non-@acronym{ASCII} character with its |
| 996 | character code, which must be in the range from 128 (0200 octal) to |
| 997 | 255 (0377 octal). If you write all such character codes in octal and |
| 998 | the string contains no other characters forcing it to be multibyte, |
| 999 | this produces a unibyte string. However, using any hex escape in a |
| 1000 | string (even for an @acronym{ASCII} character) forces the string to be |
| 1001 | multibyte. |
| 1002 | |
| 1003 | @xref{Text Representations}, for more information about the two |
| 1004 | text representations. |
| 1005 | |
| 1006 | @node Nonprinting Characters |
| 1007 | @subsubsection Nonprinting Characters in Strings |
| 1008 | |
| 1009 | You can use the same backslash escape-sequences in a string constant |
| 1010 | as in character literals (but do not use the question mark that begins a |
| 1011 | character constant). For example, you can write a string containing the |
| 1012 | nonprinting characters tab and @kbd{C-a}, with commas and spaces between |
| 1013 | them, like this: @code{"\t, \C-a"}. @xref{Character Type}, for a |
| 1014 | description of the read syntax for characters. |
| 1015 | |
| 1016 | However, not all of the characters you can write with backslash |
| 1017 | escape-sequences are valid in strings. The only control characters that |
| 1018 | a string can hold are the @acronym{ASCII} control characters. Strings do not |
| 1019 | distinguish case in @acronym{ASCII} control characters. |
| 1020 | |
| 1021 | Properly speaking, strings cannot hold meta characters; but when a |
| 1022 | string is to be used as a key sequence, there is a special convention |
| 1023 | that provides a way to represent meta versions of @acronym{ASCII} |
| 1024 | characters in a string. If you use the @samp{\M-} syntax to indicate |
| 1025 | a meta character in a string constant, this sets the |
| 1026 | @tex |
| 1027 | @math{2^{7}} |
| 1028 | @end tex |
| 1029 | @ifnottex |
| 1030 | 2**7 |
| 1031 | @end ifnottex |
| 1032 | bit of the character in the string. If the string is used in |
| 1033 | @code{define-key} or @code{lookup-key}, this numeric code is translated |
| 1034 | into the equivalent meta character. @xref{Character Type}. |
| 1035 | |
| 1036 | Strings cannot hold characters that have the hyper, super, or alt |
| 1037 | modifiers. |
| 1038 | |
| 1039 | @node Text Props and Strings |
| 1040 | @subsubsection Text Properties in Strings |
| 1041 | |
| 1042 | A string can hold properties for the characters it contains, in |
| 1043 | addition to the characters themselves. This enables programs that copy |
| 1044 | text between strings and buffers to copy the text's properties with no |
| 1045 | special effort. @xref{Text Properties}, for an explanation of what text |
| 1046 | properties mean. Strings with text properties use a special read and |
| 1047 | print syntax: |
| 1048 | |
| 1049 | @example |
| 1050 | #("@var{characters}" @var{property-data}...) |
| 1051 | @end example |
| 1052 | |
| 1053 | @noindent |
| 1054 | where @var{property-data} consists of zero or more elements, in groups |
| 1055 | of three as follows: |
| 1056 | |
| 1057 | @example |
| 1058 | @var{beg} @var{end} @var{plist} |
| 1059 | @end example |
| 1060 | |
| 1061 | @noindent |
| 1062 | The elements @var{beg} and @var{end} are integers, and together specify |
| 1063 | a range of indices in the string; @var{plist} is the property list for |
| 1064 | that range. For example, |
| 1065 | |
| 1066 | @example |
| 1067 | #("foo bar" 0 3 (face bold) 3 4 nil 4 7 (face italic)) |
| 1068 | @end example |
| 1069 | |
| 1070 | @noindent |
| 1071 | represents a string whose textual contents are @samp{foo bar}, in which |
| 1072 | the first three characters have a @code{face} property with value |
| 1073 | @code{bold}, and the last three have a @code{face} property with value |
| 1074 | @code{italic}. (The fourth character has no text properties, so its |
| 1075 | property list is @code{nil}. It is not actually necessary to mention |
| 1076 | ranges with @code{nil} as the property list, since any characters not |
| 1077 | mentioned in any range will default to having no properties.) |
| 1078 | |
| 1079 | @node Vector Type |
| 1080 | @subsection Vector Type |
| 1081 | |
| 1082 | A @dfn{vector} is a one-dimensional array of elements of any type. It |
| 1083 | takes a constant amount of time to access any element of a vector. (In |
| 1084 | a list, the access time of an element is proportional to the distance of |
| 1085 | the element from the beginning of the list.) |
| 1086 | |
| 1087 | The printed representation of a vector consists of a left square |
| 1088 | bracket, the elements, and a right square bracket. This is also the |
| 1089 | read syntax. Like numbers and strings, vectors are considered constants |
| 1090 | for evaluation. |
| 1091 | |
| 1092 | @example |
| 1093 | [1 "two" (three)] ; @r{A vector of three elements.} |
| 1094 | @result{} [1 "two" (three)] |
| 1095 | @end example |
| 1096 | |
| 1097 | @xref{Vectors}, for functions that work with vectors. |
| 1098 | |
| 1099 | @node Char-Table Type |
| 1100 | @subsection Char-Table Type |
| 1101 | |
| 1102 | A @dfn{char-table} is a one-dimensional array of elements of any type, |
| 1103 | indexed by character codes. Char-tables have certain extra features to |
| 1104 | make them more useful for many jobs that involve assigning information |
| 1105 | to character codes---for example, a char-table can have a parent to |
| 1106 | inherit from, a default value, and a small number of extra slots to use for |
| 1107 | special purposes. A char-table can also specify a single value for |
| 1108 | a whole character set. |
| 1109 | |
| 1110 | The printed representation of a char-table is like a vector |
| 1111 | except that there is an extra @samp{#^} at the beginning. |
| 1112 | |
| 1113 | @xref{Char-Tables}, for special functions to operate on char-tables. |
| 1114 | Uses of char-tables include: |
| 1115 | |
| 1116 | @itemize @bullet |
| 1117 | @item |
| 1118 | Case tables (@pxref{Case Tables}). |
| 1119 | |
| 1120 | @item |
| 1121 | Character category tables (@pxref{Categories}). |
| 1122 | |
| 1123 | @item |
| 1124 | Display tables (@pxref{Display Tables}). |
| 1125 | |
| 1126 | @item |
| 1127 | Syntax tables (@pxref{Syntax Tables}). |
| 1128 | @end itemize |
| 1129 | |
| 1130 | @node Bool-Vector Type |
| 1131 | @subsection Bool-Vector Type |
| 1132 | |
| 1133 | A @dfn{bool-vector} is a one-dimensional array of elements that |
| 1134 | must be @code{t} or @code{nil}. |
| 1135 | |
| 1136 | The printed representation of a bool-vector is like a string, except |
| 1137 | that it begins with @samp{#&} followed by the length. The string |
| 1138 | constant that follows actually specifies the contents of the bool-vector |
| 1139 | as a bitmap---each ``character'' in the string contains 8 bits, which |
| 1140 | specify the next 8 elements of the bool-vector (1 stands for @code{t}, |
| 1141 | and 0 for @code{nil}). The least significant bits of the character |
| 1142 | correspond to the lowest indices in the bool-vector. |
| 1143 | |
| 1144 | @example |
| 1145 | (make-bool-vector 3 t) |
| 1146 | @result{} #&3"^G" |
| 1147 | (make-bool-vector 3 nil) |
| 1148 | @result{} #&3"^@@" |
| 1149 | @end example |
| 1150 | |
| 1151 | @noindent |
| 1152 | These results make sense, because the binary code for @samp{C-g} is |
| 1153 | 111 and @samp{C-@@} is the character with code 0. |
| 1154 | |
| 1155 | If the length is not a multiple of 8, the printed representation |
| 1156 | shows extra elements, but these extras really make no difference. For |
| 1157 | instance, in the next example, the two bool-vectors are equal, because |
| 1158 | only the first 3 bits are used: |
| 1159 | |
| 1160 | @example |
| 1161 | (equal #&3"\377" #&3"\007") |
| 1162 | @result{} t |
| 1163 | @end example |
| 1164 | |
| 1165 | @node Hash Table Type |
| 1166 | @subsection Hash Table Type |
| 1167 | |
| 1168 | A hash table is a very fast kind of lookup table, somewhat like an |
| 1169 | alist in that it maps keys to corresponding values, but much faster. |
| 1170 | Hash tables have no read syntax, and print using hash notation. |
| 1171 | @xref{Hash Tables}, for functions that operate on hash tables. |
| 1172 | |
| 1173 | @example |
| 1174 | (make-hash-table) |
| 1175 | @result{} #<hash-table 'eql nil 0/65 0x83af980> |
| 1176 | @end example |
| 1177 | |
| 1178 | @node Function Type |
| 1179 | @subsection Function Type |
| 1180 | |
| 1181 | Just as functions in other programming languages are executable, |
| 1182 | @dfn{Lisp function} objects are pieces of executable code. However, |
| 1183 | functions in Lisp are primarily Lisp objects, and only secondarily the |
| 1184 | text which represents them. These Lisp objects are lambda expressions: |
| 1185 | lists whose first element is the symbol @code{lambda} (@pxref{Lambda |
| 1186 | Expressions}). |
| 1187 | |
| 1188 | In most programming languages, it is impossible to have a function |
| 1189 | without a name. In Lisp, a function has no intrinsic name. A lambda |
| 1190 | expression is also called an @dfn{anonymous function} (@pxref{Anonymous |
| 1191 | Functions}). A named function in Lisp is actually a symbol with a valid |
| 1192 | function in its function cell (@pxref{Defining Functions}). |
| 1193 | |
| 1194 | Most of the time, functions are called when their names are written in |
| 1195 | Lisp expressions in Lisp programs. However, you can construct or obtain |
| 1196 | a function object at run time and then call it with the primitive |
| 1197 | functions @code{funcall} and @code{apply}. @xref{Calling Functions}. |
| 1198 | |
| 1199 | @node Macro Type |
| 1200 | @subsection Macro Type |
| 1201 | |
| 1202 | A @dfn{Lisp macro} is a user-defined construct that extends the Lisp |
| 1203 | language. It is represented as an object much like a function, but with |
| 1204 | different argument-passing semantics. A Lisp macro has the form of a |
| 1205 | list whose first element is the symbol @code{macro} and whose @sc{cdr} |
| 1206 | is a Lisp function object, including the @code{lambda} symbol. |
| 1207 | |
| 1208 | Lisp macro objects are usually defined with the built-in |
| 1209 | @code{defmacro} function, but any list that begins with @code{macro} is |
| 1210 | a macro as far as Emacs is concerned. @xref{Macros}, for an explanation |
| 1211 | of how to write a macro. |
| 1212 | |
| 1213 | @strong{Warning}: Lisp macros and keyboard macros (@pxref{Keyboard |
| 1214 | Macros}) are entirely different things. When we use the word ``macro'' |
| 1215 | without qualification, we mean a Lisp macro, not a keyboard macro. |
| 1216 | |
| 1217 | @node Primitive Function Type |
| 1218 | @subsection Primitive Function Type |
| 1219 | @cindex special forms |
| 1220 | |
| 1221 | A @dfn{primitive function} is a function callable from Lisp but |
| 1222 | written in the C programming language. Primitive functions are also |
| 1223 | called @dfn{subrs} or @dfn{built-in functions}. (The word ``subr'' is |
| 1224 | derived from ``subroutine''.) Most primitive functions evaluate all |
| 1225 | their arguments when they are called. A primitive function that does |
| 1226 | not evaluate all its arguments is called a @dfn{special form} |
| 1227 | (@pxref{Special Forms}).@refill |
| 1228 | |
| 1229 | It does not matter to the caller of a function whether the function is |
| 1230 | primitive. However, this does matter if you try to redefine a primitive |
| 1231 | with a function written in Lisp. The reason is that the primitive |
| 1232 | function may be called directly from C code. Calls to the redefined |
| 1233 | function from Lisp will use the new definition, but calls from C code |
| 1234 | may still use the built-in definition. Therefore, @strong{we discourage |
| 1235 | redefinition of primitive functions}. |
| 1236 | |
| 1237 | The term @dfn{function} refers to all Emacs functions, whether written |
| 1238 | in Lisp or C. @xref{Function Type}, for information about the |
| 1239 | functions written in Lisp. |
| 1240 | |
| 1241 | Primitive functions have no read syntax and print in hash notation |
| 1242 | with the name of the subroutine. |
| 1243 | |
| 1244 | @example |
| 1245 | @group |
| 1246 | (symbol-function 'car) ; @r{Access the function cell} |
| 1247 | ; @r{of the symbol.} |
| 1248 | @result{} #<subr car> |
| 1249 | (subrp (symbol-function 'car)) ; @r{Is this a primitive function?} |
| 1250 | @result{} t ; @r{Yes.} |
| 1251 | @end group |
| 1252 | @end example |
| 1253 | |
| 1254 | @node Byte-Code Type |
| 1255 | @subsection Byte-Code Function Type |
| 1256 | |
| 1257 | The byte compiler produces @dfn{byte-code function objects}. |
| 1258 | Internally, a byte-code function object is much like a vector; however, |
| 1259 | the evaluator handles this data type specially when it appears as a |
| 1260 | function to be called. @xref{Byte Compilation}, for information about |
| 1261 | the byte compiler. |
| 1262 | |
| 1263 | The printed representation and read syntax for a byte-code function |
| 1264 | object is like that for a vector, with an additional @samp{#} before the |
| 1265 | opening @samp{[}. |
| 1266 | |
| 1267 | @node Autoload Type |
| 1268 | @subsection Autoload Type |
| 1269 | |
| 1270 | An @dfn{autoload object} is a list whose first element is the symbol |
| 1271 | @code{autoload}. It is stored as the function definition of a symbol, |
| 1272 | where it serves as a placeholder for the real definition. The autoload |
| 1273 | object says that the real definition is found in a file of Lisp code |
| 1274 | that should be loaded when necessary. It contains the name of the file, |
| 1275 | plus some other information about the real definition. |
| 1276 | |
| 1277 | After the file has been loaded, the symbol should have a new function |
| 1278 | definition that is not an autoload object. The new definition is then |
| 1279 | called as if it had been there to begin with. From the user's point of |
| 1280 | view, the function call works as expected, using the function definition |
| 1281 | in the loaded file. |
| 1282 | |
| 1283 | An autoload object is usually created with the function |
| 1284 | @code{autoload}, which stores the object in the function cell of a |
| 1285 | symbol. @xref{Autoload}, for more details. |
| 1286 | |
| 1287 | @node Editing Types |
| 1288 | @section Editing Types |
| 1289 | @cindex editing types |
| 1290 | |
| 1291 | The types in the previous section are used for general programming |
| 1292 | purposes, and most of them are common to most Lisp dialects. Emacs Lisp |
| 1293 | provides several additional data types for purposes connected with |
| 1294 | editing. |
| 1295 | |
| 1296 | @menu |
| 1297 | * Buffer Type:: The basic object of editing. |
| 1298 | * Marker Type:: A position in a buffer. |
| 1299 | * Window Type:: Buffers are displayed in windows. |
| 1300 | * Frame Type:: Windows subdivide frames. |
| 1301 | * Window Configuration Type:: Recording the way a frame is subdivided. |
| 1302 | * Frame Configuration Type:: Recording the status of all frames. |
| 1303 | * Process Type:: A process running on the underlying OS. |
| 1304 | * Stream Type:: Receive or send characters. |
| 1305 | * Keymap Type:: What function a keystroke invokes. |
| 1306 | * Overlay Type:: How an overlay is represented. |
| 1307 | @end menu |
| 1308 | |
| 1309 | @node Buffer Type |
| 1310 | @subsection Buffer Type |
| 1311 | |
| 1312 | A @dfn{buffer} is an object that holds text that can be edited |
| 1313 | (@pxref{Buffers}). Most buffers hold the contents of a disk file |
| 1314 | (@pxref{Files}) so they can be edited, but some are used for other |
| 1315 | purposes. Most buffers are also meant to be seen by the user, and |
| 1316 | therefore displayed, at some time, in a window (@pxref{Windows}). But a |
| 1317 | buffer need not be displayed in any window. |
| 1318 | |
| 1319 | The contents of a buffer are much like a string, but buffers are not |
| 1320 | used like strings in Emacs Lisp, and the available operations are |
| 1321 | different. For example, you can insert text efficiently into an |
| 1322 | existing buffer, altering the buffer's contents, whereas ``inserting'' |
| 1323 | text into a string requires concatenating substrings, and the result is |
| 1324 | an entirely new string object. |
| 1325 | |
| 1326 | Each buffer has a designated position called @dfn{point} |
| 1327 | (@pxref{Positions}). At any time, one buffer is the @dfn{current |
| 1328 | buffer}. Most editing commands act on the contents of the current |
| 1329 | buffer in the neighborhood of point. Many of the standard Emacs |
| 1330 | functions manipulate or test the characters in the current buffer; a |
| 1331 | whole chapter in this manual is devoted to describing these functions |
| 1332 | (@pxref{Text}). |
| 1333 | |
| 1334 | Several other data structures are associated with each buffer: |
| 1335 | |
| 1336 | @itemize @bullet |
| 1337 | @item |
| 1338 | a local syntax table (@pxref{Syntax Tables}); |
| 1339 | |
| 1340 | @item |
| 1341 | a local keymap (@pxref{Keymaps}); and, |
| 1342 | |
| 1343 | @item |
| 1344 | a list of buffer-local variable bindings (@pxref{Buffer-Local Variables}). |
| 1345 | |
| 1346 | @item |
| 1347 | overlays (@pxref{Overlays}). |
| 1348 | |
| 1349 | @item |
| 1350 | text properties for the text in the buffer (@pxref{Text Properties}). |
| 1351 | @end itemize |
| 1352 | |
| 1353 | @noindent |
| 1354 | The local keymap and variable list contain entries that individually |
| 1355 | override global bindings or values. These are used to customize the |
| 1356 | behavior of programs in different buffers, without actually changing the |
| 1357 | programs. |
| 1358 | |
| 1359 | A buffer may be @dfn{indirect}, which means it shares the text |
| 1360 | of another buffer, but presents it differently. @xref{Indirect Buffers}. |
| 1361 | |
| 1362 | Buffers have no read syntax. They print in hash notation, showing the |
| 1363 | buffer name. |
| 1364 | |
| 1365 | @example |
| 1366 | @group |
| 1367 | (current-buffer) |
| 1368 | @result{} #<buffer objects.texi> |
| 1369 | @end group |
| 1370 | @end example |
| 1371 | |
| 1372 | @node Marker Type |
| 1373 | @subsection Marker Type |
| 1374 | |
| 1375 | A @dfn{marker} denotes a position in a specific buffer. Markers |
| 1376 | therefore have two components: one for the buffer, and one for the |
| 1377 | position. Changes in the buffer's text automatically relocate the |
| 1378 | position value as necessary to ensure that the marker always points |
| 1379 | between the same two characters in the buffer. |
| 1380 | |
| 1381 | Markers have no read syntax. They print in hash notation, giving the |
| 1382 | current character position and the name of the buffer. |
| 1383 | |
| 1384 | @example |
| 1385 | @group |
| 1386 | (point-marker) |
| 1387 | @result{} #<marker at 10779 in objects.texi> |
| 1388 | @end group |
| 1389 | @end example |
| 1390 | |
| 1391 | @xref{Markers}, for information on how to test, create, copy, and move |
| 1392 | markers. |
| 1393 | |
| 1394 | @node Window Type |
| 1395 | @subsection Window Type |
| 1396 | |
| 1397 | A @dfn{window} describes the portion of the terminal screen that Emacs |
| 1398 | uses to display a buffer. Every window has one associated buffer, whose |
| 1399 | contents appear in the window. By contrast, a given buffer may appear |
| 1400 | in one window, no window, or several windows. |
| 1401 | |
| 1402 | Though many windows may exist simultaneously, at any time one window |
| 1403 | is designated the @dfn{selected window}. This is the window where the |
| 1404 | cursor is (usually) displayed when Emacs is ready for a command. The |
| 1405 | selected window usually displays the current buffer, but this is not |
| 1406 | necessarily the case. |
| 1407 | |
| 1408 | Windows are grouped on the screen into frames; each window belongs to |
| 1409 | one and only one frame. @xref{Frame Type}. |
| 1410 | |
| 1411 | Windows have no read syntax. They print in hash notation, giving the |
| 1412 | window number and the name of the buffer being displayed. The window |
| 1413 | numbers exist to identify windows uniquely, since the buffer displayed |
| 1414 | in any given window can change frequently. |
| 1415 | |
| 1416 | @example |
| 1417 | @group |
| 1418 | (selected-window) |
| 1419 | @result{} #<window 1 on objects.texi> |
| 1420 | @end group |
| 1421 | @end example |
| 1422 | |
| 1423 | @xref{Windows}, for a description of the functions that work on windows. |
| 1424 | |
| 1425 | @node Frame Type |
| 1426 | @subsection Frame Type |
| 1427 | |
| 1428 | A @dfn{frame} is a rectangle on the screen that contains one or more |
| 1429 | Emacs windows. A frame initially contains a single main window (plus |
| 1430 | perhaps a minibuffer window) which you can subdivide vertically or |
| 1431 | horizontally into smaller windows. |
| 1432 | |
| 1433 | Frames have no read syntax. They print in hash notation, giving the |
| 1434 | frame's title, plus its address in core (useful to identify the frame |
| 1435 | uniquely). |
| 1436 | |
| 1437 | @example |
| 1438 | @group |
| 1439 | (selected-frame) |
| 1440 | @result{} #<frame emacs@@psilocin.gnu.org 0xdac80> |
| 1441 | @end group |
| 1442 | @end example |
| 1443 | |
| 1444 | @xref{Frames}, for a description of the functions that work on frames. |
| 1445 | |
| 1446 | @node Window Configuration Type |
| 1447 | @subsection Window Configuration Type |
| 1448 | @cindex screen layout |
| 1449 | |
| 1450 | A @dfn{window configuration} stores information about the positions, |
| 1451 | sizes, and contents of the windows in a frame, so you can recreate the |
| 1452 | same arrangement of windows later. |
| 1453 | |
| 1454 | Window configurations do not have a read syntax; their print syntax |
| 1455 | looks like @samp{#<window-configuration>}. @xref{Window |
| 1456 | Configurations}, for a description of several functions related to |
| 1457 | window configurations. |
| 1458 | |
| 1459 | @node Frame Configuration Type |
| 1460 | @subsection Frame Configuration Type |
| 1461 | @cindex screen layout |
| 1462 | |
| 1463 | A @dfn{frame configuration} stores information about the positions, |
| 1464 | sizes, and contents of the windows in all frames. It is actually |
| 1465 | a list whose @sc{car} is @code{frame-configuration} and whose |
| 1466 | @sc{cdr} is an alist. Each alist element describes one frame, |
| 1467 | which appears as the @sc{car} of that element. |
| 1468 | |
| 1469 | @xref{Frame Configurations}, for a description of several functions |
| 1470 | related to frame configurations. |
| 1471 | |
| 1472 | @node Process Type |
| 1473 | @subsection Process Type |
| 1474 | |
| 1475 | The word @dfn{process} usually means a running program. Emacs itself |
| 1476 | runs in a process of this sort. However, in Emacs Lisp, a process is a |
| 1477 | Lisp object that designates a subprocess created by the Emacs process. |
| 1478 | Programs such as shells, GDB, ftp, and compilers, running in |
| 1479 | subprocesses of Emacs, extend the capabilities of Emacs. |
| 1480 | |
| 1481 | An Emacs subprocess takes textual input from Emacs and returns textual |
| 1482 | output to Emacs for further manipulation. Emacs can also send signals |
| 1483 | to the subprocess. |
| 1484 | |
| 1485 | Process objects have no read syntax. They print in hash notation, |
| 1486 | giving the name of the process: |
| 1487 | |
| 1488 | @example |
| 1489 | @group |
| 1490 | (process-list) |
| 1491 | @result{} (#<process shell>) |
| 1492 | @end group |
| 1493 | @end example |
| 1494 | |
| 1495 | @xref{Processes}, for information about functions that create, delete, |
| 1496 | return information about, send input or signals to, and receive output |
| 1497 | from processes. |
| 1498 | |
| 1499 | @node Stream Type |
| 1500 | @subsection Stream Type |
| 1501 | |
| 1502 | A @dfn{stream} is an object that can be used as a source or sink for |
| 1503 | characters---either to supply characters for input or to accept them as |
| 1504 | output. Many different types can be used this way: markers, buffers, |
| 1505 | strings, and functions. Most often, input streams (character sources) |
| 1506 | obtain characters from the keyboard, a buffer, or a file, and output |
| 1507 | streams (character sinks) send characters to a buffer, such as a |
| 1508 | @file{*Help*} buffer, or to the echo area. |
| 1509 | |
| 1510 | The object @code{nil}, in addition to its other meanings, may be used |
| 1511 | as a stream. It stands for the value of the variable |
| 1512 | @code{standard-input} or @code{standard-output}. Also, the object |
| 1513 | @code{t} as a stream specifies input using the minibuffer |
| 1514 | (@pxref{Minibuffers}) or output in the echo area (@pxref{The Echo |
| 1515 | Area}). |
| 1516 | |
| 1517 | Streams have no special printed representation or read syntax, and |
| 1518 | print as whatever primitive type they are. |
| 1519 | |
| 1520 | @xref{Read and Print}, for a description of functions |
| 1521 | related to streams, including parsing and printing functions. |
| 1522 | |
| 1523 | @node Keymap Type |
| 1524 | @subsection Keymap Type |
| 1525 | |
| 1526 | A @dfn{keymap} maps keys typed by the user to commands. This mapping |
| 1527 | controls how the user's command input is executed. A keymap is actually |
| 1528 | a list whose @sc{car} is the symbol @code{keymap}. |
| 1529 | |
| 1530 | @xref{Keymaps}, for information about creating keymaps, handling prefix |
| 1531 | keys, local as well as global keymaps, and changing key bindings. |
| 1532 | |
| 1533 | @node Overlay Type |
| 1534 | @subsection Overlay Type |
| 1535 | |
| 1536 | An @dfn{overlay} specifies properties that apply to a part of a |
| 1537 | buffer. Each overlay applies to a specified range of the buffer, and |
| 1538 | contains a property list (a list whose elements are alternating property |
| 1539 | names and values). Overlay properties are used to present parts of the |
| 1540 | buffer temporarily in a different display style. Overlays have no read |
| 1541 | syntax, and print in hash notation, giving the buffer name and range of |
| 1542 | positions. |
| 1543 | |
| 1544 | @xref{Overlays}, for how to create and use overlays. |
| 1545 | |
| 1546 | @node Circular Objects |
| 1547 | @section Read Syntax for Circular Objects |
| 1548 | @cindex circular structure, read syntax |
| 1549 | @cindex shared structure, read syntax |
| 1550 | @cindex @samp{#@var{n}=} read syntax |
| 1551 | @cindex @samp{#@var{n}#} read syntax |
| 1552 | |
| 1553 | To represent shared or circular structures within a complex of Lisp |
| 1554 | objects, you can use the reader constructs @samp{#@var{n}=} and |
| 1555 | @samp{#@var{n}#}. |
| 1556 | |
| 1557 | Use @code{#@var{n}=} before an object to label it for later reference; |
| 1558 | subsequently, you can use @code{#@var{n}#} to refer the same object in |
| 1559 | another place. Here, @var{n} is some integer. For example, here is how |
| 1560 | to make a list in which the first element recurs as the third element: |
| 1561 | |
| 1562 | @example |
| 1563 | (#1=(a) b #1#) |
| 1564 | @end example |
| 1565 | |
| 1566 | @noindent |
| 1567 | This differs from ordinary syntax such as this |
| 1568 | |
| 1569 | @example |
| 1570 | ((a) b (a)) |
| 1571 | @end example |
| 1572 | |
| 1573 | @noindent |
| 1574 | which would result in a list whose first and third elements |
| 1575 | look alike but are not the same Lisp object. This shows the difference: |
| 1576 | |
| 1577 | @example |
| 1578 | (prog1 nil |
| 1579 | (setq x '(#1=(a) b #1#))) |
| 1580 | (eq (nth 0 x) (nth 2 x)) |
| 1581 | @result{} t |
| 1582 | (setq x '((a) b (a))) |
| 1583 | (eq (nth 0 x) (nth 2 x)) |
| 1584 | @result{} nil |
| 1585 | @end example |
| 1586 | |
| 1587 | You can also use the same syntax to make a circular structure, which |
| 1588 | appears as an ``element'' within itself. Here is an example: |
| 1589 | |
| 1590 | @example |
| 1591 | #1=(a #1#) |
| 1592 | @end example |
| 1593 | |
| 1594 | @noindent |
| 1595 | This makes a list whose second element is the list itself. |
| 1596 | Here's how you can see that it really works: |
| 1597 | |
| 1598 | @example |
| 1599 | (prog1 nil |
| 1600 | (setq x '#1=(a #1#))) |
| 1601 | (eq x (cadr x)) |
| 1602 | @result{} t |
| 1603 | @end example |
| 1604 | |
| 1605 | The Lisp printer can produce this syntax to record circular and shared |
| 1606 | structure in a Lisp object, if you bind the variable @code{print-circle} |
| 1607 | to a non-@code{nil} value. @xref{Output Variables}. |
| 1608 | |
| 1609 | @node Type Predicates |
| 1610 | @section Type Predicates |
| 1611 | @cindex type checking |
| 1612 | @kindex wrong-type-argument |
| 1613 | |
| 1614 | The Emacs Lisp interpreter itself does not perform type checking on |
| 1615 | the actual arguments passed to functions when they are called. It could |
| 1616 | not do so, since function arguments in Lisp do not have declared data |
| 1617 | types, as they do in other programming languages. It is therefore up to |
| 1618 | the individual function to test whether each actual argument belongs to |
| 1619 | a type that the function can use. |
| 1620 | |
| 1621 | All built-in functions do check the types of their actual arguments |
| 1622 | when appropriate, and signal a @code{wrong-type-argument} error if an |
| 1623 | argument is of the wrong type. For example, here is what happens if you |
| 1624 | pass an argument to @code{+} that it cannot handle: |
| 1625 | |
| 1626 | @example |
| 1627 | @group |
| 1628 | (+ 2 'a) |
| 1629 | @error{} Wrong type argument: number-or-marker-p, a |
| 1630 | @end group |
| 1631 | @end example |
| 1632 | |
| 1633 | @cindex type predicates |
| 1634 | @cindex testing types |
| 1635 | If you want your program to handle different types differently, you |
| 1636 | must do explicit type checking. The most common way to check the type |
| 1637 | of an object is to call a @dfn{type predicate} function. Emacs has a |
| 1638 | type predicate for each type, as well as some predicates for |
| 1639 | combinations of types. |
| 1640 | |
| 1641 | A type predicate function takes one argument; it returns @code{t} if |
| 1642 | the argument belongs to the appropriate type, and @code{nil} otherwise. |
| 1643 | Following a general Lisp convention for predicate functions, most type |
| 1644 | predicates' names end with @samp{p}. |
| 1645 | |
| 1646 | Here is an example which uses the predicates @code{listp} to check for |
| 1647 | a list and @code{symbolp} to check for a symbol. |
| 1648 | |
| 1649 | @example |
| 1650 | (defun add-on (x) |
| 1651 | (cond ((symbolp x) |
| 1652 | ;; If X is a symbol, put it on LIST. |
| 1653 | (setq list (cons x list))) |
| 1654 | ((listp x) |
| 1655 | ;; If X is a list, add its elements to LIST. |
| 1656 | (setq list (append x list))) |
| 1657 | (t |
| 1658 | ;; We handle only symbols and lists. |
| 1659 | (error "Invalid argument %s in add-on" x)))) |
| 1660 | @end example |
| 1661 | |
| 1662 | Here is a table of predefined type predicates, in alphabetical order, |
| 1663 | with references to further information. |
| 1664 | |
| 1665 | @table @code |
| 1666 | @item atom |
| 1667 | @xref{List-related Predicates, atom}. |
| 1668 | |
| 1669 | @item arrayp |
| 1670 | @xref{Array Functions, arrayp}. |
| 1671 | |
| 1672 | @item bool-vector-p |
| 1673 | @xref{Bool-Vectors, bool-vector-p}. |
| 1674 | |
| 1675 | @item bufferp |
| 1676 | @xref{Buffer Basics, bufferp}. |
| 1677 | |
| 1678 | @item byte-code-function-p |
| 1679 | @xref{Byte-Code Type, byte-code-function-p}. |
| 1680 | |
| 1681 | @item case-table-p |
| 1682 | @xref{Case Tables, case-table-p}. |
| 1683 | |
| 1684 | @item char-or-string-p |
| 1685 | @xref{Predicates for Strings, char-or-string-p}. |
| 1686 | |
| 1687 | @item char-table-p |
| 1688 | @xref{Char-Tables, char-table-p}. |
| 1689 | |
| 1690 | @item commandp |
| 1691 | @xref{Interactive Call, commandp}. |
| 1692 | |
| 1693 | @item consp |
| 1694 | @xref{List-related Predicates, consp}. |
| 1695 | |
| 1696 | @item display-table-p |
| 1697 | @xref{Display Tables, display-table-p}. |
| 1698 | |
| 1699 | @item floatp |
| 1700 | @xref{Predicates on Numbers, floatp}. |
| 1701 | |
| 1702 | @item frame-configuration-p |
| 1703 | @xref{Frame Configurations, frame-configuration-p}. |
| 1704 | |
| 1705 | @item frame-live-p |
| 1706 | @xref{Deleting Frames, frame-live-p}. |
| 1707 | |
| 1708 | @item framep |
| 1709 | @xref{Frames, framep}. |
| 1710 | |
| 1711 | @item functionp |
| 1712 | @xref{Functions, functionp}. |
| 1713 | |
| 1714 | @item hash-table-p |
| 1715 | @xref{Other Hash, hash-table-p}. |
| 1716 | |
| 1717 | @item integer-or-marker-p |
| 1718 | @xref{Predicates on Markers, integer-or-marker-p}. |
| 1719 | |
| 1720 | @item integerp |
| 1721 | @xref{Predicates on Numbers, integerp}. |
| 1722 | |
| 1723 | @item keymapp |
| 1724 | @xref{Creating Keymaps, keymapp}. |
| 1725 | |
| 1726 | @item keywordp |
| 1727 | @xref{Constant Variables}. |
| 1728 | |
| 1729 | @item listp |
| 1730 | @xref{List-related Predicates, listp}. |
| 1731 | |
| 1732 | @item markerp |
| 1733 | @xref{Predicates on Markers, markerp}. |
| 1734 | |
| 1735 | @item wholenump |
| 1736 | @xref{Predicates on Numbers, wholenump}. |
| 1737 | |
| 1738 | @item nlistp |
| 1739 | @xref{List-related Predicates, nlistp}. |
| 1740 | |
| 1741 | @item numberp |
| 1742 | @xref{Predicates on Numbers, numberp}. |
| 1743 | |
| 1744 | @item number-or-marker-p |
| 1745 | @xref{Predicates on Markers, number-or-marker-p}. |
| 1746 | |
| 1747 | @item overlayp |
| 1748 | @xref{Overlays, overlayp}. |
| 1749 | |
| 1750 | @item processp |
| 1751 | @xref{Processes, processp}. |
| 1752 | |
| 1753 | @item sequencep |
| 1754 | @xref{Sequence Functions, sequencep}. |
| 1755 | |
| 1756 | @item stringp |
| 1757 | @xref{Predicates for Strings, stringp}. |
| 1758 | |
| 1759 | @item subrp |
| 1760 | @xref{Function Cells, subrp}. |
| 1761 | |
| 1762 | @item symbolp |
| 1763 | @xref{Symbols, symbolp}. |
| 1764 | |
| 1765 | @item syntax-table-p |
| 1766 | @xref{Syntax Tables, syntax-table-p}. |
| 1767 | |
| 1768 | @item user-variable-p |
| 1769 | @xref{Defining Variables, user-variable-p}. |
| 1770 | |
| 1771 | @item vectorp |
| 1772 | @xref{Vectors, vectorp}. |
| 1773 | |
| 1774 | @item window-configuration-p |
| 1775 | @xref{Window Configurations, window-configuration-p}. |
| 1776 | |
| 1777 | @item window-live-p |
| 1778 | @xref{Deleting Windows, window-live-p}. |
| 1779 | |
| 1780 | @item windowp |
| 1781 | @xref{Basic Windows, windowp}. |
| 1782 | |
| 1783 | @item booleanp |
| 1784 | @xref{nil and t, booleanp} |
| 1785 | |
| 1786 | @item string-or-null-p |
| 1787 | @xref{Predicates for Strings, string-or-null-p} |
| 1788 | @end table |
| 1789 | |
| 1790 | The most general way to check the type of an object is to call the |
| 1791 | function @code{type-of}. Recall that each object belongs to one and |
| 1792 | only one primitive type; @code{type-of} tells you which one (@pxref{Lisp |
| 1793 | Data Types}). But @code{type-of} knows nothing about non-primitive |
| 1794 | types. In most cases, it is more convenient to use type predicates than |
| 1795 | @code{type-of}. |
| 1796 | |
| 1797 | @defun type-of object |
| 1798 | This function returns a symbol naming the primitive type of |
| 1799 | @var{object}. The value is one of the symbols @code{symbol}, |
| 1800 | @code{integer}, @code{float}, @code{string}, @code{cons}, @code{vector}, |
| 1801 | @code{char-table}, @code{bool-vector}, @code{hash-table}, @code{subr}, |
| 1802 | @code{compiled-function}, @code{marker}, @code{overlay}, @code{window}, |
| 1803 | @code{buffer}, @code{frame}, @code{process}, or |
| 1804 | @code{window-configuration}. |
| 1805 | |
| 1806 | @example |
| 1807 | (type-of 1) |
| 1808 | @result{} integer |
| 1809 | (type-of 'nil) |
| 1810 | @result{} symbol |
| 1811 | (type-of '()) ; @r{@code{()} is @code{nil}.} |
| 1812 | @result{} symbol |
| 1813 | (type-of '(x)) |
| 1814 | @result{} cons |
| 1815 | @end example |
| 1816 | @end defun |
| 1817 | |
| 1818 | @node Equality Predicates |
| 1819 | @section Equality Predicates |
| 1820 | @cindex equality |
| 1821 | |
| 1822 | Here we describe two functions that test for equality between any two |
| 1823 | objects. Other functions test equality between objects of specific |
| 1824 | types, e.g., strings. For these predicates, see the appropriate chapter |
| 1825 | describing the data type. |
| 1826 | |
| 1827 | @defun eq object1 object2 |
| 1828 | This function returns @code{t} if @var{object1} and @var{object2} are |
| 1829 | the same object, @code{nil} otherwise. |
| 1830 | |
| 1831 | @code{eq} returns @code{t} if @var{object1} and @var{object2} are |
| 1832 | integers with the same value. Also, since symbol names are normally |
| 1833 | unique, if the arguments are symbols with the same name, they are |
| 1834 | @code{eq}. For other types (e.g., lists, vectors, strings), two |
| 1835 | arguments with the same contents or elements are not necessarily |
| 1836 | @code{eq} to each other: they are @code{eq} only if they are the same |
| 1837 | object, meaning that a change in the contents of one will be reflected |
| 1838 | by the same change in the contents of the other. |
| 1839 | |
| 1840 | @example |
| 1841 | @group |
| 1842 | (eq 'foo 'foo) |
| 1843 | @result{} t |
| 1844 | @end group |
| 1845 | |
| 1846 | @group |
| 1847 | (eq 456 456) |
| 1848 | @result{} t |
| 1849 | @end group |
| 1850 | |
| 1851 | @group |
| 1852 | (eq "asdf" "asdf") |
| 1853 | @result{} nil |
| 1854 | @end group |
| 1855 | |
| 1856 | @group |
| 1857 | (eq '(1 (2 (3))) '(1 (2 (3)))) |
| 1858 | @result{} nil |
| 1859 | @end group |
| 1860 | |
| 1861 | @group |
| 1862 | (setq foo '(1 (2 (3)))) |
| 1863 | @result{} (1 (2 (3))) |
| 1864 | (eq foo foo) |
| 1865 | @result{} t |
| 1866 | (eq foo '(1 (2 (3)))) |
| 1867 | @result{} nil |
| 1868 | @end group |
| 1869 | |
| 1870 | @group |
| 1871 | (eq [(1 2) 3] [(1 2) 3]) |
| 1872 | @result{} nil |
| 1873 | @end group |
| 1874 | |
| 1875 | @group |
| 1876 | (eq (point-marker) (point-marker)) |
| 1877 | @result{} nil |
| 1878 | @end group |
| 1879 | @end example |
| 1880 | |
| 1881 | The @code{make-symbol} function returns an uninterned symbol, distinct |
| 1882 | from the symbol that is used if you write the name in a Lisp expression. |
| 1883 | Distinct symbols with the same name are not @code{eq}. @xref{Creating |
| 1884 | Symbols}. |
| 1885 | |
| 1886 | @example |
| 1887 | @group |
| 1888 | (eq (make-symbol "foo") 'foo) |
| 1889 | @result{} nil |
| 1890 | @end group |
| 1891 | @end example |
| 1892 | @end defun |
| 1893 | |
| 1894 | @defun equal object1 object2 |
| 1895 | This function returns @code{t} if @var{object1} and @var{object2} have |
| 1896 | equal components, @code{nil} otherwise. Whereas @code{eq} tests if its |
| 1897 | arguments are the same object, @code{equal} looks inside nonidentical |
| 1898 | arguments to see if their elements or contents are the same. So, if two |
| 1899 | objects are @code{eq}, they are @code{equal}, but the converse is not |
| 1900 | always true. |
| 1901 | |
| 1902 | @example |
| 1903 | @group |
| 1904 | (equal 'foo 'foo) |
| 1905 | @result{} t |
| 1906 | @end group |
| 1907 | |
| 1908 | @group |
| 1909 | (equal 456 456) |
| 1910 | @result{} t |
| 1911 | @end group |
| 1912 | |
| 1913 | @group |
| 1914 | (equal "asdf" "asdf") |
| 1915 | @result{} t |
| 1916 | @end group |
| 1917 | @group |
| 1918 | (eq "asdf" "asdf") |
| 1919 | @result{} nil |
| 1920 | @end group |
| 1921 | |
| 1922 | @group |
| 1923 | (equal '(1 (2 (3))) '(1 (2 (3)))) |
| 1924 | @result{} t |
| 1925 | @end group |
| 1926 | @group |
| 1927 | (eq '(1 (2 (3))) '(1 (2 (3)))) |
| 1928 | @result{} nil |
| 1929 | @end group |
| 1930 | |
| 1931 | @group |
| 1932 | (equal [(1 2) 3] [(1 2) 3]) |
| 1933 | @result{} t |
| 1934 | @end group |
| 1935 | @group |
| 1936 | (eq [(1 2) 3] [(1 2) 3]) |
| 1937 | @result{} nil |
| 1938 | @end group |
| 1939 | |
| 1940 | @group |
| 1941 | (equal (point-marker) (point-marker)) |
| 1942 | @result{} t |
| 1943 | @end group |
| 1944 | |
| 1945 | @group |
| 1946 | (eq (point-marker) (point-marker)) |
| 1947 | @result{} nil |
| 1948 | @end group |
| 1949 | @end example |
| 1950 | |
| 1951 | @cindex equality of strings |
| 1952 | Comparison of strings is case-sensitive, but does not take account of |
| 1953 | text properties---it compares only the characters in the strings. For |
| 1954 | technical reasons, a unibyte string and a multibyte string are |
| 1955 | @code{equal} if and only if they contain the same sequence of |
| 1956 | character codes and all these codes are either in the range 0 through |
| 1957 | 127 (@acronym{ASCII}) or 160 through 255 (@code{eight-bit-graphic}). |
| 1958 | (@pxref{Text Representations}). |
| 1959 | |
| 1960 | @example |
| 1961 | @group |
| 1962 | (equal "asdf" "ASDF") |
| 1963 | @result{} nil |
| 1964 | @end group |
| 1965 | @end example |
| 1966 | |
| 1967 | However, two distinct buffers are never considered @code{equal}, even if |
| 1968 | their textual contents are the same. |
| 1969 | @end defun |
| 1970 | |
| 1971 | The test for equality is implemented recursively; for example, given |
| 1972 | two cons cells @var{x} and @var{y}, @code{(equal @var{x} @var{y})} |
| 1973 | returns @code{t} if and only if both the expressions below return |
| 1974 | @code{t}: |
| 1975 | |
| 1976 | @example |
| 1977 | (equal (car @var{x}) (car @var{y})) |
| 1978 | (equal (cdr @var{x}) (cdr @var{y})) |
| 1979 | @end example |
| 1980 | |
| 1981 | Because of this recursive method, circular lists may therefore cause |
| 1982 | infinite recursion (leading to an error). |
| 1983 | |
| 1984 | @ignore |
| 1985 | arch-tag: 9711a66e-4749-4265-9e8c-972d55b67096 |
| 1986 | @end ignore |