* scheme-evaluation.texi (Comments): Document normal comments and

[bpt/guile.git] / doc / scheme-utility.texi

@page
@node Utility Functions
@chapter General Utility Functions

@c FIXME::martin: Review me!

This chapter contains information about procedures which are not cleanly
tied to a specific data type.  Because of their wide range of
applications, they are collected in a @dfn{utlity} chapter.

@menu
* Equality::                    When are two values `the same'?
* Property Lists::              Managing metainformation about Scheme objects.
* Primitive Properties::        A modern low-level interface to object properties.
* Sorting::                     Sort utility procedures.
* Copying::                     Copying deep structures.
* General Conversion::          Converting objects to strings.
@end menu


@node Equality
@section Equality

@c FIXME::martin: Review me!

@cindex sameness
@cindex equality

Three different kinds of @dfn{sameness} are defined in Scheme.

@itemize @bullet
@item
Two values can refer to exactly the same object.

@item
Two objects can have the same @dfn{value}.

@item
Two objects can be structurally equivalent.
@end itemize

The differentiation between these three kinds is important, because
determining whether two values are the same objects is very efficient,
while determining structural equivalence can be quite expensive
(consider comparing two very long lists).  Therefore, three different
procedures for testing for equality are provided, which correspond to
the three kinds of @dfn{sameness} defined above.

@rnindex eq?
@deffn primitive eq? x y
Return @code{#t} iff @var{x} references the same object as @var{y}.
@code{eq?} is similar to @code{eqv?} except that in some cases it is
capable of discerning distinctions finer than those detectable by
@code{eqv?}.
@end deffn

@rnindex eqv?
@deffn primitive eqv? x y
The @code{eqv?} procedure defines a useful equivalence relation on objects.
Briefly, it returns @code{#t} if @var{x} and @var{y} should normally be
regarded as the same object.  This relation is left slightly open to
interpretation, but works for comparing immediate integers, characters,
and inexact numbers.
@end deffn

@rnindex equal?
@deffn primitive equal? x y
Return @code{#t} iff @var{x} and @var{y} are recursively @code{eqv?} equivalent.
@code{equal?} recursively compares the contents of pairs,
vectors, and strings, applying @code{eqv?} on other objects such as
numbers and symbols.  A rule of thumb is that objects are generally
@code{equal?}  if they print the same.  @code{equal?} may fail to
terminate if its arguments are circular data structures.
@end deffn


@node Property Lists
@section Property Lists

Every object in the system can have a @dfn{property list} that may
be used for information about that object.  For example, a
function may have a property list that includes information about
the source file in which it is defined.

Property lists are implemented as assq lists (@pxref{Association Lists}).

Currently, property lists are implemented differently for procedures and
closures than for other kinds of objects.  Therefore, when manipulating
a property list associated with a procedure object, use the
@code{procedure} functions; otherwise, use the @code{object} functions.

@deffn primitive object-properties obj
@deffnx primitive procedure-properties obj
Return @var{obj}'s property list.
@end deffn

@deffn primitive set-object-properties! obj alist
@deffnx primitive set-procedure-properties! obj alist
Set @var{obj}'s property list to @var{alist}.
@end deffn

@deffn primitive object-property obj key
@deffnx primitive procedure-property obj key
Return the property of @var{obj} with name @var{key}.
@end deffn

@deffn primitive set-object-property! obj key value
@deffnx primitive set-procedure-property! obj key value
In @var{obj}'s property list, set the property named @var{key}
to @var{value}.
@end deffn

[Interface bug:  there should be a second level of interface in which
the user provides a "property table" that is possibly private.]


@node Primitive Properties
@section Primitive Properties

@deffn primitive primitive-make-property not_found_proc
Create a @dfn{property token} that can be used with
@code{primitive-property-ref} and @code{primitive-property-set!}.
See @code{primitive-property-ref} for the significance of
@var{not_found_proc}.
@end deffn

@deffn primitive primitive-property-ref prop obj
Return the property @var{prop} of @var{obj}.  When no value
has yet been associated with @var{prop} and @var{obj}, call
@var{not-found-proc} instead (see @code{primitive-make-property})
and use its return value.  That value is also associated with
@var{obj} via @code{primitive-property-set!}.  When
@var{not-found-proc} is @code{#f}, use @code{#f} as the
default value of @var{prop}.
@end deffn

@deffn primitive primitive-property-set! prop obj val
Associate @var{code} with @var{prop} and @var{obj}.
@end deffn

@deffn primitive primitive-property-del! prop obj
Remove any value associated with @var{prop} and @var{obj}.
@end deffn


@node Sorting
@section Sorting

@c FIXME::martin: Review me!

@cindex sorting
@cindex sorting lists
@cindex sorting vectors

Sorting is very important in computer programs.  Therefore, Guile comes
with several sorting procedures built--in.  As always, procedures with
names ending in @code{!} are side--effecting, that means that they may
modify their parameters in order to produce their results.

The first group of procedures can be used to merge two lists (which must
be already sorted on their own) and produce sorted lists containing
all elements of the input lists.

@deffn primitive merge alist blist less
Take two lists @var{alist} and @var{blist} such that
@code{(sorted? alist less?)} and @code{(sorted? blist less?)} and
returns a new list in which the elements of @var{alist} and
@var{blist} have been stably interleaved so that
@code{(sorted? (merge alist blist less?) less?)}.
@end deffn

@deffn primitive merge! alist blist less
Takes two lists @var{alist} and @var{blist} such that
@code{(sorted? alist less?)} and @code{(sorted? blist less?)} and
returns a new list in which the elements of @var{alist} and
@var{blist} have been stably interleaved so that
 @code{(sorted? (merge alist blist less?) less?)}.
This is the destructive variant of @code{merge}
Note:  this does _not_ accept vectors.
@end deffn

The following procedures can operate on sequences which are either
vectors or list.  According to the given arguments, they return sorted
vectors or lists, respectively.  The first of the following procedures
determines whether a sequence is already sorted, the other sort a given
sequence.  The variants with names starting with @code{stable-} are
special in that they maintain a special property of the input sequences:
If two or more elements are the same according to the comparison
predicate, they are left in the same order as they appeared in the
input.

@deffn primitive sorted? items less
Return @code{#t} iff @var{items} is a list or a vector such that
for all 1 <= i <= m, the predicate @var{less} returns true when
applied to all elements i - 1 and i
@end deffn

@deffn primitive sort items less
Sort the sequence @var{items}, which may be a list or a
vector.  @var{less} is used for comparing the sequence
elements.  This is not a stable sort.
@end deffn

@deffn primitive sort! items less
Sort the sequence @var{items}, which may be a list or a
vector.  @var{less} is used for comparing the sequence
elements.  The sorting is destructive, that means that the
input sequence is modified to produce the sorted result.
This is not a stable sort.
@end deffn

@deffn primitive stable-sort items less
Sort the sequence @var{items}, which may be a list or a
vector. @var{less} is used for comparing the sequence elements.
This is a stable sort.
@end deffn

@deffn primitive stable-sort! items less
Sort the sequence @var{items}, which may be a list or a
vector. @var{less} is used for comparing the sequence elements.
The sorting is destructive, that means that the input sequence
is modified to produce the sorted result.
This is a stable sort.
@end deffn

The procedures in the last group only accept lists or vectors as input,
as their names indicate.

@deffn primitive sort-list items less
Sort the list @var{items}, using @var{less} for comparing the
list elements. This is a stable sort.
@end deffn

@deffn primitive sort-list! items less
Sort the list @var{items}, using @var{less} for comparing the
list elements. The sorting is destructive, that means that the
input list is modified to produce the sorted result.
This is a stable sort.
@end deffn

@deffn primitive restricted-vector-sort! vec less startpos endpos
Sort the vector @var{vec}, using @var{less} for comparing
the vector elements.  @var{startpos} and @var{endpos} delimit
the range of the vector which gets sorted.  The return value
is not specified.
@end deffn


@node Copying
@section Copying Deep Structures

@c FIXME::martin: Review me!

The procedures for copying lists (@pxref{Lists}) only produce a flat
copy of the input list, and currently Guile does not even contain
procedures for copying vectors.  @code{copy-tree} can be used for these
application, as it does not only copy the spine of a list, but also
copies any pairs in the cars of the input lists.

@deffn primitive copy-tree obj
Recursively copy the data tree that is bound to @var{obj}, and return a
pointer to the new data structure.  @code{copy-tree} recurses down the
contents of both pairs and vectors (since both cons cells and vector
cells may point to arbitrary objects), and stops recursing when it hits
any other object.
@end deffn


@node General Conversion
@section General String Conversion

@c FIXME::martin: Review me!

When debugging Scheme programs, but also for providing a human--friendly
interface, a procedure for converting any Scheme object into string
format is very useful.  Conversion from/to strings can of course be done
with specialized procedures when the data type of the object to convert
is known, but with this procedure, it is often more comfortable.

@code{object->string} converts an object by using a print procedure for
writing to a string port, and then returning the resulting string.
Converting an object back from the string is only possible if the object
type has a read syntax and the read syntax is preserved by the printing
procedure.

@deffn primitive object->string obj [printer]
Return a Scheme string obtained by printing @var{obj}.
Printing function can be specified by the optional second
argument @var{printer} (default: @code{write}).
@end deffn


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