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1@c -*-texinfo-*-
2@c This is part of the GNU Guile Reference Manual.
6ea30487 3@c Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010
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4@c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
5@c See the file guile.texi for copying conditions.
6
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7@node Options and Config
8@section Configuration, Features and Runtime Options
9
10Why is my Guile different from your Guile? There are three kinds of
11possible variation:
12
13@itemize @bullet
14@item
15build differences --- different versions of the Guile source code,
16installation directories, configuration flags that control pieces of
17functionality being included or left out, etc.
18
19@item
20differences in dynamically loaded code --- behaviour and features
21provided by modules that can be dynamically loaded into a running Guile
22
23@item
24different runtime options --- some of the options that are provided for
25controlling Guile's behaviour may be set differently.
26@end itemize
27
28Guile provides ``introspective'' variables and procedures to query all
29of these possible variations at runtime. For runtime options, it also
30provides procedures to change the settings of options and to obtain
31documentation on what the options mean.
32
33@menu
34* Build Config:: Build and installation configuration.
35* Feature Tracking:: Available features in the Guile process.
36* Runtime Options:: Controlling Guile's runtime behaviour.
37@end menu
38
39
40@node Build Config
41@subsection Configuration, Build and Installation
42
43The following procedures and variables provide information about how
44Guile was configured, built and installed on your system.
45
46@deffn {Scheme Procedure} version
47@deffnx {Scheme Procedure} effective-version
48@deffnx {Scheme Procedure} major-version
49@deffnx {Scheme Procedure} minor-version
50@deffnx {Scheme Procedure} micro-version
51@deffnx {C Function} scm_version ()
52@deffnx {C Function} scm_effective_version ()
53@deffnx {C Function} scm_major_version ()
54@deffnx {C Function} scm_minor_version ()
55@deffnx {C Function} scm_micro_version ()
56Return a string describing Guile's full version number, effective
57version number, major, minor or micro version number, respectively.
58The @code{effective-version} function returns the version name that
59should remain unchanged during a stable series. Currently that means
60that it omits the micro version. The effective version should be used
61for items like the versioned share directory name
62i.e. @file{/usr/share/guile/1.6/}
63
64@lisp
65(version) @result{} "1.6.0"
66(effective-version) @result{} "1.6"
67(major-version) @result{} "1"
68(minor-version) @result{} "6"
69(micro-version) @result{} "0"
70@end lisp
71@end deffn
72
73@deffn {Scheme Procedure} %package-data-dir
74@deffnx {C Function} scm_sys_package_data_dir ()
75Return the name of the directory under which Guile Scheme files in
76general are stored. On Unix-like systems, this is usually
77@file{/usr/local/share/guile} or @file{/usr/share/guile}.
78@end deffn
79
80@deffn {Scheme Procedure} %library-dir
81@deffnx {C Function} scm_sys_library_dir ()
82Return the name of the directory where the Guile Scheme files that
83belong to the core Guile installation (as opposed to files from a 3rd
45867c2a 84party package) are installed. On Unix-like systems this is usually
07d83abe 85@file{/usr/local/share/guile/<GUILE_EFFECTIVE_VERSION>} or
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86@file{/usr/share/guile/<GUILE_EFFECTIVE_VERSION>};
87
88@noindent for example @file{/usr/local/share/guile/1.6}.
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89@end deffn
90
91@deffn {Scheme Procedure} %site-dir
92@deffnx {C Function} scm_sys_site_dir ()
93Return the name of the directory where Guile Scheme files specific to
94your site should be installed. On Unix-like systems, this is usually
95@file{/usr/local/share/guile/site} or @file{/usr/share/guile/site}.
96@end deffn
97
98@cindex GUILE_LOAD_PATH
99@defvar %load-path
100List of directories which should be searched for Scheme modules and
101libraries. @code{%load-path} is initialized when Guile starts up to
8370b00b 102@code{(list (%site-dir) (%library-dir) (%package-data-dir))},
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103prepended with the contents of the GUILE_LOAD_PATH environment variable,
104if it is set.
105@end defvar
106
107@deffn {Scheme Procedure} parse-path path [tail]
108@deffnx {C Function} scm_parse_path (path, tail)
109Parse @var{path}, which is expected to be a colon-separated
110string, into a list and return the resulting list with
111@var{tail} appended. If @var{path} is @code{#f}, @var{tail}
112is returned.
113@end deffn
114
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115@deffn {Scheme Procedure} search-path path filename [extensions [require-exts?]]
116@deffnx {C Function} scm_search_path (path, filename, rest)
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117Search @var{path} for a directory containing a file named
118@var{filename}. The file must be readable, and not a directory.
119If we find one, return its full filename; otherwise, return
120@code{#f}. If @var{filename} is absolute, return it unchanged.
121If given, @var{extensions} is a list of strings; for each
122directory in @var{path}, we search for @var{filename}
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123concatenated with each @var{extension}. If @var{require-exts?}
124is true, require that the returned file name have one of the
125given extensions; if @var{require-exts?} is not given, it
126defaults to @code{#f}.
127
128For compatibility with Guile 1.8 and earlier, the C function takes only
129three arguments
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130@end deffn
131
132@defvar %guile-build-info
133Alist of information collected during the building of a particular
134Guile. Entries can be grouped into one of several categories:
135directories, env vars, and versioning info.
136
137Briefly, here are the keys in @code{%guile-build-info}, by group:
138
139@cindex @code{srcdir}
140@cindex @code{top_srcdir}
141@cindex @code{prefix}
142@cindex @code{exec_prefix}
143@cindex @code{bindir}
144@cindex @code{sbindir}
145@cindex @code{libexecdir}
146@cindex @code{datadir}
147@cindex @code{sysconfdir}
148@cindex @code{sharedstatedir}
149@cindex @code{localstatedir}
150@cindex @code{libdir}
151@cindex @code{infodir}
152@cindex @code{mandir}
153@cindex @code{includedir}
154@cindex @code{pkgdatadir}
155@cindex @code{pkglibdir}
156@cindex @code{pkgincludedir}
157@table @asis
158@item directories
159srcdir, top_srcdir, prefix, exec_prefix, bindir, sbindir, libexecdir,
160datadir, sysconfdir, sharedstatedir, localstatedir, libdir, infodir,
161mandir, includedir, pkgdatadir, pkglibdir, pkgincludedir
162@cindex @code{LIBS}
163@item env vars
164LIBS
165@cindex @code{guileversion}
166@cindex @code{libguileinterface}
167@cindex @code{buildstamp}
168@item versioning info
169guileversion, libguileinterface, buildstamp
170@end table
171
172Values are all strings. The value for @code{LIBS} is typically found
173also as a part of "guile-config link" output. The value for
174@code{guileversion} has form X.Y.Z, and should be the same as returned
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175by @code{(version)}. The value for @code{libguileinterface} is
176libtool compatible and has form CURRENT:REVISION:AGE
177(@pxref{Versioning,, Library interface versions, libtool, GNU
178Libtool}). The value for @code{buildstamp} is the output of the
a6025413 179command @samp{date -u +'%Y-%m-%d %T'} (UTC).
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180
181In the source, @code{%guile-build-info} is initialized from
182libguile/libpath.h, which is completely generated, so deleting this file
183before a build guarantees up-to-date values for that build.
184@end defvar
185
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186@cindex GNU triplet
187@cindex canonical host type
188
189@defvar %host-type
190The canonical host type (GNU triplet) of the host Guile was configured
191for, e.g., @code{"x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu"} (@pxref{Canonicalizing,,,
192autoconf, The GNU Autoconf Manual}).
193@end defvar
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194
195@node Feature Tracking
196@subsection Feature Tracking
197
198Guile has a Scheme level variable @code{*features*} that keeps track to
199some extent of the features that are available in a running Guile.
200@code{*features*} is a list of symbols, for example @code{threads}, each
201of which describes a feature of the running Guile process.
202
203@defvar *features*
204A list of symbols describing available features of the Guile process.
205@end defvar
206
207You shouldn't modify the @code{*features*} variable directly using
208@code{set!}. Instead, see the procedures that are provided for this
209purpose in the following subsection.
210
211@menu
212* Feature Manipulation:: Checking for and advertising features.
213* Common Feature Symbols:: Commonly available features.
214@end menu
215
216
217@node Feature Manipulation
218@subsubsection Feature Manipulation
219
220To check whether a particular feature is available, use the
221@code{provided?} procedure:
222
223@deffn {Scheme Procedure} provided? feature
224@deffnx {Deprecated Scheme Procedure} feature? feature
225Return @code{#t} if the specified @var{feature} is available, otherwise
226@code{#f}.
227@end deffn
228
229To advertise a feature from your own Scheme code, you can use the
230@code{provide} procedure:
231
232@deffn {Scheme Procedure} provide feature
233Add @var{feature} to the list of available features in this Guile
234process.
235@end deffn
236
237For C code, the equivalent function takes its feature name as a
238@code{char *} argument for convenience:
239
240@deftypefn {C Function} void scm_add_feature (const char *str)
241Add a symbol with name @var{str} to the list of available features in
242this Guile process.
243@end deftypefn
244
245
246@node Common Feature Symbols
247@subsubsection Common Feature Symbols
248
249In general, a particular feature may be available for one of two
250reasons. Either because the Guile library was configured and compiled
251with that feature enabled --- i.e. the feature is built into the library
252on your system. Or because some C or Scheme code that was dynamically
253loaded by Guile has added that feature to the list.
254
255In the first category, here are the features that the current version of
256Guile may define (depending on how it is built), and what they mean.
257
258@table @code
259@item array
260Indicates support for arrays (@pxref{Arrays}).
261
262@item array-for-each
263Indicates availability of @code{array-for-each} and other array mapping
40499598 264procedures (@pxref{Arrays}).
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265
266@item char-ready?
267Indicates that the @code{char-ready?} function is available
268(@pxref{Reading}).
269
270@item complex
271Indicates support for complex numbers.
272
273@item current-time
274Indicates availability of time-related functions: @code{times},
275@code{get-internal-run-time} and so on (@pxref{Time}).
276
277@item debug-extensions
278Indicates that the debugging evaluator is available, together with the
279options for controlling it.
280
281@item delay
282Indicates support for promises (@pxref{Delayed Evaluation}).
283
284@item EIDs
285Indicates that the @code{geteuid} and @code{getegid} really return
286effective user and group IDs (@pxref{Processes}).
287
288@item inexact
289Indicates support for inexact numbers.
290
291@item i/o-extensions
292Indicates availability of the following extended I/O procedures:
293@code{ftell}, @code{redirect-port}, @code{dup->fdes}, @code{dup2},
294@code{fileno}, @code{isatty?}, @code{fdopen},
295@code{primitive-move->fdes} and @code{fdes->ports} (@pxref{Ports and
296File Descriptors}).
297
298@item net-db
299Indicates availability of network database functions:
300@code{scm_gethost}, @code{scm_getnet}, @code{scm_getproto},
301@code{scm_getserv}, @code{scm_sethost}, @code{scm_setnet}, @code{scm_setproto},
302@code{scm_setserv}, and their `byXXX' variants (@pxref{Network
303Databases}).
304
305@item posix
306Indicates support for POSIX functions: @code{pipe}, @code{getgroups},
307@code{kill}, @code{execl} and so on (@pxref{POSIX}).
308
309@item random
310Indicates availability of random number generation functions:
311@code{random}, @code{copy-random-state}, @code{random-uniform} and so on
312(@pxref{Random}).
313
314@item reckless
315Indicates that Guile was built with important checks omitted --- you
316should never see this!
317
318@item regex
319Indicates support for POSIX regular expressions using
320@code{make-regexp}, @code{regexp-exec} and friends (@pxref{Regexp
321Functions}).
322
323@item socket
324Indicates availability of socket-related functions: @code{socket},
325@code{bind}, @code{connect} and so on (@pxref{Network Sockets and
326Communication}).
327
328@item sort
329Indicates availability of sorting and merging functions
330(@pxref{Sorting}).
331
332@item system
333Indicates that the @code{system} function is available
334(@pxref{Processes}).
335
336@item threads
337Indicates support for multithreading (@pxref{Threads}).
338
339@item values
340Indicates support for multiple return values using @code{values} and
341@code{call-with-values} (@pxref{Multiple Values}).
342@end table
343
344Available features in the second category depend, by definition, on what
345additional code your Guile process has loaded in. The following table
346lists features that you might encounter for this reason.
347
348@table @code
349@item defmacro
350Indicates that the @code{defmacro} macro is available (@pxref{Macros}).
351
352@item describe
353Indicates that the @code{(oop goops describe)} module has been loaded,
354which provides a procedure for describing the contents of GOOPS
355instances.
356
357@item readline
358Indicates that Guile has loaded in Readline support, for command line
359editing (@pxref{Readline Support}).
360
361@item record
362Indicates support for record definition using @code{make-record-type}
363and friends (@pxref{Records}).
364@end table
365
366Although these tables may seem exhaustive, it is probably unwise in
367practice to rely on them, as the correspondences between feature symbols
368and available procedures/behaviour are not strictly defined. If you are
369writing code that needs to check for the existence of some procedure, it
370is probably safer to do so directly using the @code{defined?} procedure
371than to test for the corresponding feature using @code{provided?}.
372
373
374@node Runtime Options
375@subsection Runtime Options
376
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377There are a number of runtime options available for paramaterizing
378built-in procedures, like @code{read}, and built-in behavior, like what
379happens on an uncaught error.
07d83abe 380
1cfdb1bb 381For more information on reader options, @xref{Scheme Read}.
07d83abe 382
1cfdb1bb 383For more information on print options, @xref{Scheme Write}.
07d83abe 384
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385Finally, for more information on debugger options, @xref{Debug
386Options}.
07d83abe 387
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388@subsubsection Examples of option use
389
390Here is an example of a session in which some read and debug option
391handling procedures are used. In this example, the user
392
393@enumerate
394@item
395Notices that the symbols @code{abc} and @code{aBc} are not the same
396@item
397Examines the @code{read-options}, and sees that @code{case-insensitive}
398is set to ``no''.
399@item
400Enables @code{case-insensitive}
401@item
1cfdb1bb 402Quits the recursive prompt
07d83abe 403@item
1cfdb1bb 404Verifies that now @code{aBc} and @code{abc} are the same
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405@end enumerate
406
07d83abe 407@smalllisp
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408scheme@@(guile-user)> (define abc "hello")
409scheme@@(guile-user)> abc
410$1 = "hello"
411scheme@@(guile-user)> aBc
412<unknown-location>: warning: possibly unbound variable `aBc'
413ERROR: In procedure module-lookup:
07d83abe 414ERROR: Unbound variable: aBc
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415Entering a new prompt. Type `,bt' for a backtrace or `,q' to continue.
416scheme@@(guile-user) [1]> (read-options 'help)
417copy no Copy source code expressions.
418positions yes Record positions of source code expressions.
419case-insensitive no Convert symbols to lower case.
420keywords #f Style of keyword recognition: #f, 'prefix or 'postfix.
421r6rs-hex-escapes no Use R6RS variable-length character and string hex escapes.
422square-brackets yes Treat `[' and `]' as parentheses, for R6RS compatibility.
423scheme@@(guile-user) [1]> (read-enable 'case-insensitive)
424$2 = (square-brackets keywords #f case-insensitive positions)
425scheme@@(guile-user) [1]> ,q
426scheme@@(guile-user)> aBc
427$3 = "hello"
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428@end smalllisp
429
430
431@c Local Variables:
432@c TeX-master: "guile.texi"
433@c End: