1 Guile NEWS --- history of user-visible changes.
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12 * New modules (see the manual for details)
14 ** The `(ice-9 i18n)' module provides internationalization support
16 * Changes to the distribution
18 ** Guile now uses Gnulib as a portability aid
20 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
21 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
23 ** A new 'memoize-symbol evaluator trap has been added. This trap can
24 be used for efficiently implementing a Scheme code coverage.
26 ** Duplicate bindings among used modules are resolved lazily.
27 This slightly improves program startup times.
29 ** New thread cancellation and thread cleanup API
30 See `cancel-thread', `set-thread-cleanup!', and `thread-cleanup'.
32 * Changes to the C interface
34 ** Functions for handling `scm_option' now no longer require an argument
35 indicating length of the `scm_t_option' array.
39 Changes in 1.8.5 (since 1.8.4)
41 * Infrastructure changes
43 ** Guile repository switched from CVS to Git
45 The new repository can be accessed using
46 "git-clone git://git.sv.gnu.org/guile.git", or can be browsed on-line at
47 http://git.sv.gnu.org/gitweb/?p=guile.git . See `README' for details.
49 * New features (see the manual for details)
51 ** New `postfix' read option, for SRFI-88 keyword syntax
52 ** Some I/O primitives have been inlined, which improves I/O performance
56 ** `scm_add_slot ()' no longer segfaults (fixes bug #22369)
57 ** Fixed `(ice-9 match)' for patterns like `((_ ...) ...)'
59 Previously, expressions like `(match '((foo) (bar)) (((_ ...) ...) #t))'
60 would trigger an unbound variable error for `match:andmap'.
62 ** `(oop goops describe)' now properly provides the `describe' feature
63 ** Fixed `args-fold' from `(srfi srfi-37)'
65 Previously, parsing short option names of argument-less options would
66 lead to a stack overflow.
68 ** Fixed type-checking for the second argument of `eval'
69 ** Fixed `struct-ref' and `struct-set!' on "light structs"
70 ** Honor struct field access rights in GOOPS
71 ** Changed the storage strategy of source properties, which fixes a deadlock
72 ** Allow compilation of Guile-using programs in C99 mode with GCC 4.3 and later
73 ** Fixed build issue for GNU/Linux on IA64
74 ** Fixed build issues on NetBSD 1.6
75 ** Fixed build issue on Solaris 2.10 x86_64
76 ** Fixed build issue with DEC/Compaq/HP's compiler
77 ** Fixed `scm_from_complex_double' build issue on FreeBSD
78 ** Fixed `alloca' build issue on FreeBSD 6
79 ** Make sure all tests honor `$TMPDIR'
81 * Changes to the distribution
85 We've started collecting Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), and will
86 distribute these (with answers!) in future Guile releases.
89 Changes in 1.8.4 (since 1.8.3)
93 ** CR (ASCII 0x0d) is (again) recognized as a token delimiter by the reader
94 ** Fixed a segmentation fault which occurred when displaying the
95 backtrace of a stack with a promise object (made by `delay') in it.
96 ** Make `accept' leave guile mode while blocking
97 ** `scm_c_read ()' and `scm_c_write ()' now type-check their port argument
98 ** Fixed a build problem on AIX (use of func_data identifier)
99 ** Fixed a segmentation fault which occurred when hashx-ref or hashx-set! was
100 called with an associator proc that returns neither a pair nor #f.
101 ** Secondary threads now always return a valid module for (current-module).
102 ** Avoid MacOS build problems caused by incorrect combination of "64"
103 system and library calls.
104 ** `guile-snarf' now honors `$TMPDIR'
105 ** `guile-config compile' now reports CPPFLAGS used at compile-time
106 ** Fixed build with Sun Studio (Solaris 9)
107 ** Fixed wrong-type-arg errors when creating zero length SRFI-4
108 uniform vectors on AIX.
109 ** Fixed a deadlock that occurs upon GC with multiple threads.
110 ** Fixed compile problem with GCC on Solaris and AIX (use of _Complex_I)
111 ** Fixed autotool-derived build problems on AIX 6.1.
112 ** Fixed NetBSD/alpha support
113 ** Fixed MacOS build problem caused by use of rl_get_keymap(_name)
115 * New modules (see the manual for details)
119 * Documentation fixes and improvements
121 ** Removed premature breakpoint documentation
123 The features described are not available in the series of 1.8.x
124 releases, so the documentation was misleading and has been removed.
126 ** More about Guile's default *random-state* variable
128 ** GOOPS: more about how to use `next-method'
130 * Changes to the distribution
132 ** Corrected a few files that referred incorrectly to the old GPL + special exception licence
134 In fact Guile since 1.8.0 has been licensed with the GNU Lesser
135 General Public License, and the few incorrect files have now been
136 fixed to agree with the rest of the Guile distribution.
138 ** Removed unnecessary extra copies of COPYING*
140 The distribution now contains a single COPYING.LESSER at its top level.
143 Changes in 1.8.3 (since 1.8.2)
145 * New modules (see the manual for details)
152 ** The `(ice-9 slib)' module now works as expected
153 ** Expressions like "(set! 'x #t)" no longer yield a crash
154 ** Warnings about duplicate bindings now go to stderr
155 ** A memory leak in `make-socket-address' was fixed
156 ** Alignment issues (e.g., on SPARC) in network routines were fixed
157 ** A threading issue that showed up at least on NetBSD was fixed
158 ** Build problems on Solaris and IRIX fixed
160 * Implementation improvements
162 ** The reader is now faster, which reduces startup time
163 ** Procedures returned by `record-accessor' and `record-modifier' are faster
167 Changes in 1.8.2 (since 1.8.1):
169 * New procedures (see the manual for details)
171 ** set-program-arguments
176 ** Fractions were not `equal?' if stored in unreduced form.
177 (A subtle problem, since printing a value reduced it, making it work.)
178 ** srfi-60 `copy-bit' failed on 64-bit systems
179 ** "guile --use-srfi" option at the REPL can replace core functions
180 (Programs run with that option were ok, but in the interactive REPL
181 the core bindings got priority, preventing SRFI replacements or
183 ** `regexp-exec' doesn't abort() on #\nul in the input or bad flags arg
184 ** `kill' on mingw throws an error for a PID other than oneself
185 ** Procedure names are attached to procedure-with-setters
186 ** Array read syntax works with negative lower bound
187 ** `array-in-bounds?' fix if an array has different lower bounds on each index
188 ** `*' returns exact 0 for "(* inexact 0)"
189 This follows what it always did for "(* 0 inexact)".
190 ** SRFI-19: Value returned by `(current-time time-process)' was incorrect
191 ** SRFI-19: `date->julian-day' did not account for timezone offset
192 ** `ttyname' no longer crashes when passed a non-tty argument
193 ** `inet-ntop' no longer crashes on SPARC when passed an `AF_INET' address
194 ** Small memory leaks have been fixed in `make-fluid' and `add-history'
195 ** GOOPS: Fixed a bug in `method-more-specific?'
196 ** Build problems on Solaris fixed
197 ** Build problems on HP-UX IA64 fixed
198 ** Build problems on MinGW fixed
201 Changes in 1.8.1 (since 1.8.0):
203 * LFS functions are now used to access 64-bit files on 32-bit systems.
205 * New procedures (see the manual for details)
207 ** primitive-_exit - [Scheme] the-root-module
208 ** scm_primitive__exit - [C]
209 ** make-completion-function - [Scheme] (ice-9 readline)
210 ** scm_c_locale_stringn_to_number - [C]
211 ** scm_srfi1_append_reverse [C]
212 ** scm_srfi1_append_reverse_x [C]
218 * New `(ice-9 i18n)' module (see the manual for details)
222 ** Build problems have been fixed on MacOS, SunOS, and QNX.
224 ** `strftime' fix sign of %z timezone offset.
226 ** A one-dimensional array can now be 'equal?' to a vector.
228 ** Structures, records, and SRFI-9 records can now be compared with `equal?'.
230 ** SRFI-14 standard char sets are recomputed upon a successful `setlocale'.
232 ** `record-accessor' and `record-modifier' now have strict type checks.
234 Record accessor and modifier procedures now throw an error if the
235 record type of the record they're given is not the type expected.
236 (Previously accessors returned #f and modifiers silently did nothing).
238 ** It is now OK to use both autoload and use-modules on a given module.
240 ** `apply' checks the number of arguments more carefully on "0 or 1" funcs.
242 Previously there was no checking on primatives like make-vector that
243 accept "one or two" arguments. Now there is.
245 ** The srfi-1 assoc function now calls its equality predicate properly.
247 Previously srfi-1 assoc would call the equality predicate with the key
248 last. According to the SRFI, the key should be first.
250 ** A bug in n-par-for-each and n-for-each-par-map has been fixed.
252 ** The array-set! procedure no longer segfaults when given a bit vector.
254 ** Bugs in make-shared-array have been fixed.
256 ** string<? and friends now follow char<? etc order on 8-bit chars.
258 ** The format procedure now handles inf and nan values for ~f correctly.
260 ** exact->inexact should no longer overflow when given certain large fractions.
262 ** srfi-9 accessor and modifier procedures now have strict record type checks.
264 This matches the srfi-9 specification.
266 ** (ice-9 ftw) procedures won't ignore different files with same inode number.
268 Previously the (ice-9 ftw) procedures would ignore any file that had
269 the same inode number as a file they had already seen, even if that
270 file was on a different device.
273 Changes in 1.8.0 (changes since the 1.6.x series):
275 * Changes to the distribution
277 ** Guile is now licensed with the GNU Lesser General Public License.
279 ** The manual is now licensed with the GNU Free Documentation License.
281 ** Guile now requires GNU MP (http://swox.com/gmp).
283 Guile now uses the GNU MP library for arbitrary precision arithmetic.
285 ** Guile now has separate private and public configuration headers.
287 That is, things like HAVE_STRING_H no longer leak from Guile's
290 ** Guile now provides and uses an "effective" version number.
292 Guile now provides scm_effective_version and effective-version
293 functions which return the "effective" version number. This is just
294 the normal full version string without the final micro-version number,
295 so the current effective-version is "1.8". The effective version
296 should remain unchanged during a stable series, and should be used for
297 items like the versioned share directory name
298 i.e. /usr/share/guile/1.8.
300 Providing an unchanging version number during a stable release for
301 things like the versioned share directory can be particularly
302 important for Guile "add-on" packages, since it provides a directory
303 that they can install to that won't be changed out from under them
304 with each micro release during a stable series.
306 ** Thread implementation has changed.
308 When you configure "--with-threads=null", you will get the usual
309 threading API (call-with-new-thread, make-mutex, etc), but you can't
310 actually create new threads. Also, "--with-threads=no" is now
311 equivalent to "--with-threads=null". This means that the thread API
312 is always present, although you might not be able to create new
315 When you configure "--with-threads=pthreads" or "--with-threads=yes",
316 you will get threads that are implemented with the portable POSIX
317 threads. These threads can run concurrently (unlike the previous
318 "coop" thread implementation), but need to cooperate for things like
321 The default is "pthreads", unless your platform doesn't have pthreads,
322 in which case "null" threads are used.
324 See the manual for details, nodes "Initialization", "Multi-Threading",
325 "Blocking", and others.
327 ** There is the new notion of 'discouraged' features.
329 This is a milder form of deprecation.
331 Things that are discouraged should not be used in new code, but it is
332 OK to leave them in old code for now. When a discouraged feature is
333 used, no warning message is printed like there is for 'deprecated'
334 features. Also, things that are merely discouraged are nevertheless
335 implemented efficiently, while deprecated features can be very slow.
337 You can omit discouraged features from libguile by configuring it with
338 the '--disable-discouraged' option.
340 ** Deprecation warnings can be controlled at run-time.
342 (debug-enable 'warn-deprecated) switches them on and (debug-disable
343 'warn-deprecated) switches them off.
345 ** Support for SRFI 61, extended cond syntax for multiple values has
348 This SRFI is always available.
350 ** Support for require-extension, SRFI-55, has been added.
352 The SRFI-55 special form `require-extension' has been added. It is
353 available at startup, and provides a portable way to load Scheme
354 extensions. SRFI-55 only requires support for one type of extension,
355 "srfi"; so a set of SRFIs may be loaded via (require-extension (srfi 1
358 ** New module (srfi srfi-26) provides support for `cut' and `cute'.
360 The (srfi srfi-26) module is an implementation of SRFI-26 which
361 provides the `cut' and `cute' syntax. These may be used to specialize
362 parameters without currying.
364 ** New module (srfi srfi-31)
366 This is an implementation of SRFI-31 which provides a special form
367 `rec' for recursive evaluation.
369 ** The modules (srfi srfi-13), (srfi srfi-14) and (srfi srfi-4) have
370 been merged with the core, making their functionality always
373 The modules are still available, tho, and you could use them together
374 with a renaming import, for example.
376 ** Guile no longer includes its own version of libltdl.
378 The official version is good enough now.
380 ** The --enable-htmldoc option has been removed from 'configure'.
382 Support for translating the documentation into HTML is now always
383 provided. Use 'make html'.
385 ** New module (ice-9 serialize):
387 (serialize FORM1 ...) and (parallelize FORM1 ...) are useful when you
388 don't trust the thread safety of most of your program, but where you
389 have some section(s) of code which you consider can run in parallel to
390 other sections. See ice-9/serialize.scm for more information.
392 ** The configure option '--disable-arrays' has been removed.
394 Support for arrays and uniform numeric arrays is now always included
397 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
399 ** New command line option `-L'.
401 This option adds a directory to the front of the load path.
403 ** New command line option `--no-debug'.
405 Specifying `--no-debug' on the command line will keep the debugging
406 evaluator turned off, even for interactive sessions.
408 ** User-init file ~/.guile is now loaded with the debugging evaluator.
410 Previously, the normal evaluator would have been used. Using the
411 debugging evaluator gives better error messages.
413 ** The '-e' option now 'read's its argument.
415 This is to allow the new '(@ MODULE-NAME VARIABLE-NAME)' construct to
416 be used with '-e'. For example, you can now write a script like
419 exec guile -e '(@ (demo) main)' -s "$0" "$@"
422 (define-module (demo)
426 (format #t "Demo: ~a~%" args))
429 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
431 ** Guardians have changed back to their original semantics
433 Guardians now behave like described in the paper by Dybvig et al. In
434 particular, they no longer make guarantees about the order in which
435 they return objects, and they can no longer be greedy.
437 They no longer drop cyclic data structures.
439 The C function scm_make_guardian has been changed incompatibly and no
440 longer takes the 'greedy_p' argument.
442 ** New function hashx-remove!
444 This function completes the set of 'hashx' functions.
446 ** The concept of dynamic roots has been factored into continuation
447 barriers and dynamic states.
449 Each thread has a current dynamic state that carries the values of the
450 fluids. You can create and copy dynamic states and use them as the
451 second argument for 'eval'. See "Fluids and Dynamic States" in the
454 To restrict the influence that captured continuations can have on the
455 control flow, you can errect continuation barriers. See "Continuation
456 Barriers" in the manual.
458 The function call-with-dynamic-root now essentially temporarily
459 installs a new dynamic state and errects a continuation barrier.
461 ** The default load path no longer includes "." at the end.
463 Automatically loading modules from the current directory should not
464 happen by default. If you want to allow it in a more controlled
465 manner, set the environment variable GUILE_LOAD_PATH or the Scheme
468 ** The uniform vector and array support has been overhauled.
470 It now complies with SRFI-4 and the weird prototype based uniform
471 array creation has been deprecated. See the manual for more details.
473 Some non-compatible changes have been made:
474 - characters can no longer be stored into byte arrays.
475 - strings and bit vectors are no longer considered to be uniform numeric
477 - array-rank throws an error for non-arrays instead of returning zero.
478 - array-ref does no longer accept non-arrays when no indices are given.
480 There is the new notion of 'generalized vectors' and corresponding
481 procedures like 'generalized-vector-ref'. Generalized vectors include
482 strings, bitvectors, ordinary vectors, and uniform numeric vectors.
484 Arrays use generalized vectors as their storage, so that you still
485 have arrays of characters, bits, etc. However, uniform-array-read!
486 and uniform-array-write can no longer read/write strings and
489 ** There is now support for copy-on-write substrings, mutation-sharing
490 substrings and read-only strings.
492 Three new procedures are related to this: substring/shared,
493 substring/copy, and substring/read-only. See the manual for more
496 ** Backtraces will now highlight the value that caused the error.
498 By default, these values are enclosed in "{...}", such as in this
507 <unnamed port>:1:1: In procedure car in expression (car (quote a)):
508 <unnamed port>:1:1: Wrong type (expecting pair): a
509 ABORT: (wrong-type-arg)
511 The prefix and suffix used for highlighting can be set via the two new
512 printer options 'highlight-prefix' and 'highlight-suffix'. For
513 example, putting this into ~/.guile will output the bad value in bold
516 (print-set! highlight-prefix "\x1b[1m")
517 (print-set! highlight-suffix "\x1b[22m")
520 ** 'gettext' support for internationalization has been added.
522 See the manual for details.
524 ** New syntax '@' and '@@':
526 You can now directly refer to variables exported from a module by
529 (@ MODULE-NAME VARIABLE-NAME)
531 For example (@ (ice-9 pretty-print) pretty-print) will directly access
532 the pretty-print variable exported from the (ice-9 pretty-print)
533 module. You don't need to 'use' that module first. You can also use
534 '@' as a target of 'set!', as in (set! (@ mod var) val).
536 The related syntax (@@ MODULE-NAME VARIABLE-NAME) works just like '@',
537 but it can also access variables that have not been exported. It is
538 intended only for kluges and temporary fixes and for debugging, not
541 ** Keyword syntax has been made more disciplined.
543 Previously, the name of a keyword was read as a 'token' but printed as
544 a symbol. Now, it is read as a general Scheme datum which must be a
555 ERROR: In expression (a b c):
559 ERROR: Unbound variable: foo
564 ERROR: Wrong type (expecting symbol): 12
568 ERROR: Wrong type (expecting symbol): (a b c)
572 ** The printing of symbols that might look like keywords can be
575 The new printer option 'quote-keywordish-symbols' controls how symbols
576 are printed that have a colon as their first or last character. The
577 default now is to only quote a symbol with #{...}# when the read
578 option 'keywords' is not '#f'. Thus:
580 guile> (define foo (string->symbol ":foo"))
581 guile> (read-set! keywords #f)
584 guile> (read-set! keywords 'prefix)
587 guile> (print-set! quote-keywordish-symbols #f)
591 ** 'while' now provides 'break' and 'continue'
593 break and continue were previously bound in a while loop, but not
594 documented, and continue didn't quite work properly. The undocumented
595 parameter to break which gave a return value for the while has been
598 ** 'call-with-current-continuation' is now also available under the name
601 ** The module system now checks for duplicate bindings.
603 The module system now can check for name conflicts among imported
606 The behavior can be controlled by specifying one or more 'duplicates'
607 handlers. For example, to make Guile return an error for every name
615 The new default behavior of the module system when a name collision
616 has been detected is to
618 1. Give priority to bindings marked as a replacement.
619 2. Issue a warning (different warning if overriding core binding).
620 3. Give priority to the last encountered binding (this corresponds to
623 If you want the old behavior back without replacements or warnings you
626 (default-duplicate-binding-handler 'last)
628 to your .guile init file.
630 ** New define-module option: :replace
632 :replace works as :export, but, in addition, marks the binding as a
635 A typical example is `format' in (ice-9 format) which is a replacement
636 for the core binding `format'.
638 ** Adding prefixes to imported bindings in the module system
640 There is now a new :use-module option :prefix. It can be used to add
641 a prefix to all imported bindings.
644 :use-module ((bar) :prefix bar:))
646 will import all bindings exported from bar, but rename them by adding
649 ** Conflicting generic functions can be automatically merged.
651 When two imported bindings conflict and they are both generic
652 functions, the two functions can now be merged automatically. This is
653 activated with the 'duplicates' handler 'merge-generics'.
655 ** New function: effective-version
657 Returns the "effective" version number. This is just the normal full
658 version string without the final micro-version number. See "Changes
659 to the distribution" above.
661 ** New threading functions: parallel, letpar, par-map, and friends
663 These are convenient ways to run calculations in parallel in new
664 threads. See "Parallel forms" in the manual for details.
666 ** New function 'try-mutex'.
668 This function will attempt to lock a mutex but will return immediately
669 instead of blocking and indicate failure.
671 ** Waiting on a condition variable can have a timeout.
673 The function 'wait-condition-variable' now takes a third, optional
674 argument that specifies the point in time where the waiting should be
677 ** New function 'broadcast-condition-variable'.
679 ** New functions 'all-threads' and 'current-thread'.
681 ** Signals and system asyncs work better with threads.
683 The function 'sigaction' now takes a fourth, optional, argument that
684 specifies the thread that the handler should run in. When the
685 argument is omitted, the handler will run in the thread that called
688 Likewise, 'system-async-mark' takes a second, optional, argument that
689 specifies the thread that the async should run in. When it is
690 omitted, the async will run in the thread that called
693 C code can use the new functions scm_sigaction_for_thread and
694 scm_system_async_mark_for_thread to pass the new thread argument.
696 When a thread blocks on a mutex, a condition variable or is waiting
697 for IO to be possible, it will still execute system asyncs. This can
698 be used to interrupt such a thread by making it execute a 'throw', for
701 ** The function 'system-async' is deprecated.
703 You can now pass any zero-argument procedure to 'system-async-mark'.
704 The function 'system-async' will just return its argument unchanged
707 ** New functions 'call-with-blocked-asyncs' and
708 'call-with-unblocked-asyncs'
710 The expression (call-with-blocked-asyncs PROC) will call PROC and will
711 block execution of system asyncs for the current thread by one level
712 while PROC runs. Likewise, call-with-unblocked-asyncs will call a
713 procedure and will unblock the execution of system asyncs by one
714 level for the current thread.
716 Only system asyncs are affected by these functions.
718 ** The functions 'mask-signals' and 'unmask-signals' are deprecated.
720 Use 'call-with-blocked-asyncs' or 'call-with-unblocked-asyncs'
721 instead. Those functions are easier to use correctly and can be
724 ** New function 'unsetenv'.
726 ** New macro 'define-syntax-public'.
728 It works like 'define-syntax' and also exports the defined macro (but
731 ** There is support for Infinity and NaNs.
733 Following PLT Scheme, Guile can now work with infinite numbers, and
736 There is new syntax for numbers: "+inf.0" (infinity), "-inf.0"
737 (negative infinity), "+nan.0" (not-a-number), and "-nan.0" (same as
738 "+nan.0"). These numbers are inexact and have no exact counterpart.
740 Dividing by an inexact zero returns +inf.0 or -inf.0, depending on the
741 sign of the dividend. The infinities are integers, and they answer #t
742 for both 'even?' and 'odd?'. The +nan.0 value is not an integer and is
743 not '=' to itself, but '+nan.0' is 'eqv?' to itself.
754 ERROR: Numerical overflow
756 Two new predicates 'inf?' and 'nan?' can be used to test for the
759 ** Inexact zero can have a sign.
761 Guile can now distinguish between plus and minus inexact zero, if your
762 platform supports this, too. The two zeros are equal according to
763 '=', but not according to 'eqv?'. For example
774 ** Guile now has exact rationals.
776 Guile can now represent fractions such as 1/3 exactly. Computing with
777 them is also done exactly, of course:
782 ** 'floor', 'ceiling', 'round' and 'truncate' now return exact numbers
785 For example: (floor 2) now returns an exact 2 where in the past it
786 returned an inexact 2.0. Likewise, (floor 5/4) returns an exact 1.
788 ** inexact->exact no longer returns only integers.
790 Without exact rationals, the closest exact number was always an
791 integer, but now inexact->exact returns the fraction that is exactly
792 equal to a floating point number. For example:
794 (inexact->exact 1.234)
795 => 694680242521899/562949953421312
797 When you want the old behavior, use 'round' explicitly:
799 (inexact->exact (round 1.234))
802 ** New function 'rationalize'.
804 This function finds a simple fraction that is close to a given real
805 number. For example (and compare with inexact->exact above):
807 (rationalize (inexact->exact 1.234) 1/2000)
810 Note that, as required by R5RS, rationalize returns only then an exact
811 result when both its arguments are exact.
813 ** 'odd?' and 'even?' work also for inexact integers.
815 Previously, (odd? 1.0) would signal an error since only exact integers
816 were recognized as integers. Now (odd? 1.0) returns #t, (odd? 2.0)
817 returns #f and (odd? 1.5) signals an error.
819 ** Guile now has uninterned symbols.
821 The new function 'make-symbol' will return an uninterned symbol. This
822 is a symbol that is unique and is guaranteed to remain unique.
823 However, uninterned symbols can not yet be read back in.
825 Use the new function 'symbol-interned?' to check whether a symbol is
828 ** pretty-print has more options.
830 The function pretty-print from the (ice-9 pretty-print) module can now
831 also be invoked with keyword arguments that control things like
832 maximum output width. See the manual for details.
834 ** Variables have no longer a special behavior for `equal?'.
836 Previously, comparing two variables with `equal?' would recursivly
837 compare their values. This is no longer done. Variables are now only
838 `equal?' if they are `eq?'.
840 ** `(begin)' is now valid.
842 You can now use an empty `begin' form. It will yield #<unspecified>
843 when evaluated and simply be ignored in a definition context.
845 ** Deprecated: procedure->macro
847 Change your code to use 'define-macro' or r5rs macros. Also, be aware
848 that macro expansion will not be done during evaluation, but prior to
851 ** Soft ports now allow a `char-ready?' procedure
853 The vector argument to `make-soft-port' can now have a length of
854 either 5 or 6. (Previously the length had to be 5.) The optional 6th
855 element is interpreted as an `input-waiting' thunk -- i.e. a thunk
856 that returns the number of characters that can be read immediately
857 without the soft port blocking.
859 ** Deprecated: undefine
861 There is no replacement for undefine.
863 ** The functions make-keyword-from-dash-symbol and keyword-dash-symbol
864 have been discouraged.
866 They are relics from a time where a keyword like #:foo was used
867 directly as a Tcl option "-foo" and thus keywords were internally
868 stored as a symbol with a starting dash. We now store a symbol
871 Use symbol->keyword and keyword->symbol instead.
873 ** The `cheap' debug option is now obsolete
875 Evaluator trap calls are now unconditionally "cheap" - in other words,
876 they pass a debug object to the trap handler rather than a full
877 continuation. The trap handler code can capture a full continuation
878 by using `call-with-current-continuation' in the usual way, if it so
881 The `cheap' option is retained for now so as not to break existing
882 code which gets or sets it, but setting it now has no effect. It will
883 be removed in the next major Guile release.
885 ** Evaluator trap calls now support `tweaking'
887 `Tweaking' means that the trap handler code can modify the Scheme
888 expression that is about to be evaluated (in the case of an
889 enter-frame trap) or the value that is being returned (in the case of
890 an exit-frame trap). The trap handler code indicates that it wants to
891 do this by returning a pair whose car is the symbol 'instead and whose
892 cdr is the modified expression or return value.
894 * Changes to the C interface
896 ** The functions scm_hash_fn_remove_x and scm_hashx_remove_x no longer
897 take a 'delete' function argument.
899 This argument makes no sense since the delete function is used to
900 remove a pair from an alist, and this must not be configurable.
902 This is an incompatible change.
904 ** The GH interface is now subject to the deprecation mechanism
906 The GH interface has been deprecated for quite some time but now it is
907 actually removed from Guile when it is configured with
908 --disable-deprecated.
910 See the manual "Transitioning away from GH" for more information.
912 ** A new family of functions for converting between C values and
913 Scheme values has been added.
915 These functions follow a common naming scheme and are designed to be
916 easier to use, thread-safe and more future-proof than the older
921 These are predicates that return a C boolean: 1 or 0. Instead of
922 SCM_NFALSEP, you can now use scm_is_true, for example.
924 - <type> scm_to_<type> (SCM val, ...)
926 These are functions that convert a Scheme value into an appropriate
927 C value. For example, you can use scm_to_int to safely convert from
930 - SCM scm_from_<type> (<type> val, ...)
932 These functions convert from a C type to a SCM value; for example,
933 scm_from_int for ints.
935 There is a huge number of these functions, for numbers, strings,
936 symbols, vectors, etc. They are documented in the reference manual in
937 the API section together with the types that they apply to.
939 ** New functions for dealing with complex numbers in C have been added.
941 The new functions are scm_c_make_rectangular, scm_c_make_polar,
942 scm_c_real_part, scm_c_imag_part, scm_c_magnitude and scm_c_angle.
943 They work like scm_make_rectangular etc but take or return doubles
946 ** The function scm_make_complex has been discouraged.
948 Use scm_c_make_rectangular instead.
950 ** The INUM macros have been deprecated.
952 A lot of code uses these macros to do general integer conversions,
953 although the macros only work correctly with fixnums. Use the
954 following alternatives.
956 SCM_INUMP -> scm_is_integer or similar
957 SCM_NINUMP -> !scm_is_integer or similar
958 SCM_MAKINUM -> scm_from_int or similar
959 SCM_INUM -> scm_to_int or similar
961 SCM_VALIDATE_INUM_* -> Do not use these; scm_to_int, etc. will
962 do the validating for you.
964 ** The scm_num2<type> and scm_<type>2num functions and scm_make_real
965 have been discouraged.
967 Use the newer scm_to_<type> and scm_from_<type> functions instead for
968 new code. The functions have been discouraged since they don't fit
971 ** The 'boolean' macros SCM_FALSEP etc have been discouraged.
973 They have strange names, especially SCM_NFALSEP, and SCM_BOOLP
974 evaluates its argument twice. Use scm_is_true, etc. instead for new
977 ** The macro SCM_EQ_P has been discouraged.
979 Use scm_is_eq for new code, which fits better into the naming
982 ** The macros SCM_CONSP, SCM_NCONSP, SCM_NULLP, and SCM_NNULLP have
985 Use the function scm_is_pair or scm_is_null instead.
987 ** The functions scm_round and scm_truncate have been deprecated and
988 are now available as scm_c_round and scm_c_truncate, respectively.
990 These functions occupy the names that scm_round_number and
991 scm_truncate_number should have.
993 ** The functions scm_c_string2str, scm_c_substring2str, and
994 scm_c_symbol2str have been deprecated.
996 Use scm_to_locale_stringbuf or similar instead, maybe together with
999 ** New functions scm_c_make_string, scm_c_string_length,
1000 scm_c_string_ref, scm_c_string_set_x, scm_c_substring,
1001 scm_c_substring_shared, scm_c_substring_copy.
1003 These are like scm_make_string, scm_length, etc. but are slightly
1004 easier to use from C.
1006 ** The macros SCM_STRINGP, SCM_STRING_CHARS, SCM_STRING_LENGTH,
1007 SCM_SYMBOL_CHARS, and SCM_SYMBOL_LENGTH have been deprecated.
1009 They export too many assumptions about the implementation of strings
1010 and symbols that are no longer true in the presence of
1011 mutation-sharing substrings and when Guile switches to some form of
1014 When working with strings, it is often best to use the normal string
1015 functions provided by Guile, such as scm_c_string_ref,
1016 scm_c_string_set_x, scm_string_append, etc. Be sure to look in the
1017 manual since many more such functions are now provided than
1020 When you want to convert a SCM string to a C string, use the
1021 scm_to_locale_string function or similar instead. For symbols, use
1022 scm_symbol_to_string and then work with that string. Because of the
1023 new string representation, scm_symbol_to_string does not need to copy
1024 and is thus quite efficient.
1026 ** Some string, symbol and keyword functions have been discouraged.
1028 They don't fit into the uniform naming scheme and are not explicit
1029 about the character encoding.
1031 Replace according to the following table:
1033 scm_allocate_string -> scm_c_make_string
1034 scm_take_str -> scm_take_locale_stringn
1035 scm_take0str -> scm_take_locale_string
1036 scm_mem2string -> scm_from_locale_stringn
1037 scm_str2string -> scm_from_locale_string
1038 scm_makfrom0str -> scm_from_locale_string
1039 scm_mem2symbol -> scm_from_locale_symboln
1040 scm_mem2uninterned_symbol -> scm_from_locale_stringn + scm_make_symbol
1041 scm_str2symbol -> scm_from_locale_symbol
1043 SCM_SYMBOL_HASH -> scm_hashq
1044 SCM_SYMBOL_INTERNED_P -> scm_symbol_interned_p
1046 scm_c_make_keyword -> scm_from_locale_keyword
1048 ** The functions scm_keyword_to_symbol and sym_symbol_to_keyword are
1049 now also available to C code.
1051 ** SCM_KEYWORDP and SCM_KEYWORDSYM have been deprecated.
1053 Use scm_is_keyword and scm_keyword_to_symbol instead, but note that
1054 the latter returns the true name of the keyword, not the 'dash name',
1055 as SCM_KEYWORDSYM used to do.
1057 ** A new way to access arrays in a thread-safe and efficient way has
1060 See the manual, node "Accessing Arrays From C".
1062 ** The old uniform vector and bitvector implementations have been
1063 unceremoniously removed.
1065 This implementation exposed the details of the tagging system of
1066 Guile. Use the new C API explained in the manual in node "Uniform
1067 Numeric Vectors" and "Bit Vectors", respectively.
1069 The following macros are gone: SCM_UVECTOR_BASE, SCM_SET_UVECTOR_BASE,
1070 SCM_UVECTOR_MAXLENGTH, SCM_UVECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_MAKE_UVECTOR_TAG,
1071 SCM_SET_UVECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_BITVECTOR_P, SCM_BITVECTOR_BASE,
1072 SCM_SET_BITVECTOR_BASE, SCM_BITVECTOR_MAX_LENGTH,
1073 SCM_BITVECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_MAKE_BITVECTOR_TAG,
1074 SCM_SET_BITVECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_BITVEC_REF, SCM_BITVEC_SET,
1077 ** The macros dealing with vectors have been deprecated.
1079 Use the new functions scm_is_vector, scm_vector_elements,
1080 scm_vector_writable_elements, etc, or scm_is_simple_vector,
1081 SCM_SIMPLE_VECTOR_REF, SCM_SIMPLE_VECTOR_SET, etc instead. See the
1082 manual for more details.
1084 Deprecated are SCM_VECTORP, SCM_VELTS, SCM_VECTOR_MAX_LENGTH,
1085 SCM_VECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_VECTOR_REF, SCM_VECTOR_SET, SCM_WRITABLE_VELTS.
1087 The following macros have been removed: SCM_VECTOR_BASE,
1088 SCM_SET_VECTOR_BASE, SCM_MAKE_VECTOR_TAG, SCM_SET_VECTOR_LENGTH,
1089 SCM_VELTS_AS_STACKITEMS, SCM_SETVELTS, SCM_GC_WRITABLE_VELTS.
1091 ** Some C functions and macros related to arrays have been deprecated.
1093 Migrate according to the following table:
1095 scm_make_uve -> scm_make_typed_array, scm_make_u8vector etc.
1096 scm_make_ra -> scm_make_array
1097 scm_shap2ra -> scm_make_array
1098 scm_cvref -> scm_c_generalized_vector_ref
1099 scm_ra_set_contp -> do not use
1100 scm_aind -> scm_array_handle_pos
1101 scm_raprin1 -> scm_display or scm_write
1103 SCM_ARRAYP -> scm_is_array
1104 SCM_ARRAY_NDIM -> scm_c_array_rank
1105 SCM_ARRAY_DIMS -> scm_array_handle_dims
1106 SCM_ARRAY_CONTP -> do not use
1107 SCM_ARRAY_MEM -> do not use
1108 SCM_ARRAY_V -> scm_array_handle_elements or similar
1109 SCM_ARRAY_BASE -> do not use
1111 ** SCM_CELL_WORD_LOC has been deprecated.
1113 Use the new macro SCM_CELL_OBJECT_LOC instead, which returns a pointer
1114 to a SCM, as opposed to a pointer to a scm_t_bits.
1116 This was done to allow the correct use of pointers into the Scheme
1117 heap. Previously, the heap words were of type scm_t_bits and local
1118 variables and function arguments were of type SCM, making it
1119 non-standards-conformant to have a pointer that can point to both.
1121 ** New macros SCM_SMOB_DATA_2, SCM_SMOB_DATA_3, etc.
1123 These macros should be used instead of SCM_CELL_WORD_2/3 to access the
1124 second and third words of double smobs. Likewise for
1125 SCM_SET_SMOB_DATA_2 and SCM_SET_SMOB_DATA_3.
1127 Also, there is SCM_SMOB_FLAGS and SCM_SET_SMOB_FLAGS that should be
1128 used to get and set the 16 exra bits in the zeroth word of a smob.
1130 And finally, there is SCM_SMOB_OBJECT and SCM_SMOB_SET_OBJECT for
1131 accesing the first immediate word of a smob as a SCM value, and there
1132 is SCM_SMOB_OBJECT_LOC for getting a pointer to the first immediate
1133 smob word. Like wise for SCM_SMOB_OBJECT_2, etc.
1135 ** New way to deal with non-local exits and re-entries.
1137 There is a new set of functions that essentially do what
1138 scm_internal_dynamic_wind does, but in a way that is more convenient
1139 for C code in some situations. Here is a quick example of how to
1140 prevent a potential memory leak:
1147 scm_dynwind_begin (0);
1149 mem = scm_malloc (100);
1150 scm_dynwind_unwind_handler (free, mem, SCM_F_WIND_EXPLICITLY);
1152 /* MEM would leak if BAR throws an error.
1153 SCM_DYNWIND_UNWIND_HANDLER frees it nevertheless.
1160 /* Because of SCM_F_WIND_EXPLICITLY, MEM will be freed by
1161 SCM_DYNWIND_END as well.
1165 For full documentation, see the node "Dynamic Wind" in the manual.
1167 ** New function scm_dynwind_free
1169 This function calls 'free' on a given pointer when a dynwind context
1170 is left. Thus the call to scm_dynwind_unwind_handler above could be
1171 replaced with simply scm_dynwind_free (mem).
1173 ** New functions scm_c_call_with_blocked_asyncs and
1174 scm_c_call_with_unblocked_asyncs
1176 Like scm_call_with_blocked_asyncs etc. but for C functions.
1178 ** New functions scm_dynwind_block_asyncs and scm_dynwind_unblock_asyncs
1180 In addition to scm_c_call_with_blocked_asyncs you can now also use
1181 scm_dynwind_block_asyncs in a 'dynwind context' (see above). Likewise for
1182 scm_c_call_with_unblocked_asyncs and scm_dynwind_unblock_asyncs.
1184 ** The macros SCM_DEFER_INTS, SCM_ALLOW_INTS, SCM_REDEFER_INTS,
1185 SCM_REALLOW_INTS have been deprecated.
1187 They do no longer fulfill their original role of blocking signal
1188 delivery. Depending on what you want to achieve, replace a pair of
1189 SCM_DEFER_INTS and SCM_ALLOW_INTS with a dynwind context that locks a
1190 mutex, blocks asyncs, or both. See node "Critical Sections" in the
1193 ** The value 'scm_mask_ints' is no longer writable.
1195 Previously, you could set scm_mask_ints directly. This is no longer
1196 possible. Use scm_c_call_with_blocked_asyncs and
1197 scm_c_call_with_unblocked_asyncs instead.
1199 ** New way to temporarily set the current input, output or error ports
1201 C code can now use scm_dynwind_current_<foo>_port in a 'dynwind
1202 context' (see above). <foo> is one of "input", "output" or "error".
1204 ** New way to temporarily set fluids
1206 C code can now use scm_dynwind_fluid in a 'dynwind context' (see
1207 above) to temporarily set the value of a fluid.
1209 ** New types scm_t_intmax and scm_t_uintmax.
1211 On platforms that have them, these types are identical to intmax_t and
1212 uintmax_t, respectively. On other platforms, they are identical to
1213 the largest integer types that Guile knows about.
1215 ** The functions scm_unmemocopy and scm_unmemoize have been removed.
1217 You should not have used them.
1219 ** Many public #defines with generic names have been made private.
1221 #defines with generic names like HAVE_FOO or SIZEOF_FOO have been made
1222 private or renamed with a more suitable public name.
1224 ** The macro SCM_TYP16S has been deprecated.
1226 This macro is not intended for public use.
1228 ** The macro SCM_SLOPPY_INEXACTP has been deprecated.
1230 Use scm_is_true (scm_inexact_p (...)) instead.
1232 ** The macro SCM_SLOPPY_REALP has been deprecated.
1234 Use scm_is_real instead.
1236 ** The macro SCM_SLOPPY_COMPLEXP has been deprecated.
1238 Use scm_is_complex instead.
1240 ** Some preprocessor defines have been deprecated.
1242 These defines indicated whether a certain feature was present in Guile
1243 or not. Going forward, assume that the features are always present.
1245 The macros are: USE_THREADS, GUILE_ISELECT, READER_EXTENSIONS,
1246 DEBUG_EXTENSIONS, DYNAMIC_LINKING.
1248 The following macros have been removed completely: MEMOIZE_LOCALS,
1249 SCM_RECKLESS, SCM_CAUTIOUS.
1251 ** The preprocessor define STACK_DIRECTION has been deprecated.
1253 There should be no need to know about the stack direction for ordinary
1256 ** New function: scm_effective_version
1258 Returns the "effective" version number. This is just the normal full
1259 version string without the final micro-version number. See "Changes
1260 to the distribution" above.
1262 ** The function scm_call_with_new_thread has a new prototype.
1264 Instead of taking a list with the thunk and handler, these two
1265 arguments are now passed directly:
1267 SCM scm_call_with_new_thread (SCM thunk, SCM handler);
1269 This is an incompatible change.
1271 ** New snarfer macro SCM_DEFINE_PUBLIC.
1273 This is like SCM_DEFINE, but also calls scm_c_export for the defined
1274 function in the init section.
1276 ** The snarfer macro SCM_SNARF_INIT is now officially supported.
1278 ** Garbage collector rewrite.
1280 The garbage collector is cleaned up a lot, and now uses lazy
1281 sweeping. This is reflected in the output of (gc-stats); since cells
1282 are being freed when they are allocated, the cells-allocated field
1283 stays roughly constant.
1285 For malloc related triggers, the behavior is changed. It uses the same
1286 heuristic as the cell-triggered collections. It may be tuned with the
1287 environment variables GUILE_MIN_YIELD_MALLOC. This is the percentage
1288 for minimum yield of malloc related triggers. The default is 40.
1289 GUILE_INIT_MALLOC_LIMIT sets the initial trigger for doing a GC. The
1292 Debugging operations for the freelist have been deprecated, along with
1293 the C variables that control garbage collection. The environment
1294 variables GUILE_MAX_SEGMENT_SIZE, GUILE_INIT_SEGMENT_SIZE_2,
1295 GUILE_INIT_SEGMENT_SIZE_1, and GUILE_MIN_YIELD_2 should be used.
1297 For understanding the memory usage of a GUILE program, the routine
1298 gc-live-object-stats returns an alist containing the number of live
1299 objects for every type.
1302 ** The function scm_definedp has been renamed to scm_defined_p
1304 The name scm_definedp is deprecated.
1306 ** The struct scm_cell type has been renamed to scm_t_cell
1308 This is in accordance to Guile's naming scheme for types. Note that
1309 the name scm_cell is now used for a function that allocates and
1310 initializes a new cell (see below).
1312 ** New functions for memory management
1314 A new set of functions for memory management has been added since the
1315 old way (scm_must_malloc, scm_must_free, etc) was error prone and
1316 indeed, Guile itself contained some long standing bugs that could
1317 cause aborts in long running programs.
1319 The new functions are more symmetrical and do not need cooperation
1320 from smob free routines, among other improvements.
1322 The new functions are scm_malloc, scm_realloc, scm_calloc, scm_strdup,
1323 scm_strndup, scm_gc_malloc, scm_gc_calloc, scm_gc_realloc,
1324 scm_gc_free, scm_gc_register_collectable_memory, and
1325 scm_gc_unregister_collectable_memory. Refer to the manual for more
1326 details and for upgrading instructions.
1328 The old functions for memory management have been deprecated. They
1329 are: scm_must_malloc, scm_must_realloc, scm_must_free,
1330 scm_must_strdup, scm_must_strndup, scm_done_malloc, scm_done_free.
1332 ** Declarations of exported features are marked with SCM_API.
1334 Every declaration of a feature that belongs to the exported Guile API
1335 has been marked by adding the macro "SCM_API" to the start of the
1336 declaration. This macro can expand into different things, the most
1337 common of which is just "extern" for Unix platforms. On Win32, it can
1338 be used to control which symbols are exported from a DLL.
1340 If you `#define SCM_IMPORT' before including <libguile.h>, SCM_API
1341 will expand into "__declspec (dllimport) extern", which is needed for
1342 linking to the Guile DLL in Windows.
1344 There are also SCM_RL_IMPORT, SCM_SRFI1314_IMPORT, and
1345 SCM_SRFI4_IMPORT, for the corresponding libraries.
1347 ** SCM_NEWCELL and SCM_NEWCELL2 have been deprecated.
1349 Use the new functions scm_cell and scm_double_cell instead. The old
1350 macros had problems because with them allocation and initialization
1351 was separated and the GC could sometimes observe half initialized
1352 cells. Only careful coding by the user of SCM_NEWCELL and
1353 SCM_NEWCELL2 could make this safe and efficient.
1355 ** CHECK_ENTRY, CHECK_APPLY and CHECK_EXIT have been deprecated.
1357 Use the variables scm_check_entry_p, scm_check_apply_p and scm_check_exit_p
1360 ** SRCBRKP has been deprecated.
1362 Use scm_c_source_property_breakpoint_p instead.
1364 ** Deprecated: scm_makmacro
1366 Change your code to use either scm_makmmacro or to define macros in
1367 Scheme, using 'define-macro'.
1369 ** New function scm_c_port_for_each.
1371 This function is like scm_port_for_each but takes a pointer to a C
1372 function as the callback instead of a SCM value.
1374 ** The names scm_internal_select, scm_thread_sleep, and
1375 scm_thread_usleep have been discouraged.
1377 Use scm_std_select, scm_std_sleep, scm_std_usleep instead.
1379 ** The GC can no longer be blocked.
1381 The global flags scm_gc_heap_lock and scm_block_gc have been removed.
1382 The GC can now run (partially) concurrently with other code and thus
1383 blocking it is not well defined.
1385 ** Many definitions have been removed that were previously deprecated.
1387 scm_lisp_nil, scm_lisp_t, s_nil_ify, scm_m_nil_ify, s_t_ify,
1388 scm_m_t_ify, s_0_cond, scm_m_0_cond, s_0_ify, scm_m_0_ify, s_1_ify,
1389 scm_m_1_ify, scm_debug_newcell, scm_debug_newcell2,
1390 scm_tc16_allocated, SCM_SET_SYMBOL_HASH, SCM_IM_NIL_IFY, SCM_IM_T_IFY,
1391 SCM_IM_0_COND, SCM_IM_0_IFY, SCM_IM_1_IFY, SCM_GC_SET_ALLOCATED,
1392 scm_debug_newcell, scm_debug_newcell2, SCM_HUP_SIGNAL, SCM_INT_SIGNAL,
1393 SCM_FPE_SIGNAL, SCM_BUS_SIGNAL, SCM_SEGV_SIGNAL, SCM_ALRM_SIGNAL,
1394 SCM_GC_SIGNAL, SCM_TICK_SIGNAL, SCM_SIG_ORD, SCM_ORD_SIG,
1395 SCM_NUM_SIGS, scm_top_level_lookup_closure_var,
1396 *top-level-lookup-closure*, scm_system_transformer, scm_eval_3,
1397 scm_eval2, root_module_lookup_closure, SCM_SLOPPY_STRINGP,
1398 SCM_RWSTRINGP, scm_read_only_string_p, scm_make_shared_substring,
1399 scm_tc7_substring, sym_huh, SCM_VARVCELL, SCM_UDVARIABLEP,
1400 SCM_DEFVARIABLEP, scm_mkbig, scm_big2inum, scm_adjbig, scm_normbig,
1401 scm_copybig, scm_2ulong2big, scm_dbl2big, scm_big2dbl, SCM_FIXNUM_BIT,
1402 SCM_SETCHARS, SCM_SLOPPY_SUBSTRP, SCM_SUBSTR_STR, SCM_SUBSTR_OFFSET,
1403 SCM_LENGTH_MAX, SCM_SETLENGTH, SCM_ROSTRINGP, SCM_ROLENGTH,
1404 SCM_ROCHARS, SCM_ROUCHARS, SCM_SUBSTRP, SCM_COERCE_SUBSTR,
1405 scm_sym2vcell, scm_intern, scm_intern0, scm_sysintern, scm_sysintern0,
1406 scm_sysintern0_no_module_lookup, scm_init_symbols_deprecated,
1407 scm_vector_set_length_x, scm_contregs, scm_debug_info,
1408 scm_debug_frame, SCM_DSIDEVAL, SCM_CONST_LONG, SCM_VCELL,
1409 SCM_GLOBAL_VCELL, SCM_VCELL_INIT, SCM_GLOBAL_VCELL_INIT,
1410 SCM_HUGE_LENGTH, SCM_VALIDATE_STRINGORSUBSTR, SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING,
1411 SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING_COPY, SCM_VALIDATE_NULLORROSTRING_COPY,
1412 SCM_VALIDATE_RWSTRING, DIGITS, scm_small_istr2int, scm_istr2int,
1413 scm_istr2flo, scm_istring2number, scm_istr2int, scm_istr2flo,
1414 scm_istring2number, scm_vtable_index_vcell, scm_si_vcell, SCM_ECONSP,
1415 SCM_NECONSP, SCM_GLOC_VAR, SCM_GLOC_VAL, SCM_GLOC_SET_VAL,
1416 SCM_GLOC_VAL_LOC, scm_make_gloc, scm_gloc_p, scm_tc16_variable,
1417 SCM_CHARS, SCM_LENGTH, SCM_SET_STRING_CHARS, SCM_SET_STRING_LENGTH.
1419 * Changes to bundled modules
1423 Using the (ice-9 debug) module no longer automatically switches Guile
1424 to use the debugging evaluator. If you want to switch to the
1425 debugging evaluator (which is needed for backtrace information if you
1426 hit an error), please add an explicit "(debug-enable 'debug)" to your
1427 code just after the code to use (ice-9 debug).
1430 Changes since Guile 1.4:
1432 * Changes to the distribution
1434 ** A top-level TODO file is included.
1436 ** Guile now uses a versioning scheme similar to that of the Linux kernel.
1438 Guile now always uses three numbers to represent the version,
1439 i.e. "1.6.5". The first number, 1, is the major version number, the
1440 second number, 6, is the minor version number, and the third number,
1441 5, is the micro version number. Changes in major version number
1442 indicate major changes in Guile.
1444 Minor version numbers that are even denote stable releases, and odd
1445 minor version numbers denote development versions (which may be
1446 unstable). The micro version number indicates a minor sub-revision of
1447 a given MAJOR.MINOR release.
1449 In keeping with the new scheme, (minor-version) and scm_minor_version
1450 no longer return everything but the major version number. They now
1451 just return the minor version number. Two new functions
1452 (micro-version) and scm_micro_version have been added to report the
1453 micro version number.
1455 In addition, ./GUILE-VERSION now defines GUILE_MICRO_VERSION.
1457 ** New preprocessor definitions are available for checking versions.
1459 version.h now #defines SCM_MAJOR_VERSION, SCM_MINOR_VERSION, and
1460 SCM_MICRO_VERSION to the appropriate integer values.
1462 ** Guile now actively warns about deprecated features.
1464 The new configure option `--enable-deprecated=LEVEL' and the
1465 environment variable GUILE_WARN_DEPRECATED control this mechanism.
1466 See INSTALL and README for more information.
1468 ** Guile is much more likely to work on 64-bit architectures.
1470 Guile now compiles and passes "make check" with only two UNRESOLVED GC
1471 cases on Alpha and ia64 based machines now. Thanks to John Goerzen
1472 for the use of a test machine, and thanks to Stefan Jahn for ia64
1475 ** New functions: setitimer and getitimer.
1477 These implement a fairly direct interface to the libc functions of the
1480 ** The #. reader extension is now disabled by default.
1482 For safety reasons, #. evaluation is disabled by default. To
1483 re-enable it, set the fluid read-eval? to #t. For example:
1485 (fluid-set! read-eval? #t)
1487 but make sure you realize the potential security risks involved. With
1488 read-eval? enabled, reading a data file from an untrusted source can
1491 ** New SRFI modules have been added:
1493 SRFI-0 `cond-expand' is now supported in Guile, without requiring
1496 (srfi srfi-1) is a library containing many useful pair- and list-processing
1499 (srfi srfi-2) exports and-let*.
1501 (srfi srfi-4) implements homogeneous numeric vector datatypes.
1503 (srfi srfi-6) is a dummy module for now, since guile already provides
1504 all of the srfi-6 procedures by default: open-input-string,
1505 open-output-string, get-output-string.
1507 (srfi srfi-8) exports receive.
1509 (srfi srfi-9) exports define-record-type.
1511 (srfi srfi-10) exports define-reader-ctor and implements the reader
1514 (srfi srfi-11) exports let-values and let*-values.
1516 (srfi srfi-13) implements the SRFI String Library.
1518 (srfi srfi-14) implements the SRFI Character-Set Library.
1520 (srfi srfi-17) implements setter and getter-with-setter and redefines
1521 some accessor procedures as procedures with getters. (such as car,
1522 cdr, vector-ref etc.)
1524 (srfi srfi-19) implements the SRFI Time/Date Library.
1526 ** New scripts / "executable modules"
1528 Subdirectory "scripts" contains Scheme modules that are packaged to
1529 also be executable as scripts. At this time, these scripts are available:
1538 See README there for more info.
1540 These scripts can be invoked from the shell with the new program
1541 "guile-tools", which keeps track of installation directory for you.
1544 $ guile-tools display-commentary srfi/*.scm
1546 guile-tools is copied to the standard $bindir on "make install".
1548 ** New module (ice-9 stack-catch):
1550 stack-catch is like catch, but saves the current state of the stack in
1551 the fluid the-last-stack. This fluid can be useful when using the
1552 debugger and when re-throwing an error.
1554 ** The module (ice-9 and-let*) has been renamed to (ice-9 and-let-star)
1556 This has been done to prevent problems on lesser operating systems
1557 that can't tolerate `*'s in file names. The exported macro continues
1558 to be named `and-let*', of course.
1560 On systems that support it, there is also a compatibility module named
1561 (ice-9 and-let*). It will go away in the next release.
1563 ** New modules (oop goops) etc.:
1566 (oop goops describe)
1568 (oop goops active-slot)
1569 (oop goops composite-slot)
1571 The Guile Object Oriented Programming System (GOOPS) has been
1572 integrated into Guile. For further information, consult the GOOPS
1573 manual and tutorial in the `doc' directory.
1575 ** New module (ice-9 rdelim).
1577 This exports the following procedures which were previously defined
1578 in the default environment:
1580 read-line read-line! read-delimited read-delimited! %read-delimited!
1581 %read-line write-line
1583 For backwards compatibility the definitions are still imported into the
1584 default environment in this version of Guile. However you should add:
1586 (use-modules (ice-9 rdelim))
1588 to any program which uses the definitions, since this may change in
1591 Alternatively, if guile-scsh is installed, the (scsh rdelim) module
1592 can be used for similar functionality.
1594 ** New module (ice-9 rw)
1596 This is a subset of the (scsh rw) module from guile-scsh. Currently
1597 it defines two procedures:
1599 *** New function: read-string!/partial str [port_or_fdes [start [end]]]
1601 Read characters from a port or file descriptor into a string STR.
1602 A port must have an underlying file descriptor -- a so-called
1603 fport. This procedure is scsh-compatible and can efficiently read
1606 *** New function: write-string/partial str [port_or_fdes [start [end]]]
1608 Write characters from a string STR to a port or file descriptor.
1609 A port must have an underlying file descriptor -- a so-called
1610 fport. This procedure is mostly compatible and can efficiently
1611 write large strings.
1613 ** New module (ice-9 match)
1615 This module includes Andrew K. Wright's pattern matcher. See
1616 ice-9/match.scm for brief description or
1618 http://www.star-lab.com/wright/code.html
1620 for complete documentation.
1622 ** New module (ice-9 buffered-input)
1624 This module provides procedures to construct an input port from an
1625 underlying source of input that reads and returns its input in chunks.
1626 The underlying input source is a Scheme procedure, specified by the
1627 caller, which the port invokes whenever it needs more input.
1629 This is useful when building an input port whose back end is Readline
1630 or a UI element such as the GtkEntry widget.
1634 The reference and tutorial documentation that was previously
1635 distributed separately, as `guile-doc', is now included in the core
1636 Guile distribution. The documentation consists of the following
1639 - The Guile Tutorial (guile-tut.texi) contains a tutorial introduction
1642 - The Guile Reference Manual (guile.texi) contains (or is intended to
1643 contain) reference documentation on all aspects of Guile.
1645 - The GOOPS Manual (goops.texi) contains both tutorial-style and
1646 reference documentation for using GOOPS, Guile's Object Oriented
1649 - The Revised^5 Report on the Algorithmic Language Scheme
1652 See the README file in the `doc' directory for more details.
1654 ** There are a couple of examples in the examples/ directory now.
1656 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
1658 ** New command line option `--use-srfi'
1660 Using this option, SRFI modules can be loaded on startup and be
1661 available right from the beginning. This makes programming portable
1662 Scheme programs easier.
1664 The option `--use-srfi' expects a comma-separated list of numbers,
1665 each representing a SRFI number to be loaded into the interpreter
1666 before starting evaluating a script file or the REPL. Additionally,
1667 the feature identifier for the loaded SRFIs is recognized by
1668 `cond-expand' when using this option.
1671 $ guile --use-srfi=8,13
1672 guile> (receive (x z) (values 1 2) (+ 1 2))
1674 guile> (string-pad "bla" 20)
1677 ** Guile now always starts up in the `(guile-user)' module.
1679 Previously, scripts executed via the `-s' option would run in the
1680 `(guile)' module and the repl would run in the `(guile-user)' module.
1681 Now every user action takes place in the `(guile-user)' module by
1684 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
1686 ** Character classifiers work for non-ASCII characters.
1688 The predicates `char-alphabetic?', `char-numeric?',
1689 `char-whitespace?', `char-lower?', `char-upper?' and `char-is-both?'
1690 no longer check whether their arguments are ASCII characters.
1691 Previously, a character would only be considered alphabetic when it
1692 was also ASCII, for example.
1694 ** Previously deprecated Scheme functions have been removed:
1696 tag - no replacement.
1697 fseek - replaced by seek.
1698 list* - replaced by cons*.
1700 ** It's now possible to create modules with controlled environments
1704 (use-modules (ice-9 safe))
1705 (define m (make-safe-module))
1706 ;;; m will now be a module containing only a safe subset of R5RS
1707 (eval '(+ 1 2) m) --> 3
1708 (eval 'load m) --> ERROR: Unbound variable: load
1710 ** Evaluation of "()", the empty list, is now an error.
1712 Previously, the expression "()" evaluated to the empty list. This has
1713 been changed to signal a "missing expression" error. The correct way
1714 to write the empty list as a literal constant is to use quote: "'()".
1716 ** New concept of `Guile Extensions'.
1718 A Guile Extension is just a ordinary shared library that can be linked
1719 at run-time. We found it advantageous to give this simple concept a
1720 dedicated name to distinguish the issues related to shared libraries
1721 from the issues related to the module system.
1723 *** New function: load-extension
1725 Executing (load-extension lib init) is mostly equivalent to
1727 (dynamic-call init (dynamic-link lib))
1729 except when scm_register_extension has been called previously.
1730 Whenever appropriate, you should use `load-extension' instead of
1731 dynamic-link and dynamic-call.
1733 *** New C function: scm_c_register_extension
1735 This function registers a initialization function for use by
1736 `load-extension'. Use it when you don't want specific extensions to
1737 be loaded as shared libraries (for example on platforms that don't
1738 support dynamic linking).
1740 ** Auto-loading of compiled-code modules is deprecated.
1742 Guile used to be able to automatically find and link a shared
1743 library to satisfy requests for a module. For example, the module
1744 `(foo bar)' could be implemented by placing a shared library named
1745 "foo/libbar.so" (or with a different extension) in a directory on the
1748 This has been found to be too tricky, and is no longer supported. The
1749 shared libraries are now called "extensions". You should now write a
1750 small Scheme file that calls `load-extension' to load the shared
1751 library and initialize it explicitly.
1753 The shared libraries themselves should be installed in the usual
1754 places for shared libraries, with names like "libguile-foo-bar".
1756 For example, place this into a file "foo/bar.scm"
1758 (define-module (foo bar))
1760 (load-extension "libguile-foo-bar" "foobar_init")
1762 ** Backward incompatible change: eval EXP ENVIRONMENT-SPECIFIER
1764 `eval' is now R5RS, that is it takes two arguments.
1765 The second argument is an environment specifier, i.e. either
1767 (scheme-report-environment 5)
1768 (null-environment 5)
1769 (interaction-environment)
1775 ** The module system has been made more disciplined.
1777 The function `eval' will save and restore the current module around
1778 the evaluation of the specified expression. While this expression is
1779 evaluated, `(current-module)' will now return the right module, which
1780 is the module specified as the second argument to `eval'.
1782 A consequence of this change is that `eval' is not particularly
1783 useful when you want allow the evaluated code to change what module is
1784 designated as the current module and have this change persist from one
1785 call to `eval' to the next. The read-eval-print-loop is an example
1786 where `eval' is now inadequate. To compensate, there is a new
1787 function `primitive-eval' that does not take a module specifier and
1788 that does not save/restore the current module. You should use this
1789 function together with `set-current-module', `current-module', etc
1790 when you want to have more control over the state that is carried from
1791 one eval to the next.
1793 Additionally, it has been made sure that forms that are evaluated at
1794 the top level are always evaluated with respect to the current module.
1795 Previously, subforms of top-level forms such as `begin', `case',
1796 etc. did not respect changes to the current module although these
1797 subforms are at the top-level as well.
1799 To prevent strange behavior, the forms `define-module',
1800 `use-modules', `use-syntax', and `export' have been restricted to only
1801 work on the top level. The forms `define-public' and
1802 `defmacro-public' only export the new binding on the top level. They
1803 behave just like `define' and `defmacro', respectively, when they are
1804 used in a lexical environment.
1806 Also, `export' will no longer silently re-export bindings imported
1807 from a used module. It will emit a `deprecation' warning and will
1808 cease to perform any re-export in the next version. If you actually
1809 want to re-export bindings, use the new `re-export' in place of
1810 `export'. The new `re-export' will not make copies of variables when
1811 rexporting them, as `export' did wrongly.
1813 ** Module system now allows selection and renaming of imported bindings
1815 Previously, when using `use-modules' or the `#:use-module' clause in
1816 the `define-module' form, all the bindings (association of symbols to
1817 values) for imported modules were added to the "current module" on an
1818 as-is basis. This has been changed to allow finer control through two
1819 new facilities: selection and renaming.
1821 You can now select which of the imported module's bindings are to be
1822 visible in the current module by using the `:select' clause. This
1823 clause also can be used to rename individual bindings. For example:
1825 ;; import all bindings no questions asked
1826 (use-modules (ice-9 common-list))
1828 ;; import four bindings, renaming two of them;
1829 ;; the current module sees: every some zonk-y zonk-n
1830 (use-modules ((ice-9 common-list)
1832 (remove-if . zonk-y)
1833 (remove-if-not . zonk-n))))
1835 You can also programmatically rename all selected bindings using the
1836 `:renamer' clause, which specifies a proc that takes a symbol and
1837 returns another symbol. Because it is common practice to use a prefix,
1838 we now provide the convenience procedure `symbol-prefix-proc'. For
1841 ;; import four bindings, renaming two of them specifically,
1842 ;; and all four w/ prefix "CL:";
1843 ;; the current module sees: CL:every CL:some CL:zonk-y CL:zonk-n
1844 (use-modules ((ice-9 common-list)
1846 (remove-if . zonk-y)
1847 (remove-if-not . zonk-n))
1848 :renamer (symbol-prefix-proc 'CL:)))
1850 ;; import four bindings, renaming two of them specifically,
1851 ;; and all four by upcasing.
1852 ;; the current module sees: EVERY SOME ZONK-Y ZONK-N
1853 (define (upcase-symbol sym)
1854 (string->symbol (string-upcase (symbol->string sym))))
1856 (use-modules ((ice-9 common-list)
1858 (remove-if . zonk-y)
1859 (remove-if-not . zonk-n))
1860 :renamer upcase-symbol))
1862 Note that programmatic renaming is done *after* individual renaming.
1863 Also, the above examples show `use-modules', but the same facilities are
1864 available for the `#:use-module' clause of `define-module'.
1866 See manual for more info.
1868 ** The semantics of guardians have changed.
1870 The changes are for the most part compatible. An important criterion
1871 was to keep the typical usage of guardians as simple as before, but to
1872 make the semantics safer and (as a result) more useful.
1874 *** All objects returned from guardians are now properly alive.
1876 It is now guaranteed that any object referenced by an object returned
1877 from a guardian is alive. It's now impossible for a guardian to
1878 return a "contained" object before its "containing" object.
1880 One incompatible (but probably not very important) change resulting
1881 from this is that it is no longer possible to guard objects that
1882 indirectly reference themselves (i.e. are parts of cycles). If you do
1883 so accidentally, you'll get a warning.
1885 *** There are now two types of guardians: greedy and sharing.
1887 If you call (make-guardian #t) or just (make-guardian), you'll get a
1888 greedy guardian, and for (make-guardian #f) a sharing guardian.
1890 Greedy guardians are the default because they are more "defensive".
1891 You can only greedily guard an object once. If you guard an object
1892 more than once, once in a greedy guardian and the rest of times in
1893 sharing guardians, then it is guaranteed that the object won't be
1894 returned from sharing guardians as long as it is greedily guarded
1897 Guardians returned by calls to `make-guardian' can now take one more
1898 optional parameter, which says whether to throw an error in case an
1899 attempt is made to greedily guard an object that is already greedily
1900 guarded. The default is true, i.e. throw an error. If the parameter
1901 is false, the guardian invocation returns #t if guarding was
1902 successful and #f if it wasn't.
1904 Also, since greedy guarding is, in effect, a side-effecting operation
1905 on objects, a new function is introduced: `destroy-guardian!'.
1906 Invoking this function on a guardian renders it unoperative and, if
1907 the guardian is greedy, clears the "greedily guarded" property of the
1908 objects that were guarded by it, thus undoing the side effect.
1910 Note that all this hair is hardly very important, since guardian
1911 objects are usually permanent.
1913 ** Continuations created by call-with-current-continuation now accept
1914 any number of arguments, as required by R5RS.
1916 ** New function `issue-deprecation-warning'
1918 This function is used to display the deprecation messages that are
1919 controlled by GUILE_WARN_DEPRECATION as explained in the README.
1922 (issue-deprecation-warning "`id' is deprecated. Use `identity' instead.")
1926 ;; `id' is deprecated. Use `identity' instead.
1931 ** New syntax `begin-deprecated'
1933 When deprecated features are included (as determined by the configure
1934 option --enable-deprecated), `begin-deprecated' is identical to
1935 `begin'. When deprecated features are excluded, it always evaluates
1936 to `#f', ignoring the body forms.
1938 ** New function `make-object-property'
1940 This function returns a new `procedure with setter' P that can be used
1941 to attach a property to objects. When calling P as
1945 where `obj' is any kind of object, it attaches `val' to `obj' in such
1946 a way that it can be retrieved by calling P as
1950 This function will replace procedure properties, symbol properties and
1951 source properties eventually.
1953 ** Module (ice-9 optargs) now uses keywords instead of `#&'.
1955 Instead of #&optional, #&key, etc you should now use #:optional,
1956 #:key, etc. Since #:optional is a keyword, you can write it as just
1957 :optional when (read-set! keywords 'prefix) is active.
1959 The old reader syntax `#&' is still supported, but deprecated. It
1960 will be removed in the next release.
1962 ** New define-module option: pure
1964 Tells the module system not to include any bindings from the root
1969 (define-module (totally-empty-module)
1972 ** New define-module option: export NAME1 ...
1974 Export names NAME1 ...
1976 This option is required if you want to be able to export bindings from
1977 a module which doesn't import one of `define-public' or `export'.
1981 (define-module (foo)
1983 :use-module (ice-9 r5rs)
1986 ;;; Note that we're pure R5RS below this point!
1991 ** New function: object->string OBJ
1993 Return a Scheme string obtained by printing a given object.
1995 ** New function: port? X
1997 Returns a boolean indicating whether X is a port. Equivalent to
1998 `(or (input-port? X) (output-port? X))'.
2000 ** New function: file-port?
2002 Determines whether a given object is a port that is related to a file.
2004 ** New function: port-for-each proc
2006 Apply PROC to each port in the Guile port table in turn. The return
2007 value is unspecified. More specifically, PROC is applied exactly once
2008 to every port that exists in the system at the time PORT-FOR-EACH is
2009 invoked. Changes to the port table while PORT-FOR-EACH is running
2010 have no effect as far as PORT-FOR-EACH is concerned.
2012 ** New function: dup2 oldfd newfd
2014 A simple wrapper for the `dup2' system call. Copies the file
2015 descriptor OLDFD to descriptor number NEWFD, replacing the
2016 previous meaning of NEWFD. Both OLDFD and NEWFD must be integers.
2017 Unlike for dup->fdes or primitive-move->fdes, no attempt is made
2018 to move away ports which are using NEWFD. The return value is
2021 ** New function: close-fdes fd
2023 A simple wrapper for the `close' system call. Close file
2024 descriptor FD, which must be an integer. Unlike close (*note
2025 close: Ports and File Descriptors.), the file descriptor will be
2026 closed even if a port is using it. The return value is
2029 ** New function: crypt password salt
2031 Encrypts `password' using the standard unix password encryption
2034 ** New function: chroot path
2036 Change the root directory of the running process to `path'.
2038 ** New functions: getlogin, cuserid
2040 Return the login name or the user name of the current effective user
2043 ** New functions: getpriority which who, setpriority which who prio
2045 Get or set the priority of the running process.
2047 ** New function: getpass prompt
2049 Read a password from the terminal, first displaying `prompt' and
2052 ** New function: flock file operation
2054 Set/remove an advisory shared or exclusive lock on `file'.
2056 ** New functions: sethostname name, gethostname
2058 Set or get the hostname of the machine the current process is running
2061 ** New function: mkstemp! tmpl
2063 mkstemp creates a new unique file in the file system and returns a
2064 new buffered port open for reading and writing to the file. TMPL
2065 is a string specifying where the file should be created: it must
2066 end with `XXXXXX' and will be changed in place to return the name
2067 of the temporary file.
2069 ** New function: open-input-string string
2071 Return an input string port which delivers the characters from
2072 `string'. This procedure, together with `open-output-string' and
2073 `get-output-string' implements SRFI-6.
2075 ** New function: open-output-string
2077 Return an output string port which collects all data written to it.
2078 The data can then be retrieved by `get-output-string'.
2080 ** New function: get-output-string
2082 Return the contents of an output string port.
2084 ** New function: identity
2086 Return the argument.
2088 ** socket, connect, accept etc., now have support for IPv6. IPv6 addresses
2089 are represented in Scheme as integers with normal host byte ordering.
2091 ** New function: inet-pton family address
2093 Convert a printable string network address into an integer. Note that
2094 unlike the C version of this function, the result is an integer with
2095 normal host byte ordering. FAMILY can be `AF_INET' or `AF_INET6'.
2098 (inet-pton AF_INET "127.0.0.1") => 2130706433
2099 (inet-pton AF_INET6 "::1") => 1
2101 ** New function: inet-ntop family address
2103 Convert an integer network address into a printable string. Note that
2104 unlike the C version of this function, the input is an integer with
2105 normal host byte ordering. FAMILY can be `AF_INET' or `AF_INET6'.
2108 (inet-ntop AF_INET 2130706433) => "127.0.0.1"
2109 (inet-ntop AF_INET6 (- (expt 2 128) 1)) =>
2110 ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff
2114 Use `identity' instead.
2120 ** Deprecated: return-it
2124 ** Deprecated: string-character-length
2126 Use `string-length' instead.
2128 ** Deprecated: flags
2130 Use `logior' instead.
2132 ** Deprecated: close-all-ports-except.
2134 This was intended for closing ports in a child process after a fork,
2135 but it has the undesirable side effect of flushing buffers.
2136 port-for-each is more flexible.
2138 ** The (ice-9 popen) module now attempts to set up file descriptors in
2139 the child process from the current Scheme ports, instead of using the
2140 current values of file descriptors 0, 1, and 2 in the parent process.
2142 ** Removed function: builtin-weak-bindings
2144 There is no such concept as a weak binding any more.
2146 ** Removed constants: bignum-radix, scm-line-incrementors
2148 ** define-method: New syntax mandatory.
2150 The new method syntax is now mandatory:
2152 (define-method (NAME ARG-SPEC ...) BODY ...)
2153 (define-method (NAME ARG-SPEC ... . REST-ARG) BODY ...)
2155 ARG-SPEC ::= ARG-NAME | (ARG-NAME TYPE)
2156 REST-ARG ::= ARG-NAME
2158 If you have old code using the old syntax, import
2159 (oop goops old-define-method) before (oop goops) as in:
2161 (use-modules (oop goops old-define-method) (oop goops))
2163 ** Deprecated function: builtin-variable
2164 Removed function: builtin-bindings
2166 There is no longer a distinction between builtin or other variables.
2167 Use module system operations for all variables.
2169 ** Lazy-catch handlers are no longer allowed to return.
2171 That is, a call to `throw', `error', etc is now guaranteed to not
2174 ** Bugfixes for (ice-9 getopt-long)
2176 This module is now tested using test-suite/tests/getopt-long.test.
2177 The following bugs have been fixed:
2179 *** Parsing for options that are specified to have `optional' args now checks
2180 if the next element is an option instead of unconditionally taking it as the
2183 *** An error is now thrown for `--opt=val' when the option description
2184 does not specify `(value #t)' or `(value optional)'. This condition used to
2185 be accepted w/o error, contrary to the documentation.
2187 *** The error message for unrecognized options is now more informative.
2188 It used to be "not a record", an artifact of the implementation.
2190 *** The error message for `--opt' terminating the arg list (no value), when
2191 `(value #t)' is specified, is now more informative. It used to be "not enough
2194 *** "Clumped" single-char args now preserve trailing string, use it as arg.
2195 The expansion used to be like so:
2197 ("-abc5d" "--xyz") => ("-a" "-b" "-c" "--xyz")
2199 Note that the "5d" is dropped. Now it is like so:
2201 ("-abc5d" "--xyz") => ("-a" "-b" "-c" "5d" "--xyz")
2203 This enables single-char options to have adjoining arguments as long as their
2204 constituent characters are not potential single-char options.
2206 ** (ice-9 session) procedure `arity' now works with (ice-9 optargs) `lambda*'
2208 The `lambda*' and derivative forms in (ice-9 optargs) now set a procedure
2209 property `arglist', which can be retrieved by `arity'. The result is that
2210 `arity' can give more detailed information than before:
2214 guile> (use-modules (ice-9 optargs))
2215 guile> (define* (foo #:optional a b c) a)
2217 0 or more arguments in `lambda*:G0'.
2222 3 optional arguments: `a', `b' and `c'.
2223 guile> (define* (bar a b #:key c d #:allow-other-keys) a)
2225 2 required arguments: `a' and `b', 2 keyword arguments: `c'
2226 and `d', other keywords allowed.
2227 guile> (define* (baz a b #:optional c #:rest r) a)
2229 2 required arguments: `a' and `b', 1 optional argument: `c',
2232 * Changes to the C interface
2234 ** Types have been renamed from scm_*_t to scm_t_*.
2236 This has been done for POSIX sake. It reserves identifiers ending
2237 with "_t". What a concept.
2239 The old names are still available with status `deprecated'.
2241 ** scm_t_bits (former scm_bits_t) is now a unsigned type.
2243 ** Deprecated features have been removed.
2247 SCM_INPORTP, SCM_OUTPORTP SCM_ICHRP, SCM_ICHR, SCM_MAKICHR
2248 SCM_SETJMPBUF SCM_NSTRINGP SCM_NRWSTRINGP SCM_NVECTORP SCM_DOUBLE_CELLP
2250 *** C Functions removed
2252 scm_sysmissing scm_tag scm_tc16_flo scm_tc_flo
2253 scm_fseek - replaced by scm_seek.
2254 gc-thunk - replaced by after-gc-hook.
2255 gh_int2scmb - replaced by gh_bool2scm.
2256 scm_tc_dblr - replaced by scm_tc16_real.
2257 scm_tc_dblc - replaced by scm_tc16_complex.
2258 scm_list_star - replaced by scm_cons_star.
2260 ** Deprecated: scm_makfromstr
2262 Use scm_mem2string instead.
2264 ** Deprecated: scm_make_shared_substring
2266 Explicit shared substrings will disappear from Guile.
2268 Instead, "normal" strings will be implemented using sharing
2269 internally, combined with a copy-on-write strategy.
2271 ** Deprecated: scm_read_only_string_p
2273 The concept of read-only strings will disappear in next release of
2276 ** Deprecated: scm_sloppy_memq, scm_sloppy_memv, scm_sloppy_member
2278 Instead, use scm_c_memq or scm_memq, scm_memv, scm_member.
2280 ** New functions: scm_call_0, scm_call_1, scm_call_2, scm_call_3
2282 Call a procedure with the indicated number of arguments. See "Fly
2283 Evaluation" in the manual.
2285 ** New functions: scm_apply_0, scm_apply_1, scm_apply_2, scm_apply_3
2287 Call a procedure with the indicated number of arguments and a list of
2288 further arguments. See "Fly Evaluation" in the manual.
2290 ** New functions: scm_list_1, scm_list_2, scm_list_3, scm_list_4, scm_list_5
2292 Create a list of the given number of elements. See "List
2293 Constructors" in the manual.
2295 ** Renamed function: scm_listify has been replaced by scm_list_n.
2297 ** Deprecated macros: SCM_LIST0, SCM_LIST1, SCM_LIST2, SCM_LIST3, SCM_LIST4,
2298 SCM_LIST5, SCM_LIST6, SCM_LIST7, SCM_LIST8, SCM_LIST9.
2300 Use functions scm_list_N instead.
2302 ** New function: scm_c_read (SCM port, void *buffer, scm_sizet size)
2304 Used by an application to read arbitrary number of bytes from a port.
2305 Same semantics as libc read, except that scm_c_read only returns less
2306 than SIZE bytes if at end-of-file.
2308 Warning: Doesn't update port line and column counts!
2310 ** New function: scm_c_write (SCM port, const void *ptr, scm_sizet size)
2312 Used by an application to write arbitrary number of bytes to an SCM
2313 port. Similar semantics as libc write. However, unlike libc
2314 write, scm_c_write writes the requested number of bytes and has no
2317 Warning: Doesn't update port line and column counts!
2319 ** New function: scm_init_guile ()
2321 In contrast to scm_boot_guile, scm_init_guile will return normally
2322 after initializing Guile. It is not available on all systems, tho.
2324 ** New functions: scm_str2symbol, scm_mem2symbol
2326 The function scm_str2symbol takes a const char* pointing to a zero-terminated
2327 field of characters and creates a scheme symbol object from that C string.
2328 The function scm_mem2symbol takes a const char* and a number of characters and
2329 creates a symbol from the characters in that memory area.
2331 ** New functions: scm_primitive_make_property
2332 scm_primitive_property_ref
2333 scm_primitive_property_set_x
2334 scm_primitive_property_del_x
2336 These functions implement a new way to deal with object properties.
2337 See libguile/properties.c for their documentation.
2339 ** New function: scm_done_free (long size)
2341 This function is the inverse of scm_done_malloc. Use it to report the
2342 amount of smob memory you free. The previous method, which involved
2343 calling scm_done_malloc with negative argument, was somewhat
2344 unintuitive (and is still available, of course).
2346 ** New function: scm_c_memq (SCM obj, SCM list)
2348 This function provides a fast C level alternative for scm_memq for the case
2349 that the list parameter is known to be a proper list. The function is a
2350 replacement for scm_sloppy_memq, but is stricter in its requirements on its
2351 list input parameter, since for anything else but a proper list the function's
2352 behaviour is undefined - it may even crash or loop endlessly. Further, for
2353 the case that the object is not found in the list, scm_c_memq returns #f which
2354 is similar to scm_memq, but different from scm_sloppy_memq's behaviour.
2356 ** New functions: scm_remember_upto_here_1, scm_remember_upto_here_2,
2357 scm_remember_upto_here
2359 These functions replace the function scm_remember.
2361 ** Deprecated function: scm_remember
2363 Use one of the new functions scm_remember_upto_here_1,
2364 scm_remember_upto_here_2 or scm_remember_upto_here instead.
2366 ** New function: scm_allocate_string
2368 This function replaces the function scm_makstr.
2370 ** Deprecated function: scm_makstr
2372 Use the new function scm_allocate_string instead.
2374 ** New global variable scm_gc_running_p introduced.
2376 Use this variable to find out if garbage collection is being executed. Up to
2377 now applications have used scm_gc_heap_lock to test if garbage collection was
2378 running, which also works because of the fact that up to know only the garbage
2379 collector has set this variable. But, this is an implementation detail that
2380 may change. Further, scm_gc_heap_lock is not set throughout gc, thus the use
2381 of this variable is (and has been) not fully safe anyway.
2383 ** New macros: SCM_BITVECTOR_MAX_LENGTH, SCM_UVECTOR_MAX_LENGTH
2385 Use these instead of SCM_LENGTH_MAX.
2387 ** New macros: SCM_CONTINUATION_LENGTH, SCM_CCLO_LENGTH, SCM_STACK_LENGTH,
2388 SCM_STRING_LENGTH, SCM_SYMBOL_LENGTH, SCM_UVECTOR_LENGTH,
2389 SCM_BITVECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_VECTOR_LENGTH.
2391 Use these instead of SCM_LENGTH.
2393 ** New macros: SCM_SET_CONTINUATION_LENGTH, SCM_SET_STRING_LENGTH,
2394 SCM_SET_SYMBOL_LENGTH, SCM_SET_VECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_SET_UVECTOR_LENGTH,
2395 SCM_SET_BITVECTOR_LENGTH
2397 Use these instead of SCM_SETLENGTH
2399 ** New macros: SCM_STRING_CHARS, SCM_SYMBOL_CHARS, SCM_CCLO_BASE,
2400 SCM_VECTOR_BASE, SCM_UVECTOR_BASE, SCM_BITVECTOR_BASE, SCM_COMPLEX_MEM,
2403 Use these instead of SCM_CHARS, SCM_UCHARS, SCM_ROCHARS, SCM_ROUCHARS or
2406 ** New macros: SCM_SET_BIGNUM_BASE, SCM_SET_STRING_CHARS,
2407 SCM_SET_SYMBOL_CHARS, SCM_SET_UVECTOR_BASE, SCM_SET_BITVECTOR_BASE,
2410 Use these instead of SCM_SETCHARS.
2412 ** New macro: SCM_BITVECTOR_P
2414 ** New macro: SCM_STRING_COERCE_0TERMINATION_X
2416 Use instead of SCM_COERCE_SUBSTR.
2418 ** New macros: SCM_DIR_OPEN_P, SCM_DIR_FLAG_OPEN
2420 For directory objects, use these instead of SCM_OPDIRP and SCM_OPN.
2422 ** Deprecated macros: SCM_OUTOFRANGE, SCM_NALLOC, SCM_HUP_SIGNAL,
2423 SCM_INT_SIGNAL, SCM_FPE_SIGNAL, SCM_BUS_SIGNAL, SCM_SEGV_SIGNAL,
2424 SCM_ALRM_SIGNAL, SCM_GC_SIGNAL, SCM_TICK_SIGNAL, SCM_SIG_ORD,
2425 SCM_ORD_SIG, SCM_NUM_SIGS, SCM_SYMBOL_SLOTS, SCM_SLOTS, SCM_SLOPPY_STRINGP,
2426 SCM_VALIDATE_STRINGORSUBSTR, SCM_FREEP, SCM_NFREEP, SCM_CHARS, SCM_UCHARS,
2427 SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING, SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING_COPY,
2428 SCM_VALIDATE_NULLORROSTRING_COPY, SCM_ROLENGTH, SCM_LENGTH, SCM_HUGE_LENGTH,
2429 SCM_SUBSTRP, SCM_SUBSTR_STR, SCM_SUBSTR_OFFSET, SCM_COERCE_SUBSTR,
2430 SCM_ROSTRINGP, SCM_RWSTRINGP, SCM_VALIDATE_RWSTRING, SCM_ROCHARS,
2431 SCM_ROUCHARS, SCM_SETLENGTH, SCM_SETCHARS, SCM_LENGTH_MAX, SCM_GC8MARKP,
2432 SCM_SETGC8MARK, SCM_CLRGC8MARK, SCM_GCTYP16, SCM_GCCDR, SCM_SUBR_DOC,
2433 SCM_OPDIRP, SCM_VALIDATE_OPDIR, SCM_WTA, RETURN_SCM_WTA, SCM_CONST_LONG,
2434 SCM_WNA, SCM_FUNC_NAME, SCM_VALIDATE_NUMBER_COPY,
2435 SCM_VALIDATE_NUMBER_DEF_COPY, SCM_SLOPPY_CONSP, SCM_SLOPPY_NCONSP,
2436 SCM_SETAND_CDR, SCM_SETOR_CDR, SCM_SETAND_CAR, SCM_SETOR_CAR
2438 Use SCM_ASSERT_RANGE or SCM_VALIDATE_XXX_RANGE instead of SCM_OUTOFRANGE.
2439 Use scm_memory_error instead of SCM_NALLOC.
2440 Use SCM_STRINGP instead of SCM_SLOPPY_STRINGP.
2441 Use SCM_VALIDATE_STRING instead of SCM_VALIDATE_STRINGORSUBSTR.
2442 Use SCM_FREE_CELL_P instead of SCM_FREEP/SCM_NFREEP
2443 Use a type specific accessor macro instead of SCM_CHARS/SCM_UCHARS.
2444 Use a type specific accessor instead of SCM(_|_RO|_HUGE_)LENGTH.
2445 Use SCM_VALIDATE_(SYMBOL|STRING) instead of SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING.
2446 Use SCM_STRING_COERCE_0TERMINATION_X instead of SCM_COERCE_SUBSTR.
2447 Use SCM_STRINGP or SCM_SYMBOLP instead of SCM_ROSTRINGP.
2448 Use SCM_STRINGP instead of SCM_RWSTRINGP.
2449 Use SCM_VALIDATE_STRING instead of SCM_VALIDATE_RWSTRING.
2450 Use SCM_STRING_CHARS instead of SCM_ROCHARS.
2451 Use SCM_STRING_UCHARS instead of SCM_ROUCHARS.
2452 Use a type specific setter macro instead of SCM_SETLENGTH.
2453 Use a type specific setter macro instead of SCM_SETCHARS.
2454 Use a type specific length macro instead of SCM_LENGTH_MAX.
2455 Use SCM_GCMARKP instead of SCM_GC8MARKP.
2456 Use SCM_SETGCMARK instead of SCM_SETGC8MARK.
2457 Use SCM_CLRGCMARK instead of SCM_CLRGC8MARK.
2458 Use SCM_TYP16 instead of SCM_GCTYP16.
2459 Use SCM_CDR instead of SCM_GCCDR.
2460 Use SCM_DIR_OPEN_P instead of SCM_OPDIRP.
2461 Use SCM_MISC_ERROR or SCM_WRONG_TYPE_ARG instead of SCM_WTA.
2462 Use SCM_MISC_ERROR or SCM_WRONG_TYPE_ARG instead of RETURN_SCM_WTA.
2463 Use SCM_VCELL_INIT instead of SCM_CONST_LONG.
2464 Use SCM_WRONG_NUM_ARGS instead of SCM_WNA.
2465 Use SCM_CONSP instead of SCM_SLOPPY_CONSP.
2466 Use !SCM_CONSP instead of SCM_SLOPPY_NCONSP.
2468 ** Removed function: scm_struct_init
2470 ** Removed variable: scm_symhash_dim
2472 ** Renamed function: scm_make_cont has been replaced by
2473 scm_make_continuation, which has a different interface.
2475 ** Deprecated function: scm_call_catching_errors
2477 Use scm_catch or scm_lazy_catch from throw.[ch] instead.
2479 ** Deprecated function: scm_strhash
2481 Use scm_string_hash instead.
2483 ** Deprecated function: scm_vector_set_length_x
2485 Instead, create a fresh vector of the desired size and copy the contents.
2487 ** scm_gensym has changed prototype
2489 scm_gensym now only takes one argument.
2491 ** Deprecated type tags: scm_tc7_ssymbol, scm_tc7_msymbol, scm_tcs_symbols,
2494 There is now only a single symbol type scm_tc7_symbol.
2495 The tag scm_tc7_lvector was not used anyway.
2497 ** Deprecated function: scm_make_smob_type_mfpe, scm_set_smob_mfpe.
2499 Use scm_make_smob_type and scm_set_smob_XXX instead.
2501 ** New function scm_set_smob_apply.
2503 This can be used to set an apply function to a smob type.
2505 ** Deprecated function: scm_strprint_obj
2507 Use scm_object_to_string instead.
2509 ** Deprecated function: scm_wta
2511 Use scm_wrong_type_arg, or another appropriate error signalling function
2514 ** Explicit support for obarrays has been deprecated.
2516 Use `scm_str2symbol' and the generic hashtable functions instead.
2518 ** The concept of `vcells' has been deprecated.
2520 The data type `variable' is now used exclusively. `Vcells' have been
2521 a low-level concept so you are likely not affected by this change.
2523 *** Deprecated functions: scm_sym2vcell, scm_sysintern,
2524 scm_sysintern0, scm_symbol_value0, scm_intern, scm_intern0.
2526 Use scm_c_define or scm_c_lookup instead, as appropriate.
2528 *** New functions: scm_c_module_lookup, scm_c_lookup,
2529 scm_c_module_define, scm_c_define, scm_module_lookup, scm_lookup,
2530 scm_module_define, scm_define.
2532 These functions work with variables instead of with vcells.
2534 ** New functions for creating and defining `subr's and `gsubr's.
2536 The new functions more clearly distinguish between creating a subr (or
2537 gsubr) object and adding it to the current module.
2539 These new functions are available: scm_c_make_subr, scm_c_define_subr,
2540 scm_c_make_subr_with_generic, scm_c_define_subr_with_generic,
2541 scm_c_make_gsubr, scm_c_define_gsubr, scm_c_make_gsubr_with_generic,
2542 scm_c_define_gsubr_with_generic.
2544 ** Deprecated functions: scm_make_subr, scm_make_subr_opt,
2545 scm_make_subr_with_generic, scm_make_gsubr,
2546 scm_make_gsubr_with_generic.
2548 Use the new ones from above instead.
2550 ** C interface to the module system has changed.
2552 While we suggest that you avoid as many explicit module system
2553 operations from C as possible for the time being, the C interface has
2554 been made more similar to the high-level Scheme module system.
2556 *** New functions: scm_c_define_module, scm_c_use_module,
2557 scm_c_export, scm_c_resolve_module.
2559 They mostly work like their Scheme namesakes. scm_c_define_module
2560 takes a function that is called a context where the new module is
2563 *** Deprecated functions: scm_the_root_module, scm_make_module,
2564 scm_ensure_user_module, scm_load_scheme_module.
2566 Use the new functions instead.
2568 ** Renamed function: scm_internal_with_fluids becomes
2571 scm_internal_with_fluids is available as a deprecated function.
2573 ** New function: scm_c_with_fluid.
2575 Just like scm_c_with_fluids, but takes one fluid and one value instead
2578 ** Deprecated typedefs: long_long, ulong_long.
2580 They are of questionable utility and they pollute the global
2583 ** Deprecated typedef: scm_sizet
2585 It is of questionable utility now that Guile requires ANSI C, and is
2588 ** Deprecated typedefs: scm_port_rw_active, scm_port,
2589 scm_ptob_descriptor, scm_debug_info, scm_debug_frame, scm_fport,
2590 scm_option, scm_rstate, scm_rng, scm_array, scm_array_dim.
2592 Made more compliant with the naming policy by adding a _t at the end.
2594 ** Deprecated functions: scm_mkbig, scm_big2num, scm_adjbig,
2595 scm_normbig, scm_copybig, scm_2ulong2big, scm_dbl2big, scm_big2dbl
2597 With the exception of the mysterious scm_2ulong2big, they are still
2598 available under new names (scm_i_mkbig etc). These functions are not
2599 intended to be used in user code. You should avoid dealing with
2600 bignums directly, and should deal with numbers in general (which can
2603 ** Change in behavior: scm_num2long, scm_num2ulong
2605 The scm_num2[u]long functions don't any longer accept an inexact
2606 argument. This change in behavior is motivated by concordance with
2607 R5RS: It is more common that a primitive doesn't want to accept an
2608 inexact for an exact.
2610 ** New functions: scm_short2num, scm_ushort2num, scm_int2num,
2611 scm_uint2num, scm_size2num, scm_ptrdiff2num, scm_num2short,
2612 scm_num2ushort, scm_num2int, scm_num2uint, scm_num2ptrdiff,
2615 These are conversion functions between the various ANSI C integral
2616 types and Scheme numbers. NOTE: The scm_num2xxx functions don't
2617 accept an inexact argument.
2619 ** New functions: scm_float2num, scm_double2num,
2620 scm_num2float, scm_num2double.
2622 These are conversion functions between the two ANSI C float types and
2625 ** New number validation macros:
2626 SCM_NUM2{SIZE,PTRDIFF,SHORT,USHORT,INT,UINT}[_DEF]
2630 ** New functions: scm_gc_protect_object, scm_gc_unprotect_object
2632 These are just nicer-named old scm_protect_object and
2633 scm_unprotect_object.
2635 ** Deprecated functions: scm_protect_object, scm_unprotect_object
2637 ** New functions: scm_gc_[un]register_root, scm_gc_[un]register_roots
2639 These functions can be used to register pointers to locations that
2642 ** Deprecated function: scm_create_hook.
2644 Its sins are: misleading name, non-modularity and lack of general
2648 Changes since Guile 1.3.4:
2650 * Changes to the distribution
2652 ** Trees from nightly snapshots and CVS now require you to run autogen.sh.
2654 We've changed the way we handle generated files in the Guile source
2655 repository. As a result, the procedure for building trees obtained
2656 from the nightly FTP snapshots or via CVS has changed:
2657 - You must have appropriate versions of autoconf, automake, and
2658 libtool installed on your system. See README for info on how to
2659 obtain these programs.
2660 - Before configuring the tree, you must first run the script
2661 `autogen.sh' at the top of the source tree.
2663 The Guile repository used to contain not only source files, written by
2664 humans, but also some generated files, like configure scripts and
2665 Makefile.in files. Even though the contents of these files could be
2666 derived mechanically from other files present, we thought it would
2667 make the tree easier to build if we checked them into CVS.
2669 However, this approach means that minor differences between
2670 developer's installed tools and habits affected the whole team.
2671 So we have removed the generated files from the repository, and
2672 added the autogen.sh script, which will reconstruct them
2676 ** configure now has experimental options to remove support for certain
2679 --disable-arrays omit array and uniform array support
2680 --disable-posix omit posix interfaces
2681 --disable-networking omit networking interfaces
2682 --disable-regex omit regular expression interfaces
2684 These are likely to become separate modules some day.
2686 ** New configure option --enable-debug-freelist
2688 This enables a debugging version of SCM_NEWCELL(), and also registers
2689 an extra primitive, the setter `gc-set-debug-check-freelist!'.
2691 Configure with the --enable-debug-freelist option to enable
2692 the gc-set-debug-check-freelist! primitive, and then use:
2694 (gc-set-debug-check-freelist! #t) # turn on checking of the freelist
2695 (gc-set-debug-check-freelist! #f) # turn off checking
2697 Checking of the freelist forces a traversal of the freelist and
2698 a garbage collection before each allocation of a cell. This can
2699 slow down the interpreter dramatically, so the setter should be used to
2700 turn on this extra processing only when necessary.
2702 ** New configure option --enable-debug-malloc
2704 Include code for debugging of calls to scm_must_malloc/realloc/free.
2708 1. objects freed by scm_must_free has been mallocated by scm_must_malloc
2709 2. objects reallocated by scm_must_realloc has been allocated by
2711 3. reallocated objects are reallocated with the same what string
2713 But, most importantly, it records the number of allocated objects of
2714 each kind. This is useful when searching for memory leaks.
2716 A Guile compiled with this option provides the primitive
2717 `malloc-stats' which returns an alist with pairs of kind and the
2718 number of objects of that kind.
2720 ** All includes are now referenced relative to the root directory
2722 Since some users have had problems with mixups between Guile and
2723 system headers, we have decided to always refer to Guile headers via
2724 their parent directories. This essentially creates a "private name
2725 space" for Guile headers. This means that the compiler only is given
2726 -I options for the root build and root source directory.
2728 ** Header files kw.h and genio.h have been removed.
2730 ** The module (ice-9 getopt-gnu-style) has been removed.
2732 ** New module (ice-9 documentation)
2734 Implements the interface to documentation strings associated with
2737 ** New module (ice-9 time)
2739 Provides a macro `time', which displays execution time of a given form.
2741 ** New module (ice-9 history)
2743 Loading this module enables value history in the repl.
2745 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
2747 ** New command line option --debug
2749 Start Guile with debugging evaluator and backtraces enabled.
2751 This is useful when debugging your .guile init file or scripts.
2753 ** New help facility
2755 Usage: (help NAME) gives documentation about objects named NAME (a symbol)
2756 (help REGEXP) ditto for objects with names matching REGEXP (a string)
2757 (help 'NAME) gives documentation for NAME, even if it is not an object
2758 (help ,EXPR) gives documentation for object returned by EXPR
2759 (help (my module)) gives module commentary for `(my module)'
2760 (help) gives this text
2762 `help' searches among bindings exported from loaded modules, while
2763 `apropos' searches among bindings visible from the "current" module.
2765 Examples: (help help)
2767 (help "output-string")
2769 ** `help' and `apropos' now prints full module names
2771 ** Dynamic linking now uses libltdl from the libtool package.
2773 The old system dependent code for doing dynamic linking has been
2774 replaced with calls to the libltdl functions which do all the hairy
2777 The major improvement is that you can now directly pass libtool
2778 library names like "libfoo.la" to `dynamic-link' and `dynamic-link'
2779 will be able to do the best shared library job you can get, via
2782 The way dynamic libraries are found has changed and is not really
2783 portable across platforms, probably. It is therefore recommended to
2784 use absolute filenames when possible.
2786 If you pass a filename without an extension to `dynamic-link', it will
2787 try a few appropriate ones. Thus, the most platform ignorant way is
2788 to specify a name like "libfoo", without any directories and
2791 ** Guile COOP threads are now compatible with LinuxThreads
2793 Previously, COOP threading wasn't possible in applications linked with
2794 Linux POSIX threads due to their use of the stack pointer to find the
2795 thread context. This has now been fixed with a workaround which uses
2796 the pthreads to allocate the stack.
2798 ** New primitives: `pkgdata-dir', `site-dir', `library-dir'
2800 ** Positions of erring expression in scripts
2802 With version 1.3.4, the location of the erring expression in Guile
2803 scipts is no longer automatically reported. (This should have been
2804 documented before the 1.3.4 release.)
2806 You can get this information by enabling recording of positions of
2807 source expressions and running the debugging evaluator. Put this at
2808 the top of your script (or in your "site" file):
2810 (read-enable 'positions)
2811 (debug-enable 'debug)
2813 ** Backtraces in scripts
2815 It is now possible to get backtraces in scripts.
2819 (debug-enable 'debug 'backtrace)
2821 at the top of the script.
2823 (The first options enables the debugging evaluator.
2824 The second enables backtraces.)
2826 ** Part of module system symbol lookup now implemented in C
2828 The eval closure of most modules is now implemented in C. Since this
2829 was one of the bottlenecks for loading speed, Guile now loads code
2830 substantially faster than before.
2832 ** Attempting to get the value of an unbound variable now produces
2833 an exception with a key of 'unbound-variable instead of 'misc-error.
2835 ** The initial default output port is now unbuffered if it's using a
2836 tty device. Previously in this situation it was line-buffered.
2838 ** New hook: after-gc-hook
2840 after-gc-hook takes over the role of gc-thunk. This hook is run at
2841 the first SCM_TICK after a GC. (Thus, the code is run at the same
2842 point during evaluation as signal handlers.)
2844 Note that this hook should be used only for diagnostic and debugging
2845 purposes. It is not certain that it will continue to be well-defined
2846 when this hook is run in the future.
2848 C programmers: Note the new C level hooks scm_before_gc_c_hook,
2849 scm_before_sweep_c_hook, scm_after_gc_c_hook.
2851 ** Improvements to garbage collector
2853 Guile 1.4 has a new policy for triggering heap allocation and
2854 determining the sizes of heap segments. It fixes a number of problems
2857 1. The new policy can handle two separate pools of cells
2858 (2-word/4-word) better. (The old policy would run wild, allocating
2859 more and more memory for certain programs.)
2861 2. The old code would sometimes allocate far too much heap so that the
2862 Guile process became gigantic. The new code avoids this.
2864 3. The old code would sometimes allocate too little so that few cells
2865 were freed at GC so that, in turn, too much time was spent in GC.
2867 4. The old code would often trigger heap allocation several times in a
2868 row. (The new scheme predicts how large the segments needs to be
2869 in order not to need further allocation.)
2871 All in all, the new GC policy will make larger applications more
2874 The new GC scheme also is prepared for POSIX threading. Threads can
2875 allocate private pools of cells ("clusters") with just a single
2876 function call. Allocation of single cells from such a cluster can
2877 then proceed without any need of inter-thread synchronization.
2879 ** New environment variables controlling GC parameters
2881 GUILE_MAX_SEGMENT_SIZE Maximal segment size
2884 Allocation of 2-word cell heaps:
2886 GUILE_INIT_SEGMENT_SIZE_1 Size of initial heap segment in bytes
2889 GUILE_MIN_YIELD_1 Minimum number of freed cells at each
2890 GC in percent of total heap size
2893 Allocation of 4-word cell heaps
2894 (used for real numbers and misc other objects):
2896 GUILE_INIT_SEGMENT_SIZE_2, GUILE_MIN_YIELD_2
2898 (See entry "Way for application to customize GC parameters" under
2899 section "Changes to the scm_ interface" below.)
2901 ** Guile now implements reals using 4-word cells
2903 This speeds up computation with reals. (They were earlier allocated
2904 with `malloc'.) There is still some room for optimizations, however.
2906 ** Some further steps toward POSIX thread support have been taken
2908 *** Guile's critical sections (SCM_DEFER/ALLOW_INTS)
2909 don't have much effect any longer, and many of them will be removed in
2913 are only handled at the top of the evaluator loop, immediately after
2914 I/O, and in scm_equalp.
2916 *** The GC can allocate thread private pools of pairs.
2918 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
2920 ** close-input-port and close-output-port are now R5RS
2922 These procedures have been turned into primitives and have R5RS behaviour.
2924 ** New procedure: simple-format PORT MESSAGE ARG1 ...
2926 (ice-9 boot) makes `format' an alias for `simple-format' until possibly
2927 extended by the more sophisticated version in (ice-9 format)
2929 (simple-format port message . args)
2930 Write MESSAGE to DESTINATION, defaulting to `current-output-port'.
2931 MESSAGE can contain ~A (was %s) and ~S (was %S) escapes. When printed,
2932 the escapes are replaced with corresponding members of ARGS:
2933 ~A formats using `display' and ~S formats using `write'.
2934 If DESTINATION is #t, then use the `current-output-port',
2935 if DESTINATION is #f, then return a string containing the formatted text.
2936 Does not add a trailing newline."
2938 ** string-ref: the second argument is no longer optional.
2940 ** string, list->string: no longer accept strings in their arguments,
2941 only characters, for compatibility with R5RS.
2943 ** New procedure: port-closed? PORT
2944 Returns #t if PORT is closed or #f if it is open.
2946 ** Deprecated: list*
2948 The list* functionality is now provided by cons* (SRFI-1 compliant)
2950 ** New procedure: cons* ARG1 ARG2 ... ARGn
2952 Like `list', but the last arg provides the tail of the constructed list,
2953 returning (cons ARG1 (cons ARG2 (cons ... ARGn))).
2955 Requires at least one argument. If given one argument, that argument
2956 is returned as result.
2958 This function is called `list*' in some other Schemes and in Common LISP.
2960 ** Removed deprecated: serial-map, serial-array-copy!, serial-array-map!
2962 ** New procedure: object-documentation OBJECT
2964 Returns the documentation string associated with OBJECT. The
2965 procedure uses a caching mechanism so that subsequent lookups are
2968 Exported by (ice-9 documentation).
2970 ** module-name now returns full names of modules
2972 Previously, only the last part of the name was returned (`session' for
2973 `(ice-9 session)'). Ex: `(ice-9 session)'.
2975 * Changes to the gh_ interface
2977 ** Deprecated: gh_int2scmb
2979 Use gh_bool2scm instead.
2981 * Changes to the scm_ interface
2983 ** Guile primitives now carry docstrings!
2985 Thanks to Greg Badros!
2987 ** Guile primitives are defined in a new way: SCM_DEFINE/SCM_DEFINE1/SCM_PROC
2989 Now Guile primitives are defined using the SCM_DEFINE/SCM_DEFINE1/SCM_PROC
2990 macros and must contain a docstring that is extracted into foo.doc using a new
2991 guile-doc-snarf script (that uses guile-doc-snarf.awk).
2993 However, a major overhaul of these macros is scheduled for the next release of
2996 ** Guile primitives use a new technique for validation of arguments
2998 SCM_VALIDATE_* macros are defined to ease the redundancy and improve
2999 the readability of argument checking.
3001 ** All (nearly?) K&R prototypes for functions replaced with ANSI C equivalents.
3003 ** New macros: SCM_PACK, SCM_UNPACK
3005 Compose/decompose an SCM value.
3007 The SCM type is now treated as an abstract data type and may be defined as a
3008 long, a void* or as a struct, depending on the architecture and compile time
3009 options. This makes it easier to find several types of bugs, for example when
3010 SCM values are treated as integers without conversion. Values of the SCM type
3011 should be treated as "atomic" values. These macros are used when
3012 composing/decomposing an SCM value, either because you want to access
3013 individual bits, or because you want to treat it as an integer value.
3015 E.g., in order to set bit 7 in an SCM value x, use the expression
3017 SCM_PACK (SCM_UNPACK (x) | 0x80)
3019 ** The name property of hooks is deprecated.
3020 Thus, the use of SCM_HOOK_NAME and scm_make_hook_with_name is deprecated.
3022 You can emulate this feature by using object properties.
3024 ** Deprecated macros: SCM_INPORTP, SCM_OUTPORTP, SCM_CRDY, SCM_ICHRP,
3025 SCM_ICHR, SCM_MAKICHR, SCM_SETJMPBUF, SCM_NSTRINGP, SCM_NRWSTRINGP,
3028 These macros will be removed in a future release of Guile.
3030 ** The following types, functions and macros from numbers.h are deprecated:
3031 scm_dblproc, SCM_UNEGFIXABLE, SCM_FLOBUFLEN, SCM_INEXP, SCM_CPLXP, SCM_REAL,
3032 SCM_IMAG, SCM_REALPART, scm_makdbl, SCM_SINGP, SCM_NUM2DBL, SCM_NO_BIGDIG
3034 ** Port internals: the rw_random variable in the scm_port structure
3035 must be set to non-zero in any random access port. In recent Guile
3036 releases it was only set for bidirectional random-access ports.
3038 ** Port internals: the seek ptob procedure is now responsible for
3039 resetting the buffers if required. The change was made so that in the
3040 special case of reading the current position (i.e., seek p 0 SEEK_CUR)
3041 the fport and strport ptobs can avoid resetting the buffers,
3042 in particular to avoid discarding unread chars. An existing port
3043 type can be fixed by adding something like the following to the
3044 beginning of the ptob seek procedure:
3046 if (pt->rw_active == SCM_PORT_READ)
3047 scm_end_input (object);
3048 else if (pt->rw_active == SCM_PORT_WRITE)
3049 ptob->flush (object);
3051 although to actually avoid resetting the buffers and discard unread
3052 chars requires further hacking that depends on the characteristics
3055 ** Deprecated functions: scm_fseek, scm_tag
3057 These functions are no longer used and will be removed in a future version.
3059 ** The scm_sysmissing procedure is no longer used in libguile.
3060 Unless it turns out to be unexpectedly useful to somebody, it will be
3061 removed in a future version.
3063 ** The format of error message strings has changed
3065 The two C procedures: scm_display_error and scm_error, as well as the
3066 primitive `scm-error', now use scm_simple_format to do their work.
3067 This means that the message strings of all code must be updated to use
3068 ~A where %s was used before, and ~S where %S was used before.
3070 During the period when there still are a lot of old Guiles out there,
3071 you might want to support both old and new versions of Guile.
3073 There are basically two methods to achieve this. Both methods use
3076 AC_CHECK_FUNCS(scm_simple_format)
3078 in your configure.in.
3080 Method 1: Use the string concatenation features of ANSI C's
3085 #ifdef HAVE_SCM_SIMPLE_FORMAT
3091 Then represent each of your error messages using a preprocessor macro:
3093 #define E_SPIDER_ERROR "There's a spider in your " ## FMT_S ## "!!!"
3097 (define fmt-s (if (defined? 'simple-format) "~S" "%S"))
3098 (define make-message string-append)
3100 (define e-spider-error (make-message "There's a spider in your " fmt-s "!!!"))
3102 Method 2: Use the oldfmt function found in doc/oldfmt.c.
3106 scm_misc_error ("picnic", scm_c_oldfmt0 ("There's a spider in your ~S!!!"),
3111 (scm-error 'misc-error "picnic" (oldfmt "There's a spider in your ~S!!!")
3115 ** Deprecated: coop_mutex_init, coop_condition_variable_init
3117 Don't use the functions coop_mutex_init and
3118 coop_condition_variable_init. They will change.
3120 Use scm_mutex_init and scm_cond_init instead.
3122 ** New function: int scm_cond_timedwait (scm_cond_t *COND, scm_mutex_t *MUTEX, const struct timespec *ABSTIME)
3123 `scm_cond_timedwait' atomically unlocks MUTEX and waits on
3124 COND, as `scm_cond_wait' does, but it also bounds the duration
3125 of the wait. If COND has not been signaled before time ABSTIME,
3126 the mutex MUTEX is re-acquired and `scm_cond_timedwait'
3127 returns the error code `ETIMEDOUT'.
3129 The ABSTIME parameter specifies an absolute time, with the same
3130 origin as `time' and `gettimeofday': an ABSTIME of 0 corresponds
3131 to 00:00:00 GMT, January 1, 1970.
3133 ** New function: scm_cond_broadcast (scm_cond_t *COND)
3134 `scm_cond_broadcast' restarts all the threads that are waiting
3135 on the condition variable COND. Nothing happens if no threads are
3138 ** New function: scm_key_create (scm_key_t *KEY, void (*destr_function) (void *))
3139 `scm_key_create' allocates a new TSD key. The key is stored in
3140 the location pointed to by KEY. There is no limit on the number
3141 of keys allocated at a given time. The value initially associated
3142 with the returned key is `NULL' in all currently executing threads.
3144 The DESTR_FUNCTION argument, if not `NULL', specifies a destructor
3145 function associated with the key. When a thread terminates,
3146 DESTR_FUNCTION is called on the value associated with the key in
3147 that thread. The DESTR_FUNCTION is not called if a key is deleted
3148 with `scm_key_delete' or a value is changed with
3149 `scm_setspecific'. The order in which destructor functions are
3150 called at thread termination time is unspecified.
3152 Destructors are not yet implemented.
3154 ** New function: scm_setspecific (scm_key_t KEY, const void *POINTER)
3155 `scm_setspecific' changes the value associated with KEY in the
3156 calling thread, storing the given POINTER instead.
3158 ** New function: scm_getspecific (scm_key_t KEY)
3159 `scm_getspecific' returns the value currently associated with
3160 KEY in the calling thread.
3162 ** New function: scm_key_delete (scm_key_t KEY)
3163 `scm_key_delete' deallocates a TSD key. It does not check
3164 whether non-`NULL' values are associated with that key in the
3165 currently executing threads, nor call the destructor function
3166 associated with the key.
3168 ** New function: scm_c_hook_init (scm_c_hook_t *HOOK, void *HOOK_DATA, scm_c_hook_type_t TYPE)
3170 Initialize a C level hook HOOK with associated HOOK_DATA and type
3171 TYPE. (See scm_c_hook_run ().)
3173 ** New function: scm_c_hook_add (scm_c_hook_t *HOOK, scm_c_hook_function_t FUNC, void *FUNC_DATA, int APPENDP)
3175 Add hook function FUNC with associated FUNC_DATA to HOOK. If APPENDP
3176 is true, add it last, otherwise first. The same FUNC can be added
3177 multiple times if FUNC_DATA differ and vice versa.
3179 ** New function: scm_c_hook_remove (scm_c_hook_t *HOOK, scm_c_hook_function_t FUNC, void *FUNC_DATA)
3181 Remove hook function FUNC with associated FUNC_DATA from HOOK. A
3182 function is only removed if both FUNC and FUNC_DATA matches.
3184 ** New function: void *scm_c_hook_run (scm_c_hook_t *HOOK, void *DATA)
3186 Run hook HOOK passing DATA to the hook functions.
3188 If TYPE is SCM_C_HOOK_NORMAL, all hook functions are run. The value
3189 returned is undefined.
3191 If TYPE is SCM_C_HOOK_OR, hook functions are run until a function
3192 returns a non-NULL value. This value is returned as the result of
3193 scm_c_hook_run. If all functions return NULL, NULL is returned.
3195 If TYPE is SCM_C_HOOK_AND, hook functions are run until a function
3196 returns a NULL value, and NULL is returned. If all functions returns
3197 a non-NULL value, the last value is returned.
3199 ** New C level GC hooks
3201 Five new C level hooks has been added to the garbage collector.
3203 scm_before_gc_c_hook
3206 are run before locking and after unlocking the heap. The system is
3207 thus in a mode where evaluation can take place. (Except that
3208 scm_before_gc_c_hook must not allocate new cells.)
3210 scm_before_mark_c_hook
3211 scm_before_sweep_c_hook
3212 scm_after_sweep_c_hook
3214 are run when the heap is locked. These are intended for extension of
3215 the GC in a modular fashion. Examples are the weaks and guardians
3218 ** Way for application to customize GC parameters
3220 The application can set up other default values for the GC heap
3221 allocation parameters
3223 GUILE_INIT_HEAP_SIZE_1, GUILE_MIN_YIELD_1,
3224 GUILE_INIT_HEAP_SIZE_2, GUILE_MIN_YIELD_2,
3225 GUILE_MAX_SEGMENT_SIZE,
3229 scm_default_init_heap_size_1, scm_default_min_yield_1,
3230 scm_default_init_heap_size_2, scm_default_min_yield_2,
3231 scm_default_max_segment_size
3233 respectively before callong scm_boot_guile.
3235 (See entry "New environment variables ..." in section
3236 "Changes to the stand-alone interpreter" above.)
3238 ** scm_protect_object/scm_unprotect_object now nest
3240 This means that you can call scm_protect_object multiple times on an
3241 object and count on the object being protected until
3242 scm_unprotect_object has been call the same number of times.
3244 The functions also have better time complexity.
3246 Still, it is usually possible to structure the application in a way
3247 that you don't need to use these functions. For example, if you use a
3248 protected standard Guile list to keep track of live objects rather
3249 than some custom data type, objects will die a natural death when they
3250 are no longer needed.
3252 ** Deprecated type tags: scm_tc16_flo, scm_tc_flo, scm_tc_dblr, scm_tc_dblc
3254 Guile does not provide the float representation for inexact real numbers any
3255 more. Now, only doubles are used to represent inexact real numbers. Further,
3256 the tag names scm_tc_dblr and scm_tc_dblc have been changed to scm_tc16_real
3257 and scm_tc16_complex, respectively.
3259 ** Removed deprecated type scm_smobfuns
3261 ** Removed deprecated function scm_newsmob
3263 ** Warning: scm_make_smob_type_mfpe might become deprecated in a future release
3265 There is an ongoing discussion among the developers whether to
3266 deprecate `scm_make_smob_type_mfpe' or not. Please use the current
3267 standard interface (scm_make_smob_type, scm_set_smob_XXX) in new code
3268 until this issue has been settled.
3270 ** Removed deprecated type tag scm_tc16_kw
3272 ** Added type tag scm_tc16_keyword
3274 (This was introduced already in release 1.3.4 but was not documented
3277 ** gdb_print now prints "*** Guile not initialized ***" until Guile initialized
3279 * Changes to system call interfaces:
3281 ** The "select" procedure now tests port buffers for the ability to
3282 provide input or accept output. Previously only the underlying file
3283 descriptors were checked.
3285 ** New variable PIPE_BUF: the maximum number of bytes that can be
3286 atomically written to a pipe.
3288 ** If a facility is not available on the system when Guile is
3289 compiled, the corresponding primitive procedure will not be defined.
3290 Previously it would have been defined but would throw a system-error
3291 exception if called. Exception handlers which catch this case may
3292 need minor modification: an error will be thrown with key
3293 'unbound-variable instead of 'system-error. Alternatively it's
3294 now possible to use `defined?' to check whether the facility is
3297 ** Procedures which depend on the timezone should now give the correct
3298 result on systems which cache the TZ environment variable, even if TZ
3299 is changed without calling tzset.
3301 * Changes to the networking interfaces:
3303 ** New functions: htons, ntohs, htonl, ntohl: for converting short and
3304 long integers between network and host format. For now, it's not
3305 particularly convenient to do this kind of thing, but consider:
3307 (define write-network-long
3308 (lambda (value port)
3309 (let ((v (make-uniform-vector 1 1 0)))
3310 (uniform-vector-set! v 0 (htonl value))
3311 (uniform-vector-write v port))))
3313 (define read-network-long
3315 (let ((v (make-uniform-vector 1 1 0)))
3316 (uniform-vector-read! v port)
3317 (ntohl (uniform-vector-ref v 0)))))
3319 ** If inet-aton fails, it now throws an error with key 'misc-error
3320 instead of 'system-error, since errno is not relevant.
3322 ** Certain gethostbyname/gethostbyaddr failures now throw errors with
3323 specific keys instead of 'system-error. The latter is inappropriate
3324 since errno will not have been set. The keys are:
3325 'host-not-found, 'try-again, 'no-recovery and 'no-data.
3327 ** sethostent, setnetent, setprotoent, setservent: now take an
3328 optional argument STAYOPEN, which specifies whether the database
3329 remains open after a database entry is accessed randomly (e.g., using
3330 gethostbyname for the hosts database.) The default is #f. Previously
3334 Changes since Guile 1.3.2:
3336 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
3340 An initial version of the Guile debugger written by Chris Hanson has
3341 been added. The debugger is still under development but is included
3342 in the distribution anyway since it is already quite useful.
3348 after an error to enter the debugger. Type `help' inside the debugger
3349 for a description of available commands.
3351 If you prefer to have stack frames numbered and printed in
3352 anti-chronological order and prefer up in the stack to be down on the
3353 screen as is the case in gdb, you can put
3355 (debug-enable 'backwards)
3357 in your .guile startup file. (However, this means that Guile can't
3358 use indentation to indicate stack level.)
3360 The debugger is autoloaded into Guile at the first use.
3362 ** Further enhancements to backtraces
3364 There is a new debug option `width' which controls the maximum width
3365 on the screen of printed stack frames. Fancy printing parameters
3366 ("level" and "length" as in Common LISP) are adaptively adjusted for
3367 each stack frame to give maximum information while still fitting
3368 within the bounds. If the stack frame can't be made to fit by
3369 adjusting parameters, it is simply cut off at the end. This is marked
3372 ** Some modules are now only loaded when the repl is started
3374 The modules (ice-9 debug), (ice-9 session), (ice-9 threads) and (ice-9
3375 regex) are now loaded into (guile-user) only if the repl has been
3376 started. The effect is that the startup time for scripts has been
3377 reduced to 30% of what it was previously.
3379 Correctly written scripts load the modules they require at the top of
3380 the file and should not be affected by this change.
3382 ** Hooks are now represented as smobs
3384 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
3386 ** Readline support has changed again.
3388 The old (readline-activator) module is gone. Use (ice-9 readline)
3389 instead, which now contains all readline functionality. So the code
3390 to activate readline is now
3392 (use-modules (ice-9 readline))
3395 This should work at any time, including from the guile prompt.
3397 To avoid confusion about the terms of Guile's license, please only
3398 enable readline for your personal use; please don't make it the
3399 default for others. Here is why we make this rather odd-sounding
3402 Guile is normally licensed under a weakened form of the GNU General
3403 Public License, which allows you to link code with Guile without
3404 placing that code under the GPL. This exception is important to some
3407 However, since readline is distributed under the GNU General Public
3408 License, when you link Guile with readline, either statically or
3409 dynamically, you effectively change Guile's license to the strict GPL.
3410 Whenever you link any strictly GPL'd code into Guile, uses of Guile
3411 which are normally permitted become forbidden. This is a rather
3412 non-obvious consequence of the licensing terms.
3414 So, to make sure things remain clear, please let people choose for
3415 themselves whether to link GPL'd libraries like readline with Guile.
3417 ** regexp-substitute/global has changed slightly, but incompatibly.
3419 If you include a function in the item list, the string of the match
3420 object it receives is the same string passed to
3421 regexp-substitute/global, not some suffix of that string.
3422 Correspondingly, the match's positions are relative to the entire
3423 string, not the suffix.
3425 If the regexp can match the empty string, the way matches are chosen
3426 from the string has changed. regexp-substitute/global recognizes the
3427 same set of matches that list-matches does; see below.
3429 ** New function: list-matches REGEXP STRING [FLAGS]
3431 Return a list of match objects, one for every non-overlapping, maximal
3432 match of REGEXP in STRING. The matches appear in left-to-right order.
3433 list-matches only reports matches of the empty string if there are no
3434 other matches which begin on, end at, or include the empty match's
3437 If present, FLAGS is passed as the FLAGS argument to regexp-exec.
3439 ** New function: fold-matches REGEXP STRING INIT PROC [FLAGS]
3441 For each match of REGEXP in STRING, apply PROC to the match object,
3442 and the last value PROC returned, or INIT for the first call. Return
3443 the last value returned by PROC. We apply PROC to the matches as they
3444 appear from left to right.
3446 This function recognizes matches according to the same criteria as
3449 Thus, you could define list-matches like this:
3451 (define (list-matches regexp string . flags)
3452 (reverse! (apply fold-matches regexp string '() cons flags)))
3454 If present, FLAGS is passed as the FLAGS argument to regexp-exec.
3458 *** New function: hook? OBJ
3460 Return #t if OBJ is a hook, otherwise #f.
3462 *** New function: make-hook-with-name NAME [ARITY]
3464 Return a hook with name NAME and arity ARITY. The default value for
3465 ARITY is 0. The only effect of NAME is that it will appear when the
3466 hook object is printed to ease debugging.
3468 *** New function: hook-empty? HOOK
3470 Return #t if HOOK doesn't contain any procedures, otherwise #f.
3472 *** New function: hook->list HOOK
3474 Return a list of the procedures that are called when run-hook is
3477 ** `map' signals an error if its argument lists are not all the same length.
3479 This is the behavior required by R5RS, so this change is really a bug
3480 fix. But it seems to affect a lot of people's code, so we're
3481 mentioning it here anyway.
3483 ** Print-state handling has been made more transparent
3485 Under certain circumstances, ports are represented as a port with an
3486 associated print state. Earlier, this pair was represented as a pair
3487 (see "Some magic has been added to the printer" below). It is now
3488 indistinguishable (almost; see `get-print-state') from a port on the
3491 *** New function: port-with-print-state OUTPUT-PORT PRINT-STATE
3493 Return a new port with the associated print state PRINT-STATE.
3495 *** New function: get-print-state OUTPUT-PORT
3497 Return the print state associated with this port if it exists,
3498 otherwise return #f.
3500 *** New function: directory-stream? OBJECT
3502 Returns true iff OBJECT is a directory stream --- the sort of object
3503 returned by `opendir'.
3505 ** New function: using-readline?
3507 Return #t if readline is in use in the current repl.
3509 ** structs will be removed in 1.4
3511 Structs will be replaced in Guile 1.4. We will merge GOOPS into Guile
3512 and use GOOPS objects as the fundamental record type.
3514 * Changes to the scm_ interface
3516 ** structs will be removed in 1.4
3518 The entire current struct interface (struct.c, struct.h) will be
3519 replaced in Guile 1.4. We will merge GOOPS into libguile and use
3520 GOOPS objects as the fundamental record type.
3522 ** The internal representation of subr's has changed
3524 Instead of giving a hint to the subr name, the CAR field of the subr
3525 now contains an index to a subr entry in scm_subr_table.
3527 *** New variable: scm_subr_table
3529 An array of subr entries. A subr entry contains the name, properties
3530 and documentation associated with the subr. The properties and
3531 documentation slots are not yet used.
3533 ** A new scheme for "forwarding" calls to a builtin to a generic function
3535 It is now possible to extend the functionality of some Guile
3536 primitives by letting them defer a call to a GOOPS generic function on
3537 argument mismatch. This means that there is no loss of efficiency in
3542 (use-modules (oop goops)) ; Must be GOOPS version 0.2.
3543 (define-method + ((x <string>) (y <string>))
3544 (string-append x y))
3546 + will still be as efficient as usual in numerical calculations, but
3547 can also be used for concatenating strings.
3549 Who will be the first one to extend Guile's numerical tower to
3550 rationals? :) [OK, there a few other things to fix before this can
3551 be made in a clean way.]
3553 *** New snarf macros for defining primitives: SCM_GPROC, SCM_GPROC1
3555 New macro: SCM_GPROC (CNAME, SNAME, REQ, OPT, VAR, CFUNC, GENERIC)
3557 New macro: SCM_GPROC1 (CNAME, SNAME, TYPE, CFUNC, GENERIC)
3559 These do the same job as SCM_PROC and SCM_PROC1, but they also define
3560 a variable GENERIC which can be used by the dispatch macros below.
3562 [This is experimental code which may change soon.]
3564 *** New macros for forwarding control to a generic on arg type error
3566 New macro: SCM_WTA_DISPATCH_1 (GENERIC, ARG1, POS, SUBR)
3568 New macro: SCM_WTA_DISPATCH_2 (GENERIC, ARG1, ARG2, POS, SUBR)
3570 These correspond to the scm_wta function call, and have the same
3571 behaviour until the user has called the GOOPS primitive
3572 `enable-primitive-generic!'. After that, these macros will apply the
3573 generic function GENERIC to the argument(s) instead of calling
3576 [This is experimental code which may change soon.]
3578 *** New macros for argument testing with generic dispatch
3580 New macro: SCM_GASSERT1 (COND, GENERIC, ARG1, POS, SUBR)
3582 New macro: SCM_GASSERT2 (COND, GENERIC, ARG1, ARG2, POS, SUBR)
3584 These correspond to the SCM_ASSERT macro, but will defer control to
3585 GENERIC on error after `enable-primitive-generic!' has been called.
3587 [This is experimental code which may change soon.]
3589 ** New function: SCM scm_eval_body (SCM body, SCM env)
3591 Evaluates the body of a special form.
3593 ** The internal representation of struct's has changed
3595 Previously, four slots were allocated for the procedure(s) of entities
3596 and operators. The motivation for this representation had to do with
3597 the structure of the evaluator, the wish to support tail-recursive
3598 generic functions, and efficiency. Since the generic function
3599 dispatch mechanism has changed, there is no longer a need for such an
3600 expensive representation, and the representation has been simplified.
3602 This should not make any difference for most users.
3604 ** GOOPS support has been cleaned up.
3606 Some code has been moved from eval.c to objects.c and code in both of
3607 these compilation units has been cleaned up and better structured.
3609 *** New functions for applying generic functions
3611 New function: SCM scm_apply_generic (GENERIC, ARGS)
3612 New function: SCM scm_call_generic_0 (GENERIC)
3613 New function: SCM scm_call_generic_1 (GENERIC, ARG1)
3614 New function: SCM scm_call_generic_2 (GENERIC, ARG1, ARG2)
3615 New function: SCM scm_call_generic_3 (GENERIC, ARG1, ARG2, ARG3)
3617 ** Deprecated function: scm_make_named_hook
3619 It is now replaced by:
3621 ** New function: SCM scm_create_hook (const char *name, int arity)
3623 Creates a hook in the same way as make-hook above but also
3624 binds a variable named NAME to it.
3626 This is the typical way of creating a hook from C code.
3628 Currently, the variable is created in the "current" module.
3629 This might change when we get the new module system.
3631 [The behaviour is identical to scm_make_named_hook.]
3635 Changes since Guile 1.3:
3637 * Changes to mailing lists
3639 ** Some of the Guile mailing lists have moved to sourceware.cygnus.com.
3641 See the README file to find current addresses for all the Guile
3644 * Changes to the distribution
3646 ** Readline support is no longer included with Guile by default.
3648 Based on the different license terms of Guile and Readline, we
3649 concluded that Guile should not *by default* cause the linking of
3650 Readline into an application program. Readline support is now offered
3651 as a separate module, which is linked into an application only when
3652 you explicitly specify it.
3654 Although Guile is GNU software, its distribution terms add a special
3655 exception to the usual GNU General Public License (GPL). Guile's
3656 license includes a clause that allows you to link Guile with non-free
3657 programs. We add this exception so as not to put Guile at a
3658 disadvantage vis-a-vis other extensibility packages that support other
3661 In contrast, the GNU Readline library is distributed under the GNU
3662 General Public License pure and simple. This means that you may not
3663 link Readline, even dynamically, into an application unless it is
3664 distributed under a free software license that is compatible the GPL.
3666 Because of this difference in distribution terms, an application that
3667 can use Guile may not be able to use Readline. Now users will be
3668 explicitly offered two independent decisions about the use of these
3671 You can activate the readline support by issuing
3673 (use-modules (readline-activator))
3676 from your ".guile" file, for example.
3678 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
3680 ** All builtins now print as primitives.
3681 Previously builtin procedures not belonging to the fundamental subr
3682 types printed as #<compiled closure #<primitive-procedure gsubr-apply>>.
3683 Now, they print as #<primitive-procedure NAME>.
3685 ** Backtraces slightly more intelligible.
3686 gsubr-apply and macro transformer application frames no longer appear
3689 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
3691 ** Guile now correctly handles internal defines by rewriting them into
3692 their equivalent letrec. Previously, internal defines would
3693 incrementally add to the innermost environment, without checking
3694 whether the restrictions specified in RnRS were met. This lead to the
3695 correct behaviour when these restriction actually were met, but didn't
3696 catch all illegal uses. Such an illegal use could lead to crashes of
3697 the Guile interpreter or or other unwanted results. An example of
3698 incorrect internal defines that made Guile behave erratically:
3710 The problem with this example is that the definition of `c' uses the
3711 value of `b' directly. This confuses the meoization machine of Guile
3712 so that the second call of `b' (this time in a larger environment that
3713 also contains bindings for `c' and `d') refers to the binding of `c'
3714 instead of `a'. You could also make Guile crash with a variation on
3719 (define (b flag) (if flag a 1))
3720 (define c (1+ (b flag)))
3728 From now on, Guile will issue an `Unbound variable: b' error message
3733 A hook contains a list of functions which should be called on
3734 particular occasions in an existing program. Hooks are used for
3737 A window manager might have a hook before-window-map-hook. The window
3738 manager uses the function run-hooks to call all functions stored in
3739 before-window-map-hook each time a window is mapped. The user can
3740 store functions in the hook using add-hook!.
3742 In Guile, hooks are first class objects.
3744 *** New function: make-hook [N_ARGS]
3746 Return a hook for hook functions which can take N_ARGS arguments.
3747 The default value for N_ARGS is 0.
3749 (See also scm_make_named_hook below.)
3751 *** New function: add-hook! HOOK PROC [APPEND_P]
3753 Put PROC at the beginning of the list of functions stored in HOOK.
3754 If APPEND_P is supplied, and non-false, put PROC at the end instead.
3756 PROC must be able to take the number of arguments specified when the
3759 If PROC already exists in HOOK, then remove it first.
3761 *** New function: remove-hook! HOOK PROC
3763 Remove PROC from the list of functions in HOOK.
3765 *** New function: reset-hook! HOOK
3767 Clear the list of hook functions stored in HOOK.
3769 *** New function: run-hook HOOK ARG1 ...
3771 Run all hook functions stored in HOOK with arguments ARG1 ... .
3772 The number of arguments supplied must correspond to the number given
3773 when the hook was created.
3775 ** The function `dynamic-link' now takes optional keyword arguments.
3776 The only keyword argument that is currently defined is `:global
3777 BOOL'. With it, you can control whether the shared library will be
3778 linked in global mode or not. In global mode, the symbols from the
3779 linked library can be used to resolve references from other
3780 dynamically linked libraries. In non-global mode, the linked
3781 library is essentially invisible and can only be accessed via
3782 `dynamic-func', etc. The default is now to link in global mode.
3783 Previously, the default has been non-global mode.
3785 The `#:global' keyword is only effective on platforms that support
3786 the dlopen family of functions.
3788 ** New function `provided?'
3790 - Function: provided? FEATURE
3791 Return true iff FEATURE is supported by this installation of
3792 Guile. FEATURE must be a symbol naming a feature; the global
3793 variable `*features*' is a list of available features.
3795 ** Changes to the module (ice-9 expect):
3797 *** The expect-strings macro now matches `$' in a regular expression
3798 only at a line-break or end-of-file by default. Previously it would
3799 match the end of the string accumulated so far. The old behaviour
3800 can be obtained by setting the variable `expect-strings-exec-flags'
3803 *** The expect-strings macro now uses a variable `expect-strings-exec-flags'
3804 for the regexp-exec flags. If `regexp/noteol' is included, then `$'
3805 in a regular expression will still match before a line-break or
3806 end-of-file. The default is `regexp/noteol'.
3808 *** The expect-strings macro now uses a variable
3809 `expect-strings-compile-flags' for the flags to be supplied to
3810 `make-regexp'. The default is `regexp/newline', which was previously
3813 *** The expect macro now supplies two arguments to a match procedure:
3814 the current accumulated string and a flag to indicate whether
3815 end-of-file has been reached. Previously only the string was supplied.
3816 If end-of-file is reached, the match procedure will be called an
3817 additional time with the same accumulated string as the previous call
3818 but with the flag set.
3820 ** New module (ice-9 format), implementing the Common Lisp `format' function.
3822 This code, and the documentation for it that appears here, was
3823 borrowed from SLIB, with minor adaptations for Guile.
3825 - Function: format DESTINATION FORMAT-STRING . ARGUMENTS
3826 An almost complete implementation of Common LISP format description
3827 according to the CL reference book `Common LISP' from Guy L.
3828 Steele, Digital Press. Backward compatible to most of the
3829 available Scheme format implementations.
3831 Returns `#t', `#f' or a string; has side effect of printing
3832 according to FORMAT-STRING. If DESTINATION is `#t', the output is
3833 to the current output port and `#t' is returned. If DESTINATION
3834 is `#f', a formatted string is returned as the result of the call.
3835 NEW: If DESTINATION is a string, DESTINATION is regarded as the
3836 format string; FORMAT-STRING is then the first argument and the
3837 output is returned as a string. If DESTINATION is a number, the
3838 output is to the current error port if available by the
3839 implementation. Otherwise DESTINATION must be an output port and
3842 FORMAT-STRING must be a string. In case of a formatting error
3843 format returns `#f' and prints a message on the current output or
3844 error port. Characters are output as if the string were output by
3845 the `display' function with the exception of those prefixed by a
3846 tilde (~). For a detailed description of the FORMAT-STRING syntax
3847 please consult a Common LISP format reference manual. For a test
3848 suite to verify this format implementation load `formatst.scm'.
3849 Please send bug reports to `lutzeb@cs.tu-berlin.de'.
3851 Note: `format' is not reentrant, i.e. only one `format'-call may
3852 be executed at a time.
3855 *** Format Specification (Format version 3.0)
3857 Please consult a Common LISP format reference manual for a detailed
3858 description of the format string syntax. For a demonstration of the
3859 implemented directives see `formatst.scm'.
3861 This implementation supports directive parameters and modifiers (`:'
3862 and `@' characters). Multiple parameters must be separated by a comma
3863 (`,'). Parameters can be numerical parameters (positive or negative),
3864 character parameters (prefixed by a quote character (`''), variable
3865 parameters (`v'), number of rest arguments parameter (`#'), empty and
3866 default parameters. Directive characters are case independent. The
3867 general form of a directive is:
3869 DIRECTIVE ::= ~{DIRECTIVE-PARAMETER,}[:][@]DIRECTIVE-CHARACTER
3871 DIRECTIVE-PARAMETER ::= [ [-|+]{0-9}+ | 'CHARACTER | v | # ]
3873 *** Implemented CL Format Control Directives
3875 Documentation syntax: Uppercase characters represent the
3876 corresponding control directive characters. Lowercase characters
3877 represent control directive parameter descriptions.
3880 Any (print as `display' does).
3884 `~MINCOL,COLINC,MINPAD,PADCHARA'
3888 S-expression (print as `write' does).
3892 `~MINCOL,COLINC,MINPAD,PADCHARS'
3898 print number sign always.
3901 print comma separated.
3903 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHARD'
3909 print number sign always.
3912 print comma separated.
3914 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHARX'
3920 print number sign always.
3923 print comma separated.
3925 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHARO'
3931 print number sign always.
3934 print comma separated.
3936 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHARB'
3941 `~N,MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHARR'
3945 print a number as a Roman numeral.
3948 print a number as an "old fashioned" Roman numeral.
3951 print a number as an ordinal English number.
3954 print a number as a cardinal English number.
3959 prints `y' and `ies'.
3962 as `~P but jumps 1 argument backward.'
3965 as `~@P but jumps 1 argument backward.'
3970 prints a character as the reader can understand it (i.e. `#\'
3974 prints a character as emacs does (eg. `^C' for ASCII 03).
3977 Fixed-format floating-point (prints a flonum like MMM.NNN).
3978 `~WIDTH,DIGITS,SCALE,OVERFLOWCHAR,PADCHARF'
3980 If the number is positive a plus sign is printed.
3983 Exponential floating-point (prints a flonum like MMM.NNN`E'EE).
3984 `~WIDTH,DIGITS,EXPONENTDIGITS,SCALE,OVERFLOWCHAR,PADCHAR,EXPONENTCHARE'
3986 If the number is positive a plus sign is printed.
3989 General floating-point (prints a flonum either fixed or
3991 `~WIDTH,DIGITS,EXPONENTDIGITS,SCALE,OVERFLOWCHAR,PADCHAR,EXPONENTCHARG'
3993 If the number is positive a plus sign is printed.
3996 Dollars floating-point (prints a flonum in fixed with signs
3998 `~DIGITS,SCALE,WIDTH,PADCHAR$'
4000 If the number is positive a plus sign is printed.
4003 A sign is always printed and appears before the padding.
4006 The sign appears before the padding.
4014 print newline if not at the beginning of the output line.
4016 prints `~&' and then N-1 newlines.
4021 print N page separators.
4031 newline is ignored, white space left.
4034 newline is left, white space ignored.
4039 relative tabulation.
4045 Indirection (expects indirect arguments as a list).
4047 extracts indirect arguments from format arguments.
4050 Case conversion (converts by `string-downcase').
4052 converts by `string-capitalize'.
4055 converts by `string-capitalize-first'.
4058 converts by `string-upcase'.
4061 Argument Jumping (jumps 1 argument forward).
4063 jumps N arguments forward.
4066 jumps 1 argument backward.
4069 jumps N arguments backward.
4072 jumps to the 0th argument.
4075 jumps to the Nth argument (beginning from 0)
4077 `~[STR0~;STR1~;...~;STRN~]'
4078 Conditional Expression (numerical clause conditional).
4080 take argument from N.
4083 true test conditional.
4086 if-else-then conditional.
4092 default clause follows.
4095 Iteration (args come from the next argument (a list)).
4097 at most N iterations.
4100 args from next arg (a list of lists).
4103 args from the rest of arguments.
4106 args from the rest args (lists).
4117 aborts if N <= M <= K
4119 *** Not Implemented CL Format Control Directives
4122 print `#f' as an empty list (see below).
4125 print `#f' as an empty list (see below).
4131 (sorry I don't understand its semantics completely)
4133 *** Extended, Replaced and Additional Control Directives
4135 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHAR,COMMAWIDTHD'
4136 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHAR,COMMAWIDTHX'
4137 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHAR,COMMAWIDTHO'
4138 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHAR,COMMAWIDTHB'
4139 `~N,MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHAR,COMMAWIDTHR'
4140 COMMAWIDTH is the number of characters between two comma
4144 print a R4RS complex number as `~F~@Fi' with passed parameters for
4148 Pretty print formatting of an argument for scheme code lists.
4154 Flushes the output if format DESTINATION is a port.
4157 Print a `#\space' character
4159 print N `#\space' characters.
4162 Print a `#\tab' character
4164 print N `#\tab' characters.
4167 Takes N as an integer representation for a character. No arguments
4168 are consumed. N is converted to a character by `integer->char'. N
4169 must be a positive decimal number.
4172 Print out readproof. Prints out internal objects represented as
4173 `#<...>' as strings `"#<...>"' so that the format output can always
4174 be processed by `read'.
4177 Print out readproof. Prints out internal objects represented as
4178 `#<...>' as strings `"#<...>"' so that the format output can always
4179 be processed by `read'.
4182 Prints information and a copyright notice on the format
4185 prints format version.
4188 may also print number strings, i.e. passing a number as a string
4189 and format it accordingly.
4191 *** Configuration Variables
4193 The format module exports some configuration variables to suit the
4194 systems and users needs. There should be no modification necessary for
4195 the configuration that comes with Guile. Format detects automatically
4196 if the running scheme system implements floating point numbers and
4199 format:symbol-case-conv
4200 Symbols are converted by `symbol->string' so the case type of the
4201 printed symbols is implementation dependent.
4202 `format:symbol-case-conv' is a one arg closure which is either
4203 `#f' (no conversion), `string-upcase', `string-downcase' or
4204 `string-capitalize'. (default `#f')
4206 format:iobj-case-conv
4207 As FORMAT:SYMBOL-CASE-CONV but applies for the representation of
4208 implementation internal objects. (default `#f')
4211 The character prefixing the exponent value in `~E' printing.
4214 *** Compatibility With Other Format Implementations
4220 Downward compatible except for padding support and `~A', `~S',
4221 `~P', `~X' uppercase printing. SLIB format 1.4 uses C-style
4222 `printf' padding support which is completely replaced by the CL
4223 `format' padding style.
4226 Downward compatible except for `~', which is not documented
4227 (ignores all characters inside the format string up to a newline
4228 character). (7.1 implements `~a', `~s', ~NEWLINE, `~~', `~%',
4229 numerical and variable parameters and `:/@' modifiers in the CL
4233 Downward compatible except for `~A' and `~S' which print in
4234 uppercase. (Elk implements `~a', `~s', `~~', and `~%' (no
4235 directive parameters or modifiers)).
4238 Downward compatible except for an optional destination parameter:
4239 S2C accepts a format call without a destination which returns a
4240 formatted string. This is equivalent to a #f destination in S2C.
4241 (S2C implements `~a', `~s', `~c', `~%', and `~~' (no directive
4242 parameters or modifiers)).
4245 ** Changes to string-handling functions.
4247 These functions were added to support the (ice-9 format) module, above.
4249 *** New function: string-upcase STRING
4250 *** New function: string-downcase STRING
4252 These are non-destructive versions of the existing string-upcase! and
4253 string-downcase! functions.
4255 *** New function: string-capitalize! STRING
4256 *** New function: string-capitalize STRING
4258 These functions convert the first letter of each word in the string to
4261 (string-capitalize "howdy there")
4264 As with the other functions, string-capitalize! modifies the string in
4265 place, while string-capitalize returns a modified copy of its argument.
4267 *** New function: string-ci->symbol STRING
4269 Return a symbol whose name is STRING, but having the same case as if
4270 the symbol had be read by `read'.
4272 Guile can be configured to be sensitive or insensitive to case
4273 differences in Scheme identifiers. If Guile is case-insensitive, all
4274 symbols are converted to lower case on input. The `string-ci->symbol'
4275 function returns a symbol whose name in STRING, transformed as Guile
4276 would if STRING were input.
4278 *** New function: substring-move! STRING1 START END STRING2 START
4280 Copy the substring of STRING1 from START (inclusive) to END
4281 (exclusive) to STRING2 at START. STRING1 and STRING2 may be the same
4282 string, and the source and destination areas may overlap; in all
4283 cases, the function behaves as if all the characters were copied
4286 *** Extended functions: substring-move-left! substring-move-right!
4288 These functions now correctly copy arbitrarily overlapping substrings;
4289 they are both synonyms for substring-move!.
4292 ** New module (ice-9 getopt-long), with the function `getopt-long'.
4294 getopt-long is a function for parsing command-line arguments in a
4295 manner consistent with other GNU programs.
4297 (getopt-long ARGS GRAMMAR)
4298 Parse the arguments ARGS according to the argument list grammar GRAMMAR.
4300 ARGS should be a list of strings. Its first element should be the
4301 name of the program; subsequent elements should be the arguments
4302 that were passed to the program on the command line. The
4303 `program-arguments' procedure returns a list of this form.
4305 GRAMMAR is a list of the form:
4306 ((OPTION (PROPERTY VALUE) ...) ...)
4308 Each OPTION should be a symbol. `getopt-long' will accept a
4309 command-line option named `--OPTION'.
4310 Each option can have the following (PROPERTY VALUE) pairs:
4312 (single-char CHAR) --- Accept `-CHAR' as a single-character
4313 equivalent to `--OPTION'. This is how to specify traditional
4315 (required? BOOL) --- If BOOL is true, the option is required.
4316 getopt-long will raise an error if it is not found in ARGS.
4317 (value BOOL) --- If BOOL is #t, the option accepts a value; if
4318 it is #f, it does not; and if it is the symbol
4319 `optional', the option may appear in ARGS with or
4321 (predicate FUNC) --- If the option accepts a value (i.e. you
4322 specified `(value #t)' for this option), then getopt
4323 will apply FUNC to the value, and throw an exception
4324 if it returns #f. FUNC should be a procedure which
4325 accepts a string and returns a boolean value; you may
4326 need to use quasiquotes to get it into GRAMMAR.
4328 The (PROPERTY VALUE) pairs may occur in any order, but each
4329 property may occur only once. By default, options do not have
4330 single-character equivalents, are not required, and do not take
4333 In ARGS, single-character options may be combined, in the usual
4334 Unix fashion: ("-x" "-y") is equivalent to ("-xy"). If an option
4335 accepts values, then it must be the last option in the
4336 combination; the value is the next argument. So, for example, using
4337 the following grammar:
4338 ((apples (single-char #\a))
4339 (blimps (single-char #\b) (value #t))
4340 (catalexis (single-char #\c) (value #t)))
4341 the following argument lists would be acceptable:
4342 ("-a" "-b" "bang" "-c" "couth") ("bang" and "couth" are the values
4343 for "blimps" and "catalexis")
4344 ("-ab" "bang" "-c" "couth") (same)
4345 ("-ac" "couth" "-b" "bang") (same)
4346 ("-abc" "couth" "bang") (an error, since `-b' is not the
4347 last option in its combination)
4349 If an option's value is optional, then `getopt-long' decides
4350 whether it has a value by looking at what follows it in ARGS. If
4351 the next element is a string, and it does not appear to be an
4352 option itself, then that string is the option's value.
4354 The value of a long option can appear as the next element in ARGS,
4355 or it can follow the option name, separated by an `=' character.
4356 Thus, using the same grammar as above, the following argument lists
4358 ("--apples" "Braeburn" "--blimps" "Goodyear")
4359 ("--apples=Braeburn" "--blimps" "Goodyear")
4360 ("--blimps" "Goodyear" "--apples=Braeburn")
4362 If the option "--" appears in ARGS, argument parsing stops there;
4363 subsequent arguments are returned as ordinary arguments, even if
4364 they resemble options. So, in the argument list:
4365 ("--apples" "Granny Smith" "--" "--blimp" "Goodyear")
4366 `getopt-long' will recognize the `apples' option as having the
4367 value "Granny Smith", but it will not recognize the `blimp'
4368 option; it will return the strings "--blimp" and "Goodyear" as
4369 ordinary argument strings.
4371 The `getopt-long' function returns the parsed argument list as an
4372 assocation list, mapping option names --- the symbols from GRAMMAR
4373 --- onto their values, or #t if the option does not accept a value.
4374 Unused options do not appear in the alist.
4376 All arguments that are not the value of any option are returned
4377 as a list, associated with the empty list.
4379 `getopt-long' throws an exception if:
4380 - it finds an unrecognized option in ARGS
4381 - a required option is omitted
4382 - an option that requires an argument doesn't get one
4383 - an option that doesn't accept an argument does get one (this can
4384 only happen using the long option `--opt=value' syntax)
4385 - an option predicate fails
4390 `((lockfile-dir (required? #t)
4393 (predicate ,file-is-directory?))
4394 (verbose (required? #f)
4397 (x-includes (single-char #\x))
4398 (rnet-server (single-char #\y)
4399 (predicate ,string?))))
4401 (getopt-long '("my-prog" "-vk" "/tmp" "foo1" "--x-includes=/usr/include"
4402 "--rnet-server=lamprod" "--" "-fred" "foo2" "foo3")
4404 => ((() "foo1" "-fred" "foo2" "foo3")
4405 (rnet-server . "lamprod")
4406 (x-includes . "/usr/include")
4407 (lockfile-dir . "/tmp")
4410 ** The (ice-9 getopt-gnu-style) module is obsolete; use (ice-9 getopt-long).
4412 It will be removed in a few releases.
4414 ** New syntax: lambda*
4415 ** New syntax: define*
4416 ** New syntax: define*-public
4417 ** New syntax: defmacro*
4418 ** New syntax: defmacro*-public
4419 Guile now supports optional arguments.
4421 `lambda*', `define*', `define*-public', `defmacro*' and
4422 `defmacro*-public' are identical to the non-* versions except that
4423 they use an extended type of parameter list that has the following BNF
4424 syntax (parentheses are literal, square brackets indicate grouping,
4425 and `*', `+' and `?' have the usual meaning):
4427 ext-param-list ::= ( [identifier]* [#&optional [ext-var-decl]+]?
4428 [#&key [ext-var-decl]+ [#&allow-other-keys]?]?
4429 [[#&rest identifier]|[. identifier]]? ) | [identifier]
4431 ext-var-decl ::= identifier | ( identifier expression )
4433 The semantics are best illustrated with the following documentation
4434 and examples for `lambda*':
4437 lambda extended for optional and keyword arguments
4439 lambda* creates a procedure that takes optional arguments. These
4440 are specified by putting them inside brackets at the end of the
4441 paramater list, but before any dotted rest argument. For example,
4442 (lambda* (a b #&optional c d . e) '())
4443 creates a procedure with fixed arguments a and b, optional arguments c
4444 and d, and rest argument e. If the optional arguments are omitted
4445 in a call, the variables for them are unbound in the procedure. This
4446 can be checked with the bound? macro.
4448 lambda* can also take keyword arguments. For example, a procedure
4450 (lambda* (#&key xyzzy larch) '())
4451 can be called with any of the argument lists (#:xyzzy 11)
4452 (#:larch 13) (#:larch 42 #:xyzzy 19) (). Whichever arguments
4453 are given as keywords are bound to values.
4455 Optional and keyword arguments can also be given default values
4456 which they take on when they are not present in a call, by giving a
4457 two-item list in place of an optional argument, for example in:
4458 (lambda* (foo #&optional (bar 42) #&key (baz 73)) (list foo bar baz))
4459 foo is a fixed argument, bar is an optional argument with default
4460 value 42, and baz is a keyword argument with default value 73.
4461 Default value expressions are not evaluated unless they are needed
4462 and until the procedure is called.
4464 lambda* now supports two more special parameter list keywords.
4466 lambda*-defined procedures now throw an error by default if a
4467 keyword other than one of those specified is found in the actual
4468 passed arguments. However, specifying #&allow-other-keys
4469 immediately after the kyword argument declarations restores the
4470 previous behavior of ignoring unknown keywords. lambda* also now
4471 guarantees that if the same keyword is passed more than once, the
4472 last one passed is the one that takes effect. For example,
4473 ((lambda* (#&key (heads 0) (tails 0)) (display (list heads tails)))
4474 #:heads 37 #:tails 42 #:heads 99)
4475 would result in (99 47) being displayed.
4477 #&rest is also now provided as a synonym for the dotted syntax rest
4478 argument. The argument lists (a . b) and (a #&rest b) are equivalent in
4479 all respects to lambda*. This is provided for more similarity to DSSSL,
4480 MIT-Scheme and Kawa among others, as well as for refugees from other
4483 Further documentation may be found in the optargs.scm file itself.
4485 The optional argument module also exports the macros `let-optional',
4486 `let-optional*', `let-keywords', `let-keywords*' and `bound?'. These
4487 are not documented here because they may be removed in the future, but
4488 full documentation is still available in optargs.scm.
4490 ** New syntax: and-let*
4491 Guile now supports the `and-let*' form, described in the draft SRFI-2.
4493 Syntax: (land* (<clause> ...) <body> ...)
4494 Each <clause> should have one of the following forms:
4495 (<variable> <expression>)
4498 Each <variable> or <bound-variable> should be an identifier. Each
4499 <expression> should be a valid expression. The <body> should be a
4500 possibly empty sequence of expressions, like the <body> of a
4503 Semantics: A LAND* expression is evaluated by evaluating the
4504 <expression> or <bound-variable> of each of the <clause>s from
4505 left to right. The value of the first <expression> or
4506 <bound-variable> that evaluates to a false value is returned; the
4507 remaining <expression>s and <bound-variable>s are not evaluated.
4508 The <body> forms are evaluated iff all the <expression>s and
4509 <bound-variable>s evaluate to true values.
4511 The <expression>s and the <body> are evaluated in an environment
4512 binding each <variable> of the preceding (<variable> <expression>)
4513 clauses to the value of the <expression>. Later bindings
4514 shadow earlier bindings.
4516 Guile's and-let* macro was contributed by Michael Livshin.
4518 ** New sorting functions
4520 *** New function: sorted? SEQUENCE LESS?
4521 Returns `#t' when the sequence argument is in non-decreasing order
4522 according to LESS? (that is, there is no adjacent pair `... x y
4523 ...' for which `(less? y x)').
4525 Returns `#f' when the sequence contains at least one out-of-order
4526 pair. It is an error if the sequence is neither a list nor a
4529 *** New function: merge LIST1 LIST2 LESS?
4530 LIST1 and LIST2 are sorted lists.
4531 Returns the sorted list of all elements in LIST1 and LIST2.
4533 Assume that the elements a and b1 in LIST1 and b2 in LIST2 are "equal"
4534 in the sense that (LESS? x y) --> #f for x, y in {a, b1, b2},
4535 and that a < b1 in LIST1. Then a < b1 < b2 in the result.
4536 (Here "<" should read "comes before".)
4538 *** New procedure: merge! LIST1 LIST2 LESS?
4539 Merges two lists, re-using the pairs of LIST1 and LIST2 to build
4540 the result. If the code is compiled, and LESS? constructs no new
4541 pairs, no pairs at all will be allocated. The first pair of the
4542 result will be either the first pair of LIST1 or the first pair of
4545 *** New function: sort SEQUENCE LESS?
4546 Accepts either a list or a vector, and returns a new sequence
4547 which is sorted. The new sequence is the same type as the input.
4548 Always `(sorted? (sort sequence less?) less?)'. The original
4549 sequence is not altered in any way. The new sequence shares its
4550 elements with the old one; no elements are copied.
4552 *** New procedure: sort! SEQUENCE LESS
4553 Returns its sorted result in the original boxes. No new storage is
4554 allocated at all. Proper usage: (set! slist (sort! slist <))
4556 *** New function: stable-sort SEQUENCE LESS?
4557 Similar to `sort' but stable. That is, if "equal" elements are
4558 ordered a < b in the original sequence, they will have the same order
4561 *** New function: stable-sort! SEQUENCE LESS?
4562 Similar to `sort!' but stable.
4563 Uses temporary storage when sorting vectors.
4565 *** New functions: sort-list, sort-list!
4566 Added for compatibility with scsh.
4568 ** New built-in random number support
4570 *** New function: random N [STATE]
4571 Accepts a positive integer or real N and returns a number of the
4572 same type between zero (inclusive) and N (exclusive). The values
4573 returned have a uniform distribution.
4575 The optional argument STATE must be of the type produced by
4576 `copy-random-state' or `seed->random-state'. It defaults to the value
4577 of the variable `*random-state*'. This object is used to maintain the
4578 state of the pseudo-random-number generator and is altered as a side
4579 effect of the `random' operation.
4581 *** New variable: *random-state*
4582 Holds a data structure that encodes the internal state of the
4583 random-number generator that `random' uses by default. The nature
4584 of this data structure is implementation-dependent. It may be
4585 printed out and successfully read back in, but may or may not
4586 function correctly as a random-number state object in another
4589 *** New function: copy-random-state [STATE]
4590 Returns a new object of type suitable for use as the value of the
4591 variable `*random-state*' and as a second argument to `random'.
4592 If argument STATE is given, a copy of it is returned. Otherwise a
4593 copy of `*random-state*' is returned.
4595 *** New function: seed->random-state SEED
4596 Returns a new object of type suitable for use as the value of the
4597 variable `*random-state*' and as a second argument to `random'.
4598 SEED is a string or a number. A new state is generated and
4599 initialized using SEED.
4601 *** New function: random:uniform [STATE]
4602 Returns an uniformly distributed inexact real random number in the
4603 range between 0 and 1.
4605 *** New procedure: random:solid-sphere! VECT [STATE]
4606 Fills VECT with inexact real random numbers the sum of whose
4607 squares is less than 1.0. Thinking of VECT as coordinates in
4608 space of dimension N = `(vector-length VECT)', the coordinates are
4609 uniformly distributed within the unit N-shere. The sum of the
4610 squares of the numbers is returned. VECT can be either a vector
4611 or a uniform vector of doubles.
4613 *** New procedure: random:hollow-sphere! VECT [STATE]
4614 Fills VECT with inexact real random numbers the sum of whose squares
4615 is equal to 1.0. Thinking of VECT as coordinates in space of
4616 dimension n = `(vector-length VECT)', the coordinates are uniformly
4617 distributed over the surface of the unit n-shere. VECT can be either
4618 a vector or a uniform vector of doubles.
4620 *** New function: random:normal [STATE]
4621 Returns an inexact real in a normal distribution with mean 0 and
4622 standard deviation 1. For a normal distribution with mean M and
4623 standard deviation D use `(+ M (* D (random:normal)))'.
4625 *** New procedure: random:normal-vector! VECT [STATE]
4626 Fills VECT with inexact real random numbers which are independent and
4627 standard normally distributed (i.e., with mean 0 and variance 1).
4628 VECT can be either a vector or a uniform vector of doubles.
4630 *** New function: random:exp STATE
4631 Returns an inexact real in an exponential distribution with mean 1.
4632 For an exponential distribution with mean U use (* U (random:exp)).
4634 ** The range of logand, logior, logxor, logtest, and logbit? have changed.
4636 These functions now operate on numbers in the range of a C unsigned
4639 These functions used to operate on numbers in the range of a C signed
4640 long; however, this seems inappropriate, because Guile integers don't
4643 ** New function: make-guardian
4644 This is an implementation of guardians as described in
4645 R. Kent Dybvig, Carl Bruggeman, and David Eby (1993) "Guardians in a
4646 Generation-Based Garbage Collector" ACM SIGPLAN Conference on
4647 Programming Language Design and Implementation, June 1993
4648 ftp://ftp.cs.indiana.edu/pub/scheme-repository/doc/pubs/guardians.ps.gz
4650 ** New functions: delq1!, delv1!, delete1!
4651 These procedures behave similar to delq! and friends but delete only
4652 one object if at all.
4654 ** New function: unread-string STRING PORT
4655 Unread STRING to PORT, that is, push it back onto the port so that
4656 next read operation will work on the pushed back characters.
4658 ** unread-char can now be called multiple times
4659 If unread-char is called multiple times, the unread characters will be
4660 read again in last-in first-out order.
4662 ** the procedures uniform-array-read! and uniform-array-write! now
4663 work on any kind of port, not just ports which are open on a file.
4665 ** Now 'l' in a port mode requests line buffering.
4667 ** The procedure truncate-file now works on string ports as well
4668 as file ports. If the size argument is omitted, the current
4669 file position is used.
4671 ** new procedure: seek PORT/FDES OFFSET WHENCE
4672 The arguments are the same as for the old fseek procedure, but it
4673 works on string ports as well as random-access file ports.
4675 ** the fseek procedure now works on string ports, since it has been
4676 redefined using seek.
4678 ** the setvbuf procedure now uses a default size if mode is _IOFBF and
4679 size is not supplied.
4681 ** the newline procedure no longer flushes the port if it's not
4682 line-buffered: previously it did if it was the current output port.
4684 ** open-pipe and close-pipe are no longer primitive procedures, but
4685 an emulation can be obtained using `(use-modules (ice-9 popen))'.
4687 ** the freopen procedure has been removed.
4689 ** new procedure: drain-input PORT
4690 Drains PORT's read buffers (including any pushed-back characters)
4691 and returns the contents as a single string.
4693 ** New function: map-in-order PROC LIST1 LIST2 ...
4694 Version of `map' which guarantees that the procedure is applied to the
4695 lists in serial order.
4697 ** Renamed `serial-array-copy!' and `serial-array-map!' to
4698 `array-copy-in-order!' and `array-map-in-order!'. The old names are
4699 now obsolete and will go away in release 1.5.
4701 ** New syntax: collect BODY1 ...
4702 Version of `begin' which returns a list of the results of the body
4703 forms instead of the result of the last body form. In contrast to
4704 `begin', `collect' allows an empty body.
4706 ** New functions: read-history FILENAME, write-history FILENAME
4707 Read/write command line history from/to file. Returns #t on success
4708 and #f if an error occured.
4710 ** `ls' and `lls' in module (ice-9 ls) now handle no arguments.
4712 These procedures return a list of definitions available in the specified
4713 argument, a relative module reference. In the case of no argument,
4714 `(current-module)' is now consulted for definitions to return, instead
4715 of simply returning #f, the former behavior.
4717 ** The #/ syntax for lists is no longer supported.
4719 Earlier versions of Scheme accepted this syntax, but printed a
4722 ** Guile no longer consults the SCHEME_LOAD_PATH environment variable.
4724 Instead, you should set GUILE_LOAD_PATH to tell Guile where to find
4727 * Changes to the gh_ interface
4731 Now takes a second argument which is the result array. If this
4732 pointer is NULL, a new array is malloced (the old behaviour).
4734 ** gh_chars2byvect, gh_shorts2svect, gh_floats2fvect, gh_scm2chars,
4735 gh_scm2shorts, gh_scm2longs, gh_scm2floats
4739 * Changes to the scm_ interface
4741 ** Function: scm_make_named_hook (char* name, int n_args)
4743 Creates a hook in the same way as make-hook above but also
4744 binds a variable named NAME to it.
4746 This is the typical way of creating a hook from C code.
4748 Currently, the variable is created in the "current" module. This
4749 might change when we get the new module system.
4751 ** The smob interface
4753 The interface for creating smobs has changed. For documentation, see
4754 data-rep.info (made from guile-core/doc/data-rep.texi).
4756 *** Deprecated function: SCM scm_newsmob (scm_smobfuns *)
4758 >>> This function will be removed in 1.3.4. <<<
4762 *** Function: SCM scm_make_smob_type (const char *name, scm_sizet size)
4763 This function adds a new smob type, named NAME, with instance size
4764 SIZE to the system. The return value is a tag that is used in
4765 creating instances of the type. If SIZE is 0, then no memory will
4766 be allocated when instances of the smob are created, and nothing
4767 will be freed by the default free function.
4769 *** Function: void scm_set_smob_mark (long tc, SCM (*mark) (SCM))
4770 This function sets the smob marking procedure for the smob type
4771 specified by the tag TC. TC is the tag returned by
4772 `scm_make_smob_type'.
4774 *** Function: void scm_set_smob_free (long tc, SCM (*mark) (SCM))
4775 This function sets the smob freeing procedure for the smob type
4776 specified by the tag TC. TC is the tag returned by
4777 `scm_make_smob_type'.
4779 *** Function: void scm_set_smob_print (tc, print)
4781 - Function: void scm_set_smob_print (long tc,
4782 scm_sizet (*print) (SCM,
4786 This function sets the smob printing procedure for the smob type
4787 specified by the tag TC. TC is the tag returned by
4788 `scm_make_smob_type'.
4790 *** Function: void scm_set_smob_equalp (long tc, SCM (*equalp) (SCM, SCM))
4791 This function sets the smob equality-testing predicate for the
4792 smob type specified by the tag TC. TC is the tag returned by
4793 `scm_make_smob_type'.
4795 *** Macro: void SCM_NEWSMOB (SCM var, long tc, void *data)
4796 Make VALUE contain a smob instance of the type with type code TC and
4797 smob data DATA. VALUE must be previously declared as C type `SCM'.
4799 *** Macro: fn_returns SCM_RETURN_NEWSMOB (long tc, void *data)
4800 This macro expands to a block of code that creates a smob instance
4801 of the type with type code TC and smob data DATA, and returns that
4802 `SCM' value. It should be the last piece of code in a block.
4804 ** The interfaces for using I/O ports and implementing port types
4805 (ptobs) have changed significantly. The new interface is based on
4806 shared access to buffers and a new set of ptob procedures.
4808 *** scm_newptob has been removed
4812 *** Function: SCM scm_make_port_type (type_name, fill_buffer, write_flush)
4814 - Function: SCM scm_make_port_type (char *type_name,
4815 int (*fill_buffer) (SCM port),
4816 void (*write_flush) (SCM port));
4818 Similarly to the new smob interface, there is a set of function
4819 setters by which the user can customize the behaviour of his port
4820 type. See ports.h (scm_set_port_XXX).
4822 ** scm_strport_to_string: New function: creates a new string from
4823 a string port's buffer.
4825 ** Plug in interface for random number generators
4826 The variable `scm_the_rng' in random.c contains a value and three
4827 function pointers which together define the current random number
4828 generator being used by the Scheme level interface and the random
4829 number library functions.
4831 The user is free to replace the default generator with the generator
4834 *** Variable: size_t scm_the_rng.rstate_size
4835 The size of the random state type used by the current RNG
4838 *** Function: unsigned long scm_the_rng.random_bits (scm_rstate *STATE)
4839 Given the random STATE, return 32 random bits.
4841 *** Function: void scm_the_rng.init_rstate (scm_rstate *STATE, chars *S, int N)
4842 Seed random state STATE using string S of length N.
4844 *** Function: scm_rstate *scm_the_rng.copy_rstate (scm_rstate *STATE)
4845 Given random state STATE, return a malloced copy.
4848 The default RNG is the MWC (Multiply With Carry) random number
4849 generator described by George Marsaglia at the Department of
4850 Statistics and Supercomputer Computations Research Institute, The
4851 Florida State University (http://stat.fsu.edu/~geo).
4853 It uses 64 bits, has a period of 4578426017172946943 (4.6e18), and
4854 passes all tests in the DIEHARD test suite
4855 (http://stat.fsu.edu/~geo/diehard.html). The generation of 32 bits
4856 costs one multiply and one add on platforms which either supports long
4857 longs (gcc does this on most systems) or have 64 bit longs. The cost
4858 is four multiply on other systems but this can be optimized by writing
4859 scm_i_uniform32 in assembler.
4861 These functions are provided through the scm_the_rng interface for use
4862 by libguile and the application.
4864 *** Function: unsigned long scm_i_uniform32 (scm_i_rstate *STATE)
4865 Given the random STATE, return 32 random bits.
4866 Don't use this function directly. Instead go through the plugin
4867 interface (see "Plug in interface" above).
4869 *** Function: void scm_i_init_rstate (scm_i_rstate *STATE, char *SEED, int N)
4870 Initialize STATE using SEED of length N.
4872 *** Function: scm_i_rstate *scm_i_copy_rstate (scm_i_rstate *STATE)
4873 Return a malloc:ed copy of STATE. This function can easily be re-used
4874 in the interfaces to other RNGs.
4876 ** Random number library functions
4877 These functions use the current RNG through the scm_the_rng interface.
4878 It might be a good idea to use these functions from your C code so
4879 that only one random generator is used by all code in your program.
4881 The default random state is stored in:
4883 *** Variable: SCM scm_var_random_state
4884 Contains the vcell of the Scheme variable "*random-state*" which is
4885 used as default state by all random number functions in the Scheme
4890 double x = scm_c_uniform01 (SCM_RSTATE (SCM_CDR (scm_var_random_state)));
4892 *** Function: scm_rstate *scm_c_default_rstate (void)
4893 This is a convenience function which returns the value of
4894 scm_var_random_state. An error message is generated if this value
4895 isn't a random state.
4897 *** Function: scm_rstate *scm_c_make_rstate (char *SEED, int LENGTH)
4898 Make a new random state from the string SEED of length LENGTH.
4900 It is generally not a good idea to use multiple random states in a
4901 program. While subsequent random numbers generated from one random
4902 state are guaranteed to be reasonably independent, there is no such
4903 guarantee for numbers generated from different random states.
4905 *** Macro: unsigned long scm_c_uniform32 (scm_rstate *STATE)
4906 Return 32 random bits.
4908 *** Function: double scm_c_uniform01 (scm_rstate *STATE)
4909 Return a sample from the uniform(0,1) distribution.
4911 *** Function: double scm_c_normal01 (scm_rstate *STATE)
4912 Return a sample from the normal(0,1) distribution.
4914 *** Function: double scm_c_exp1 (scm_rstate *STATE)
4915 Return a sample from the exp(1) distribution.
4917 *** Function: unsigned long scm_c_random (scm_rstate *STATE, unsigned long M)
4918 Return a sample from the discrete uniform(0,M) distribution.
4920 *** Function: SCM scm_c_random_bignum (scm_rstate *STATE, SCM M)
4921 Return a sample from the discrete uniform(0,M) distribution.
4922 M must be a bignum object. The returned value may be an INUM.
4926 Changes in Guile 1.3 (released Monday, October 19, 1998):
4928 * Changes to the distribution
4930 ** We renamed the SCHEME_LOAD_PATH environment variable to GUILE_LOAD_PATH.
4931 To avoid conflicts, programs should name environment variables after
4932 themselves, except when there's a common practice establishing some
4935 For now, Guile supports both GUILE_LOAD_PATH and SCHEME_LOAD_PATH,
4936 giving the former precedence, and printing a warning message if the
4937 latter is set. Guile 1.4 will not recognize SCHEME_LOAD_PATH at all.
4939 ** The header files related to multi-byte characters have been removed.
4940 They were: libguile/extchrs.h and libguile/mbstrings.h. Any C code
4941 which referred to these explicitly will probably need to be rewritten,
4942 since the support for the variant string types has been removed; see
4945 ** The header files append.h and sequences.h have been removed. These
4946 files implemented non-R4RS operations which would encourage
4947 non-portable programming style and less easy-to-read code.
4949 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
4951 ** New procedures have been added to implement a "batch mode":
4953 *** Function: batch-mode?
4955 Returns a boolean indicating whether the interpreter is in batch
4958 *** Function: set-batch-mode?! ARG
4960 If ARG is true, switches the interpreter to batch mode. The `#f'
4961 case has not been implemented.
4963 ** Guile now provides full command-line editing, when run interactively.
4964 To use this feature, you must have the readline library installed.
4965 The Guile build process will notice it, and automatically include
4968 The readline library is available via anonymous FTP from any GNU
4969 mirror site; the canonical location is "ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu".
4971 ** the-last-stack is now a fluid.
4973 * Changes to the procedure for linking libguile with your programs
4975 ** You can now use the `guile-config' utility to build programs that use Guile.
4977 Guile now includes a command-line utility called `guile-config', which
4978 can provide information about how to compile and link programs that
4981 *** `guile-config compile' prints any C compiler flags needed to use Guile.
4982 You should include this command's output on the command line you use
4983 to compile C or C++ code that #includes the Guile header files. It's
4984 usually just a `-I' flag to help the compiler find the Guile headers.
4987 *** `guile-config link' prints any linker flags necessary to link with Guile.
4989 This command writes to its standard output a list of flags which you
4990 must pass to the linker to link your code against the Guile library.
4991 The flags include '-lguile' itself, any other libraries the Guile
4992 library depends upon, and any `-L' flags needed to help the linker
4993 find those libraries.
4995 For example, here is a Makefile rule that builds a program named 'foo'
4996 from the object files ${FOO_OBJECTS}, and links them against Guile:
4999 ${CC} ${CFLAGS} ${FOO_OBJECTS} `guile-config link` -o foo
5001 Previous Guile releases recommended that you use autoconf to detect
5002 which of a predefined set of libraries were present on your system.
5003 It is more robust to use `guile-config', since it records exactly which
5004 libraries the installed Guile library requires.
5006 This was originally called `build-guile', but was renamed to
5007 `guile-config' before Guile 1.3 was released, to be consistent with
5008 the analogous script for the GTK+ GUI toolkit, which is called
5012 ** Use the GUILE_FLAGS macro in your configure.in file to find Guile.
5014 If you are using the GNU autoconf package to configure your program,
5015 you can use the GUILE_FLAGS autoconf macro to call `guile-config'
5016 (described above) and gather the necessary values for use in your
5019 The GUILE_FLAGS macro expands to configure script code which runs the
5020 `guile-config' script, to find out where Guile's header files and
5021 libraries are installed. It sets two variables, marked for
5022 substitution, as by AC_SUBST.
5024 GUILE_CFLAGS --- flags to pass to a C or C++ compiler to build
5025 code that uses Guile header files. This is almost always just a
5028 GUILE_LDFLAGS --- flags to pass to the linker to link a
5029 program against Guile. This includes `-lguile' for the Guile
5030 library itself, any libraries that Guile itself requires (like
5031 -lqthreads), and so on. It may also include a -L flag to tell the
5032 compiler where to find the libraries.
5034 GUILE_FLAGS is defined in the file guile.m4, in the top-level
5035 directory of the Guile distribution. You can copy it into your
5036 package's aclocal.m4 file, and then use it in your configure.in file.
5038 If you are using the `aclocal' program, distributed with GNU automake,
5039 to maintain your aclocal.m4 file, the Guile installation process
5040 installs guile.m4 where aclocal will find it. All you need to do is
5041 use GUILE_FLAGS in your configure.in file, and then run `aclocal';
5042 this will copy the definition of GUILE_FLAGS into your aclocal.m4
5046 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
5048 ** Multi-byte strings have been removed, as have multi-byte and wide
5049 ports. We felt that these were the wrong approach to
5050 internationalization support.
5052 ** New function: readline [PROMPT]
5053 Read a line from the terminal, and allow the user to edit it,
5054 prompting with PROMPT. READLINE provides a large set of Emacs-like
5055 editing commands, lets the user recall previously typed lines, and
5056 works on almost every kind of terminal, including dumb terminals.
5058 READLINE assumes that the cursor is at the beginning of the line when
5059 it is invoked. Thus, you can't print a prompt yourself, and then call
5060 READLINE; you need to package up your prompt as a string, pass it to
5061 the function, and let READLINE print the prompt itself. This is
5062 because READLINE needs to know the prompt's screen width.
5064 For Guile to provide this function, you must have the readline
5065 library, version 2.1 or later, installed on your system. Readline is
5066 available via anonymous FTP from prep.ai.mit.edu in pub/gnu, or from
5067 any GNU mirror site.
5069 See also ADD-HISTORY function.
5071 ** New function: add-history STRING
5072 Add STRING as the most recent line in the history used by the READLINE
5073 command. READLINE does not add lines to the history itself; you must
5074 call ADD-HISTORY to make previous input available to the user.
5076 ** The behavior of the read-line function has changed.
5078 This function now uses standard C library functions to read the line,
5079 for speed. This means that it doesn not respect the value of
5080 scm-line-incrementors; it assumes that lines are delimited with
5083 (Note that this is read-line, the function that reads a line of text
5084 from a port, not readline, the function that reads a line from a
5085 terminal, providing full editing capabilities.)
5087 ** New module (ice-9 getopt-gnu-style): Parse command-line arguments.
5089 This module provides some simple argument parsing. It exports one
5092 Function: getopt-gnu-style ARG-LS
5093 Parse a list of program arguments into an alist of option
5096 Each item in the list of program arguments is examined to see if
5097 it meets the syntax of a GNU long-named option. An argument like
5098 `--MUMBLE' produces an element of the form (MUMBLE . #t) in the
5099 returned alist, where MUMBLE is a keyword object with the same
5100 name as the argument. An argument like `--MUMBLE=FROB' produces
5101 an element of the form (MUMBLE . FROB), where FROB is a string.
5103 As a special case, the returned alist also contains a pair whose
5104 car is the symbol `rest'. The cdr of this pair is a list
5105 containing all the items in the argument list that are not options
5106 of the form mentioned above.
5108 The argument `--' is treated specially: all items in the argument
5109 list appearing after such an argument are not examined, and are
5110 returned in the special `rest' list.
5112 This function does not parse normal single-character switches.
5113 You will need to parse them out of the `rest' list yourself.
5115 ** The read syntax for byte vectors and short vectors has changed.
5117 Instead of #bytes(...), write #y(...).
5119 Instead of #short(...), write #h(...).
5121 This may seem nutty, but, like the other uniform vectors, byte vectors
5122 and short vectors want to have the same print and read syntax (and,
5123 more basic, want to have read syntax!). Changing the read syntax to
5124 use multiple characters after the hash sign breaks with the
5125 conventions used in R5RS and the conventions used for the other
5126 uniform vectors. It also introduces complexity in the current reader,
5127 both on the C and Scheme levels. (The Right solution is probably to
5128 change the syntax and prototypes for uniform vectors entirely.)
5131 ** The new module (ice-9 session) provides useful interactive functions.
5133 *** New procedure: (apropos REGEXP OPTION ...)
5135 Display a list of top-level variables whose names match REGEXP, and
5136 the modules they are imported from. Each OPTION should be one of the
5139 value --- Show the value of each matching variable.
5140 shadow --- Show bindings shadowed by subsequently imported modules.
5141 full --- Same as both `shadow' and `value'.
5145 guile> (apropos "trace" 'full)
5146 debug: trace #<procedure trace args>
5147 debug: untrace #<procedure untrace args>
5148 the-scm-module: display-backtrace #<compiled-closure #<primitive-procedure gsubr-apply>>
5149 the-scm-module: before-backtrace-hook ()
5150 the-scm-module: backtrace #<primitive-procedure backtrace>
5151 the-scm-module: after-backtrace-hook ()
5152 the-scm-module: has-shown-backtrace-hint? #f
5155 ** There are new functions and syntax for working with macros.
5157 Guile implements macros as a special object type. Any variable whose
5158 top-level binding is a macro object acts as a macro. The macro object
5159 specifies how the expression should be transformed before evaluation.
5161 *** Macro objects now print in a reasonable way, resembling procedures.
5163 *** New function: (macro? OBJ)
5164 True iff OBJ is a macro object.
5166 *** New function: (primitive-macro? OBJ)
5167 Like (macro? OBJ), but true only if OBJ is one of the Guile primitive
5168 macro transformers, implemented in eval.c rather than Scheme code.
5170 Why do we have this function?
5171 - For symmetry with procedure? and primitive-procedure?,
5172 - to allow custom print procedures to tell whether a macro is
5173 primitive, and display it differently, and
5174 - to allow compilers and user-written evaluators to distinguish
5175 builtin special forms from user-defined ones, which could be
5178 *** New function: (macro-type OBJ)
5179 Return a value indicating what kind of macro OBJ is. Possible return
5182 The symbol `syntax' --- a macro created by procedure->syntax.
5183 The symbol `macro' --- a macro created by procedure->macro.
5184 The symbol `macro!' --- a macro created by procedure->memoizing-macro.
5185 The boolean #f --- if OBJ is not a macro object.
5187 *** New function: (macro-name MACRO)
5188 Return the name of the macro object MACRO's procedure, as returned by
5191 *** New function: (macro-transformer MACRO)
5192 Return the transformer procedure for MACRO.
5194 *** New syntax: (use-syntax MODULE ... TRANSFORMER)
5196 Specify a new macro expander to use in the current module. Each
5197 MODULE is a module name, with the same meaning as in the `use-modules'
5198 form; each named module's exported bindings are added to the current
5199 top-level environment. TRANSFORMER is an expression evaluated in the
5200 resulting environment which must yield a procedure to use as the
5201 module's eval transformer: every expression evaluated in this module
5202 is passed to this function, and the result passed to the Guile
5205 *** macro-eval! is removed. Use local-eval instead.
5207 ** Some magic has been added to the printer to better handle user
5208 written printing routines (like record printers, closure printers).
5210 The problem is that these user written routines must have access to
5211 the current `print-state' to be able to handle fancy things like
5212 detection of circular references. These print-states have to be
5213 passed to the builtin printing routines (display, write, etc) to
5214 properly continue the print chain.
5216 We didn't want to change all existing print code so that it
5217 explicitly passes thru a print state in addition to a port. Instead,
5218 we extented the possible values that the builtin printing routines
5219 accept as a `port'. In addition to a normal port, they now also take
5220 a pair of a normal port and a print-state. Printing will go to the
5221 port and the print-state will be used to control the detection of
5222 circular references, etc. If the builtin function does not care for a
5223 print-state, it is simply ignored.
5225 User written callbacks are now called with such a pair as their
5226 `port', but because every function now accepts this pair as a PORT
5227 argument, you don't have to worry about that. In fact, it is probably
5228 safest to not check for these pairs.
5230 However, it is sometimes necessary to continue a print chain on a
5231 different port, for example to get a intermediate string
5232 representation of the printed value, mangle that string somehow, and
5233 then to finally print the mangled string. Use the new function
5235 inherit-print-state OLD-PORT NEW-PORT
5237 for this. It constructs a new `port' that prints to NEW-PORT but
5238 inherits the print-state of OLD-PORT.
5240 ** struct-vtable-offset renamed to vtable-offset-user
5242 ** New constants: vtable-index-layout, vtable-index-vtable, vtable-index-printer
5244 ** There is now a third optional argument to make-vtable-vtable
5245 (and fourth to make-struct) when constructing new types (vtables).
5246 This argument initializes field vtable-index-printer of the vtable.
5248 ** The detection of circular references has been extended to structs.
5249 That is, a structure that -- in the process of being printed -- prints
5250 itself does not lead to infinite recursion.
5252 ** There is now some basic support for fluids. Please read
5253 "libguile/fluid.h" to find out more. It is accessible from Scheme with
5254 the following functions and macros:
5256 Function: make-fluid
5258 Create a new fluid object. Fluids are not special variables or
5259 some other extension to the semantics of Scheme, but rather
5260 ordinary Scheme objects. You can store them into variables (that
5261 are still lexically scoped, of course) or into any other place you
5262 like. Every fluid has a initial value of `#f'.
5264 Function: fluid? OBJ
5266 Test whether OBJ is a fluid.
5268 Function: fluid-ref FLUID
5269 Function: fluid-set! FLUID VAL
5271 Access/modify the fluid FLUID. Modifications are only visible
5272 within the current dynamic root (that includes threads).
5274 Function: with-fluids* FLUIDS VALUES THUNK
5276 FLUIDS is a list of fluids and VALUES a corresponding list of
5277 values for these fluids. Before THUNK gets called the values are
5278 installed in the fluids and the old values of the fluids are
5279 saved in the VALUES list. When the flow of control leaves THUNK
5280 or reenters it, the values get swapped again. You might think of
5281 this as a `safe-fluid-excursion'. Note that the VALUES list is
5282 modified by `with-fluids*'.
5284 Macro: with-fluids ((FLUID VALUE) ...) FORM ...
5286 The same as `with-fluids*' but with a different syntax. It looks
5287 just like `let', but both FLUID and VALUE are evaluated. Remember,
5288 fluids are not special variables but ordinary objects. FLUID
5289 should evaluate to a fluid.
5291 ** Changes to system call interfaces:
5293 *** close-port, close-input-port and close-output-port now return a
5294 boolean instead of an `unspecified' object. #t means that the port
5295 was successfully closed, while #f means it was already closed. It is
5296 also now possible for these procedures to raise an exception if an
5297 error occurs (some errors from write can be delayed until close.)
5299 *** the first argument to chmod, fcntl, ftell and fseek can now be a
5302 *** the third argument to fcntl is now optional.
5304 *** the first argument to chown can now be a file descriptor or a port.
5306 *** the argument to stat can now be a port.
5308 *** The following new procedures have been added (most use scsh
5311 *** procedure: close PORT/FD
5312 Similar to close-port (*note close-port: Closing Ports.), but also
5313 works on file descriptors. A side effect of closing a file
5314 descriptor is that any ports using that file descriptor are moved
5315 to a different file descriptor and have their revealed counts set
5318 *** procedure: port->fdes PORT
5319 Returns the integer file descriptor underlying PORT. As a side
5320 effect the revealed count of PORT is incremented.
5322 *** procedure: fdes->ports FDES
5323 Returns a list of existing ports which have FDES as an underlying
5324 file descriptor, without changing their revealed counts.
5326 *** procedure: fdes->inport FDES
5327 Returns an existing input port which has FDES as its underlying
5328 file descriptor, if one exists, and increments its revealed count.
5329 Otherwise, returns a new input port with a revealed count of 1.
5331 *** procedure: fdes->outport FDES
5332 Returns an existing output port which has FDES as its underlying
5333 file descriptor, if one exists, and increments its revealed count.
5334 Otherwise, returns a new output port with a revealed count of 1.
5336 The next group of procedures perform a `dup2' system call, if NEWFD
5337 (an integer) is supplied, otherwise a `dup'. The file descriptor to be
5338 duplicated can be supplied as an integer or contained in a port. The
5339 type of value returned varies depending on which procedure is used.
5341 All procedures also have the side effect when performing `dup2' that
5342 any ports using NEWFD are moved to a different file descriptor and have
5343 their revealed counts set to zero.
5345 *** procedure: dup->fdes PORT/FD [NEWFD]
5346 Returns an integer file descriptor.
5348 *** procedure: dup->inport PORT/FD [NEWFD]
5349 Returns a new input port using the new file descriptor.
5351 *** procedure: dup->outport PORT/FD [NEWFD]
5352 Returns a new output port using the new file descriptor.
5354 *** procedure: dup PORT/FD [NEWFD]
5355 Returns a new port if PORT/FD is a port, with the same mode as the
5356 supplied port, otherwise returns an integer file descriptor.
5358 *** procedure: dup->port PORT/FD MODE [NEWFD]
5359 Returns a new port using the new file descriptor. MODE supplies a
5360 mode string for the port (*note open-file: File Ports.).
5362 *** procedure: setenv NAME VALUE
5363 Modifies the environment of the current process, which is also the
5364 default environment inherited by child processes.
5366 If VALUE is `#f', then NAME is removed from the environment.
5367 Otherwise, the string NAME=VALUE is added to the environment,
5368 replacing any existing string with name matching NAME.
5370 The return value is unspecified.
5372 *** procedure: truncate-file OBJ SIZE
5373 Truncates the file referred to by OBJ to at most SIZE bytes. OBJ
5374 can be a string containing a file name or an integer file
5375 descriptor or port open for output on the file. The underlying
5376 system calls are `truncate' and `ftruncate'.
5378 The return value is unspecified.
5380 *** procedure: setvbuf PORT MODE [SIZE]
5381 Set the buffering mode for PORT. MODE can be:
5389 block buffered, using a newly allocated buffer of SIZE bytes.
5390 However if SIZE is zero or unspecified, the port will be made
5393 This procedure should not be used after I/O has been performed with
5396 Ports are usually block buffered by default, with a default buffer
5397 size. Procedures e.g., *Note open-file: File Ports, which accept a
5398 mode string allow `0' to be added to request an unbuffered port.
5400 *** procedure: fsync PORT/FD
5401 Copies any unwritten data for the specified output file descriptor
5402 to disk. If PORT/FD is a port, its buffer is flushed before the
5403 underlying file descriptor is fsync'd. The return value is
5406 *** procedure: open-fdes PATH FLAGS [MODES]
5407 Similar to `open' but returns a file descriptor instead of a port.
5409 *** procedure: execle PATH ENV [ARG] ...
5410 Similar to `execl', but the environment of the new process is
5411 specified by ENV, which must be a list of strings as returned by
5412 the `environ' procedure.
5414 This procedure is currently implemented using the `execve' system
5415 call, but we call it `execle' because of its Scheme calling
5418 *** procedure: strerror ERRNO
5419 Returns the Unix error message corresponding to ERRNO, an integer.
5421 *** procedure: primitive-exit [STATUS]
5422 Terminate the current process without unwinding the Scheme stack.
5423 This is would typically be useful after a fork. The exit status
5424 is STATUS if supplied, otherwise zero.
5426 *** procedure: times
5427 Returns an object with information about real and processor time.
5428 The following procedures accept such an object as an argument and
5429 return a selected component:
5432 The current real time, expressed as time units relative to an
5436 The CPU time units used by the calling process.
5439 The CPU time units used by the system on behalf of the
5443 The CPU time units used by terminated child processes of the
5444 calling process, whose status has been collected (e.g., using
5448 Similarly, the CPU times units used by the system on behalf of
5449 terminated child processes.
5451 ** Removed: list-length
5452 ** Removed: list-append, list-append!
5453 ** Removed: list-reverse, list-reverse!
5455 ** array-map renamed to array-map!
5457 ** serial-array-map renamed to serial-array-map!
5459 ** catch doesn't take #f as first argument any longer
5461 Previously, it was possible to pass #f instead of a key to `catch'.
5462 That would cause `catch' to pass a jump buffer object to the procedure
5463 passed as second argument. The procedure could then use this jump
5464 buffer objekt as an argument to throw.
5466 This mechanism has been removed since its utility doesn't motivate the
5467 extra complexity it introduces.
5469 ** The `#/' notation for lists now provokes a warning message from Guile.
5470 This syntax will be removed from Guile in the near future.
5472 To disable the warning message, set the GUILE_HUSH environment
5473 variable to any non-empty value.
5475 ** The newline character now prints as `#\newline', following the
5476 normal Scheme notation, not `#\nl'.
5478 * Changes to the gh_ interface
5480 ** The gh_enter function now takes care of loading the Guile startup files.
5481 gh_enter works by calling scm_boot_guile; see the remarks below.
5483 ** Function: void gh_write (SCM x)
5485 Write the printed representation of the scheme object x to the current
5486 output port. Corresponds to the scheme level `write'.
5488 ** gh_list_length renamed to gh_length.
5490 ** vector handling routines
5492 Several major changes. In particular, gh_vector() now resembles
5493 (vector ...) (with a caveat -- see manual), and gh_make_vector() now
5494 exists and behaves like (make-vector ...). gh_vset() and gh_vref()
5495 have been renamed gh_vector_set_x() and gh_vector_ref(). Some missing
5496 vector-related gh_ functions have been implemented.
5498 ** pair and list routines
5500 Implemented several of the R4RS pair and list functions that were
5503 ** gh_scm2doubles, gh_doubles2scm, gh_doubles2dvect
5505 New function. Converts double arrays back and forth between Scheme
5508 * Changes to the scm_ interface
5510 ** The function scm_boot_guile now takes care of loading the startup files.
5512 Guile's primary initialization function, scm_boot_guile, now takes
5513 care of loading `boot-9.scm', in the `ice-9' module, to initialize
5514 Guile, define the module system, and put together some standard
5515 bindings. It also loads `init.scm', which is intended to hold
5516 site-specific initialization code.
5518 Since Guile cannot operate properly until boot-9.scm is loaded, there
5519 is no reason to separate loading boot-9.scm from Guile's other
5520 initialization processes.
5522 This job used to be done by scm_compile_shell_switches, which didn't
5523 make much sense; in particular, it meant that people using Guile for
5524 non-shell-like applications had to jump through hoops to get Guile
5525 initialized properly.
5527 ** The function scm_compile_shell_switches no longer loads the startup files.
5528 Now, Guile always loads the startup files, whenever it is initialized;
5529 see the notes above for scm_boot_guile and scm_load_startup_files.
5531 ** Function: scm_load_startup_files
5532 This new function takes care of loading Guile's initialization file
5533 (`boot-9.scm'), and the site initialization file, `init.scm'. Since
5534 this is always called by the Guile initialization process, it's
5535 probably not too useful to call this yourself, but it's there anyway.
5537 ** The semantics of smob marking have changed slightly.
5539 The smob marking function (the `mark' member of the scm_smobfuns
5540 structure) is no longer responsible for setting the mark bit on the
5541 smob. The generic smob handling code in the garbage collector will
5542 set this bit. The mark function need only ensure that any other
5543 objects the smob refers to get marked.
5545 Note that this change means that the smob's GC8MARK bit is typically
5546 already set upon entry to the mark function. Thus, marking functions
5547 which look like this:
5550 if (SCM_GC8MARKP (ptr))
5552 SCM_SETGC8MARK (ptr);
5553 ... mark objects to which the smob refers ...
5556 are now incorrect, since they will return early, and fail to mark any
5557 other objects the smob refers to. Some code in the Guile library used
5560 ** The semantics of the I/O port functions in scm_ptobfuns have changed.
5562 If you have implemented your own I/O port type, by writing the
5563 functions required by the scm_ptobfuns and then calling scm_newptob,
5564 you will need to change your functions slightly.
5566 The functions in a scm_ptobfuns structure now expect the port itself
5567 as their argument; they used to expect the `stream' member of the
5568 port's scm_port_table structure. This allows functions in an
5569 scm_ptobfuns structure to easily access the port's cell (and any flags
5570 it its CAR), and the port's scm_port_table structure.
5572 Guile now passes the I/O port itself as the `port' argument in the
5573 following scm_ptobfuns functions:
5575 int (*free) (SCM port);
5576 int (*fputc) (int, SCM port);
5577 int (*fputs) (char *, SCM port);
5578 scm_sizet (*fwrite) SCM_P ((char *ptr,
5582 int (*fflush) (SCM port);
5583 int (*fgetc) (SCM port);
5584 int (*fclose) (SCM port);
5586 The interfaces to the `mark', `print', `equalp', and `fgets' methods
5589 If you have existing code which defines its own port types, it is easy
5590 to convert your code to the new interface; simply apply SCM_STREAM to
5591 the port argument to yield the value you code used to expect.
5593 Note that since both the port and the stream have the same type in the
5594 C code --- they are both SCM values --- the C compiler will not remind
5595 you if you forget to update your scm_ptobfuns functions.
5598 ** Function: int scm_internal_select (int fds,
5602 struct timeval *timeout);
5604 This is a replacement for the `select' function provided by the OS.
5605 It enables I/O blocking and sleeping to happen for one cooperative
5606 thread without blocking other threads. It also avoids busy-loops in
5607 these situations. It is intended that all I/O blocking and sleeping
5608 will finally go through this function. Currently, this function is
5609 only available on systems providing `gettimeofday' and `select'.
5611 ** Function: SCM scm_internal_stack_catch (SCM tag,
5612 scm_catch_body_t body,
5614 scm_catch_handler_t handler,
5617 A new sibling to the other two C level `catch' functions
5618 scm_internal_catch and scm_internal_lazy_catch. Use it if you want
5619 the stack to be saved automatically into the variable `the-last-stack'
5620 (scm_the_last_stack_var) on error. This is necessary if you want to
5621 use advanced error reporting, such as calling scm_display_error and
5622 scm_display_backtrace. (They both take a stack object as argument.)
5624 ** Function: SCM scm_spawn_thread (scm_catch_body_t body,
5626 scm_catch_handler_t handler,
5629 Spawns a new thread. It does a job similar to
5630 scm_call_with_new_thread but takes arguments more suitable when
5631 spawning threads from application C code.
5633 ** The hook scm_error_callback has been removed. It was originally
5634 intended as a way for the user to install his own error handler. But
5635 that method works badly since it intervenes between throw and catch,
5636 thereby changing the semantics of expressions like (catch #t ...).
5637 The correct way to do it is to use one of the C level catch functions
5638 in throw.c: scm_internal_catch/lazy_catch/stack_catch.
5640 ** Removed functions:
5642 scm_obj_length, scm_list_length, scm_list_append, scm_list_append_x,
5643 scm_list_reverse, scm_list_reverse_x
5645 ** New macros: SCM_LISTn where n is one of the integers 0-9.
5647 These can be used for pretty list creation from C. The idea is taken
5648 from Erick Gallesio's STk.
5650 ** scm_array_map renamed to scm_array_map_x
5652 ** mbstrings are now removed
5654 This means that the type codes scm_tc7_mb_string and
5655 scm_tc7_mb_substring has been removed.
5657 ** scm_gen_putc, scm_gen_puts, scm_gen_write, and scm_gen_getc have changed.
5659 Since we no longer support multi-byte strings, these I/O functions
5660 have been simplified, and renamed. Here are their old names, and
5661 their new names and arguments:
5663 scm_gen_putc -> void scm_putc (int c, SCM port);
5664 scm_gen_puts -> void scm_puts (char *s, SCM port);
5665 scm_gen_write -> void scm_lfwrite (char *ptr, scm_sizet size, SCM port);
5666 scm_gen_getc -> void scm_getc (SCM port);
5669 ** The macros SCM_TYP7D and SCM_TYP7SD has been removed.
5671 ** The macro SCM_TYP7S has taken the role of the old SCM_TYP7D
5673 SCM_TYP7S now masks away the bit which distinguishes substrings from
5676 ** scm_catch_body_t: Backward incompatible change!
5678 Body functions to scm_internal_catch and friends do not any longer
5679 take a second argument. This is because it is no longer possible to
5680 pass a #f arg to catch.
5682 ** Calls to scm_protect_object and scm_unprotect now nest properly.
5684 The function scm_protect_object protects its argument from being freed
5685 by the garbage collector. scm_unprotect_object removes that
5688 These functions now nest properly. That is, for every object O, there
5689 is a counter which scm_protect_object(O) increments and
5690 scm_unprotect_object(O) decrements, if the counter is greater than
5691 zero. Every object's counter is zero when it is first created. If an
5692 object's counter is greater than zero, the garbage collector will not
5693 reclaim its storage.
5695 This allows you to use scm_protect_object in your code without
5696 worrying that some other function you call will call
5697 scm_unprotect_object, and allow it to be freed. Assuming that the
5698 functions you call are well-behaved, and unprotect only those objects
5699 they protect, you can follow the same rule and have confidence that
5700 objects will be freed only at appropriate times.
5703 Changes in Guile 1.2 (released Tuesday, June 24 1997):
5705 * Changes to the distribution
5707 ** Nightly snapshots are now available from ftp.red-bean.com.
5708 The old server, ftp.cyclic.com, has been relinquished to its rightful
5711 Nightly snapshots of the Guile development sources are now available via
5712 anonymous FTP from ftp.red-bean.com, as /pub/guile/guile-snap.tar.gz.
5714 Via the web, that's: ftp://ftp.red-bean.com/pub/guile/guile-snap.tar.gz
5715 For getit, that's: ftp.red-bean.com:/pub/guile/guile-snap.tar.gz
5717 ** To run Guile without installing it, the procedure has changed a bit.
5719 If you used a separate build directory to compile Guile, you'll need
5720 to include the build directory in SCHEME_LOAD_PATH, as well as the
5721 source directory. See the `INSTALL' file for examples.
5723 * Changes to the procedure for linking libguile with your programs
5725 ** The standard Guile load path for Scheme code now includes
5726 $(datadir)/guile (usually /usr/local/share/guile). This means that
5727 you can install your own Scheme files there, and Guile will find them.
5728 (Previous versions of Guile only checked a directory whose name
5729 contained the Guile version number, so you had to re-install or move
5730 your Scheme sources each time you installed a fresh version of Guile.)
5732 The load path also includes $(datadir)/guile/site; we recommend
5733 putting individual Scheme files there. If you want to install a
5734 package with multiple source files, create a directory for them under
5737 ** Guile 1.2 will now use the Rx regular expression library, if it is
5738 installed on your system. When you are linking libguile into your own
5739 programs, this means you will have to link against -lguile, -lqt (if
5740 you configured Guile with thread support), and -lrx.
5742 If you are using autoconf to generate configuration scripts for your
5743 application, the following lines should suffice to add the appropriate
5744 libraries to your link command:
5746 ### Find Rx, quickthreads and libguile.
5747 AC_CHECK_LIB(rx, main)
5748 AC_CHECK_LIB(qt, main)
5749 AC_CHECK_LIB(guile, scm_shell)
5751 The Guile 1.2 distribution does not contain sources for the Rx
5752 library, as Guile 1.0 did. If you want to use Rx, you'll need to
5753 retrieve it from a GNU FTP site and install it separately.
5755 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
5757 ** The dynamic linking features of Guile are now enabled by default.
5758 You can disable them by giving the `--disable-dynamic-linking' option
5761 (dynamic-link FILENAME)
5763 Find the object file denoted by FILENAME (a string) and link it
5764 into the running Guile application. When everything works out,
5765 return a Scheme object suitable for representing the linked object
5766 file. Otherwise an error is thrown. How object files are
5767 searched is system dependent.
5769 (dynamic-object? VAL)
5771 Determine whether VAL represents a dynamically linked object file.
5773 (dynamic-unlink DYNOBJ)
5775 Unlink the indicated object file from the application. DYNOBJ
5776 should be one of the values returned by `dynamic-link'.
5778 (dynamic-func FUNCTION DYNOBJ)
5780 Search the C function indicated by FUNCTION (a string or symbol)
5781 in DYNOBJ and return some Scheme object that can later be used
5782 with `dynamic-call' to actually call this function. Right now,
5783 these Scheme objects are formed by casting the address of the
5784 function to `long' and converting this number to its Scheme
5787 (dynamic-call FUNCTION DYNOBJ)
5789 Call the C function indicated by FUNCTION and DYNOBJ. The
5790 function is passed no arguments and its return value is ignored.
5791 When FUNCTION is something returned by `dynamic-func', call that
5792 function and ignore DYNOBJ. When FUNCTION is a string (or symbol,
5793 etc.), look it up in DYNOBJ; this is equivalent to
5795 (dynamic-call (dynamic-func FUNCTION DYNOBJ) #f)
5797 Interrupts are deferred while the C function is executing (with
5798 SCM_DEFER_INTS/SCM_ALLOW_INTS).
5800 (dynamic-args-call FUNCTION DYNOBJ ARGS)
5802 Call the C function indicated by FUNCTION and DYNOBJ, but pass it
5803 some arguments and return its return value. The C function is
5804 expected to take two arguments and return an `int', just like
5807 int c_func (int argc, char **argv);
5809 ARGS must be a list of strings and is converted into an array of
5810 `char *'. The array is passed in ARGV and its size in ARGC. The
5811 return value is converted to a Scheme number and returned from the
5812 call to `dynamic-args-call'.
5814 When dynamic linking is disabled or not supported on your system,
5815 the above functions throw errors, but they are still available.
5817 Here is a small example that works on GNU/Linux:
5819 (define libc-obj (dynamic-link "libc.so"))
5820 (dynamic-args-call 'rand libc-obj '())
5822 See the file `libguile/DYNAMIC-LINKING' for additional comments.
5824 ** The #/ syntax for module names is depreciated, and will be removed
5825 in a future version of Guile. Instead of
5833 The latter syntax is more consistent with existing Lisp practice.
5835 ** Guile now does fancier printing of structures. Structures are the
5836 underlying implementation for records, which in turn are used to
5837 implement modules, so all of these object now print differently and in
5838 a more informative way.
5840 The Scheme printer will examine the builtin variable *struct-printer*
5841 whenever it needs to print a structure object. When this variable is
5842 not `#f' it is deemed to be a procedure and will be applied to the
5843 structure object and the output port. When *struct-printer* is `#f'
5844 or the procedure return `#f' the structure object will be printed in
5845 the boring #<struct 80458270> form.
5847 This hook is used by some routines in ice-9/boot-9.scm to implement
5848 type specific printing routines. Please read the comments there about
5851 One of the more specific uses of structs are records. The printing
5852 procedure that could be passed to MAKE-RECORD-TYPE is now actually
5853 called. It should behave like a *struct-printer* procedure (described
5856 ** Guile now supports a new R4RS-compliant syntax for keywords. A
5857 token of the form #:NAME, where NAME has the same syntax as a Scheme
5858 symbol, is the external representation of the keyword named NAME.
5859 Keyword objects print using this syntax as well, so values containing
5860 keyword objects can be read back into Guile. When used in an
5861 expression, keywords are self-quoting objects.
5863 Guile suports this read syntax, and uses this print syntax, regardless
5864 of the current setting of the `keyword' read option. The `keyword'
5865 read option only controls whether Guile recognizes the `:NAME' syntax,
5866 which is incompatible with R4RS. (R4RS says such token represent
5869 ** Guile has regular expression support again. Guile 1.0 included
5870 functions for matching regular expressions, based on the Rx library.
5871 In Guile 1.1, the Guile/Rx interface was removed to simplify the
5872 distribution, and thus Guile had no regular expression support. Guile
5873 1.2 again supports the most commonly used functions, and supports all
5874 of SCSH's regular expression functions.
5876 If your system does not include a POSIX regular expression library,
5877 and you have not linked Guile with a third-party regexp library such as
5878 Rx, these functions will not be available. You can tell whether your
5879 Guile installation includes regular expression support by checking
5880 whether the `*features*' list includes the `regex' symbol.
5882 *** regexp functions
5884 By default, Guile supports POSIX extended regular expressions. That
5885 means that the characters `(', `)', `+' and `?' are special, and must
5886 be escaped if you wish to match the literal characters.
5888 This regular expression interface was modeled after that implemented
5889 by SCSH, the Scheme Shell. It is intended to be upwardly compatible
5890 with SCSH regular expressions.
5892 **** Function: string-match PATTERN STR [START]
5893 Compile the string PATTERN into a regular expression and compare
5894 it with STR. The optional numeric argument START specifies the
5895 position of STR at which to begin matching.
5897 `string-match' returns a "match structure" which describes what,
5898 if anything, was matched by the regular expression. *Note Match
5899 Structures::. If STR does not match PATTERN at all,
5900 `string-match' returns `#f'.
5902 Each time `string-match' is called, it must compile its PATTERN
5903 argument into a regular expression structure. This operation is
5904 expensive, which makes `string-match' inefficient if the same regular
5905 expression is used several times (for example, in a loop). For better
5906 performance, you can compile a regular expression in advance and then
5907 match strings against the compiled regexp.
5909 **** Function: make-regexp STR [FLAGS]
5910 Compile the regular expression described by STR, and return the
5911 compiled regexp structure. If STR does not describe a legal
5912 regular expression, `make-regexp' throws a
5913 `regular-expression-syntax' error.
5915 FLAGS may be the bitwise-or of one or more of the following:
5917 **** Constant: regexp/extended
5918 Use POSIX Extended Regular Expression syntax when interpreting
5919 STR. If not set, POSIX Basic Regular Expression syntax is used.
5920 If the FLAGS argument is omitted, we assume regexp/extended.
5922 **** Constant: regexp/icase
5923 Do not differentiate case. Subsequent searches using the
5924 returned regular expression will be case insensitive.
5926 **** Constant: regexp/newline
5927 Match-any-character operators don't match a newline.
5929 A non-matching list ([^...]) not containing a newline matches a
5932 Match-beginning-of-line operator (^) matches the empty string
5933 immediately after a newline, regardless of whether the FLAGS
5934 passed to regexp-exec contain regexp/notbol.
5936 Match-end-of-line operator ($) matches the empty string
5937 immediately before a newline, regardless of whether the FLAGS
5938 passed to regexp-exec contain regexp/noteol.
5940 **** Function: regexp-exec REGEXP STR [START [FLAGS]]
5941 Match the compiled regular expression REGEXP against `str'. If
5942 the optional integer START argument is provided, begin matching
5943 from that position in the string. Return a match structure
5944 describing the results of the match, or `#f' if no match could be
5947 FLAGS may be the bitwise-or of one or more of the following:
5949 **** Constant: regexp/notbol
5950 The match-beginning-of-line operator always fails to match (but
5951 see the compilation flag regexp/newline above) This flag may be
5952 used when different portions of a string are passed to
5953 regexp-exec and the beginning of the string should not be
5954 interpreted as the beginning of the line.
5956 **** Constant: regexp/noteol
5957 The match-end-of-line operator always fails to match (but see the
5958 compilation flag regexp/newline above)
5960 **** Function: regexp? OBJ
5961 Return `#t' if OBJ is a compiled regular expression, or `#f'
5964 Regular expressions are commonly used to find patterns in one string
5965 and replace them with the contents of another string.
5967 **** Function: regexp-substitute PORT MATCH [ITEM...]
5968 Write to the output port PORT selected contents of the match
5969 structure MATCH. Each ITEM specifies what should be written, and
5970 may be one of the following arguments:
5972 * A string. String arguments are written out verbatim.
5974 * An integer. The submatch with that number is written.
5976 * The symbol `pre'. The portion of the matched string preceding
5977 the regexp match is written.
5979 * The symbol `post'. The portion of the matched string
5980 following the regexp match is written.
5982 PORT may be `#f', in which case nothing is written; instead,
5983 `regexp-substitute' constructs a string from the specified ITEMs
5986 **** Function: regexp-substitute/global PORT REGEXP TARGET [ITEM...]
5987 Similar to `regexp-substitute', but can be used to perform global
5988 substitutions on STR. Instead of taking a match structure as an
5989 argument, `regexp-substitute/global' takes two string arguments: a
5990 REGEXP string describing a regular expression, and a TARGET string
5991 which should be matched against this regular expression.
5993 Each ITEM behaves as in REGEXP-SUBSTITUTE, with the following
5996 * A function may be supplied. When this function is called, it
5997 will be passed one argument: a match structure for a given
5998 regular expression match. It should return a string to be
5999 written out to PORT.
6001 * The `post' symbol causes `regexp-substitute/global' to recurse
6002 on the unmatched portion of STR. This *must* be supplied in
6003 order to perform global search-and-replace on STR; if it is
6004 not present among the ITEMs, then `regexp-substitute/global'
6005 will return after processing a single match.
6007 *** Match Structures
6009 A "match structure" is the object returned by `string-match' and
6010 `regexp-exec'. It describes which portion of a string, if any, matched
6011 the given regular expression. Match structures include: a reference to
6012 the string that was checked for matches; the starting and ending
6013 positions of the regexp match; and, if the regexp included any
6014 parenthesized subexpressions, the starting and ending positions of each
6017 In each of the regexp match functions described below, the `match'
6018 argument must be a match structure returned by a previous call to
6019 `string-match' or `regexp-exec'. Most of these functions return some
6020 information about the original target string that was matched against a
6021 regular expression; we will call that string TARGET for easy reference.
6023 **** Function: regexp-match? OBJ
6024 Return `#t' if OBJ is a match structure returned by a previous
6025 call to `regexp-exec', or `#f' otherwise.
6027 **** Function: match:substring MATCH [N]
6028 Return the portion of TARGET matched by subexpression number N.
6029 Submatch 0 (the default) represents the entire regexp match. If
6030 the regular expression as a whole matched, but the subexpression
6031 number N did not match, return `#f'.
6033 **** Function: match:start MATCH [N]
6034 Return the starting position of submatch number N.
6036 **** Function: match:end MATCH [N]
6037 Return the ending position of submatch number N.
6039 **** Function: match:prefix MATCH
6040 Return the unmatched portion of TARGET preceding the regexp match.
6042 **** Function: match:suffix MATCH
6043 Return the unmatched portion of TARGET following the regexp match.
6045 **** Function: match:count MATCH
6046 Return the number of parenthesized subexpressions from MATCH.
6047 Note that the entire regular expression match itself counts as a
6048 subexpression, and failed submatches are included in the count.
6050 **** Function: match:string MATCH
6051 Return the original TARGET string.
6053 *** Backslash Escapes
6055 Sometimes you will want a regexp to match characters like `*' or `$'
6056 exactly. For example, to check whether a particular string represents
6057 a menu entry from an Info node, it would be useful to match it against
6058 a regexp like `^* [^:]*::'. However, this won't work; because the
6059 asterisk is a metacharacter, it won't match the `*' at the beginning of
6060 the string. In this case, we want to make the first asterisk un-magic.
6062 You can do this by preceding the metacharacter with a backslash
6063 character `\'. (This is also called "quoting" the metacharacter, and
6064 is known as a "backslash escape".) When Guile sees a backslash in a
6065 regular expression, it considers the following glyph to be an ordinary
6066 character, no matter what special meaning it would ordinarily have.
6067 Therefore, we can make the above example work by changing the regexp to
6068 `^\* [^:]*::'. The `\*' sequence tells the regular expression engine
6069 to match only a single asterisk in the target string.
6071 Since the backslash is itself a metacharacter, you may force a
6072 regexp to match a backslash in the target string by preceding the
6073 backslash with itself. For example, to find variable references in a
6074 TeX program, you might want to find occurrences of the string `\let\'
6075 followed by any number of alphabetic characters. The regular expression
6076 `\\let\\[A-Za-z]*' would do this: the double backslashes in the regexp
6077 each match a single backslash in the target string.
6079 **** Function: regexp-quote STR
6080 Quote each special character found in STR with a backslash, and
6081 return the resulting string.
6083 *Very important:* Using backslash escapes in Guile source code (as
6084 in Emacs Lisp or C) can be tricky, because the backslash character has
6085 special meaning for the Guile reader. For example, if Guile encounters
6086 the character sequence `\n' in the middle of a string while processing
6087 Scheme code, it replaces those characters with a newline character.
6088 Similarly, the character sequence `\t' is replaced by a horizontal tab.
6089 Several of these "escape sequences" are processed by the Guile reader
6090 before your code is executed. Unrecognized escape sequences are
6091 ignored: if the characters `\*' appear in a string, they will be
6092 translated to the single character `*'.
6094 This translation is obviously undesirable for regular expressions,
6095 since we want to be able to include backslashes in a string in order to
6096 escape regexp metacharacters. Therefore, to make sure that a backslash
6097 is preserved in a string in your Guile program, you must use *two*
6098 consecutive backslashes:
6100 (define Info-menu-entry-pattern (make-regexp "^\\* [^:]*"))
6102 The string in this example is preprocessed by the Guile reader before
6103 any code is executed. The resulting argument to `make-regexp' is the
6104 string `^\* [^:]*', which is what we really want.
6106 This also means that in order to write a regular expression that
6107 matches a single backslash character, the regular expression string in
6108 the source code must include *four* backslashes. Each consecutive pair
6109 of backslashes gets translated by the Guile reader to a single
6110 backslash, and the resulting double-backslash is interpreted by the
6111 regexp engine as matching a single backslash character. Hence:
6113 (define tex-variable-pattern (make-regexp "\\\\let\\\\=[A-Za-z]*"))
6115 The reason for the unwieldiness of this syntax is historical. Both
6116 regular expression pattern matchers and Unix string processing systems
6117 have traditionally used backslashes with the special meanings described
6118 above. The POSIX regular expression specification and ANSI C standard
6119 both require these semantics. Attempting to abandon either convention
6120 would cause other kinds of compatibility problems, possibly more severe
6121 ones. Therefore, without extending the Scheme reader to support
6122 strings with different quoting conventions (an ungainly and confusing
6123 extension when implemented in other languages), we must adhere to this
6124 cumbersome escape syntax.
6126 * Changes to the gh_ interface
6128 * Changes to the scm_ interface
6130 * Changes to system call interfaces:
6132 ** The value returned by `raise' is now unspecified. It throws an exception
6135 *** A new procedure `sigaction' can be used to install signal handlers
6137 (sigaction signum [action] [flags])
6139 signum is the signal number, which can be specified using the value
6142 If action is omitted, sigaction returns a pair: the CAR is the current
6143 signal hander, which will be either an integer with the value SIG_DFL
6144 (default action) or SIG_IGN (ignore), or the Scheme procedure which
6145 handles the signal, or #f if a non-Scheme procedure handles the
6146 signal. The CDR contains the current sigaction flags for the handler.
6148 If action is provided, it is installed as the new handler for signum.
6149 action can be a Scheme procedure taking one argument, or the value of
6150 SIG_DFL (default action) or SIG_IGN (ignore), or #f to restore
6151 whatever signal handler was installed before sigaction was first used.
6152 Flags can optionally be specified for the new handler (SA_RESTART is
6153 always used if the system provides it, so need not be specified.) The
6154 return value is a pair with information about the old handler as
6157 This interface does not provide access to the "signal blocking"
6158 facility. Maybe this is not needed, since the thread support may
6159 provide solutions to the problem of consistent access to data
6162 *** A new procedure `flush-all-ports' is equivalent to running
6163 `force-output' on every port open for output.
6165 ** Guile now provides information on how it was built, via the new
6166 global variable, %guile-build-info. This variable records the values
6167 of the standard GNU makefile directory variables as an assocation
6168 list, mapping variable names (symbols) onto directory paths (strings).
6169 For example, to find out where the Guile link libraries were
6170 installed, you can say:
6172 guile -c "(display (assq-ref %guile-build-info 'libdir)) (newline)"
6175 * Changes to the scm_ interface
6177 ** The new function scm_handle_by_message_noexit is just like the
6178 existing scm_handle_by_message function, except that it doesn't call
6179 exit to terminate the process. Instead, it prints a message and just
6180 returns #f. This might be a more appropriate catch-all handler for
6181 new dynamic roots and threads.
6184 Changes in Guile 1.1 (released Friday, May 16 1997):
6186 * Changes to the distribution.
6188 The Guile 1.0 distribution has been split up into several smaller
6190 guile-core --- the Guile interpreter itself.
6191 guile-tcltk --- the interface between the Guile interpreter and
6192 Tcl/Tk; Tcl is an interpreter for a stringy language, and Tk
6193 is a toolkit for building graphical user interfaces.
6194 guile-rgx-ctax --- the interface between Guile and the Rx regular
6195 expression matcher, and the translator for the Ctax
6196 programming language. These are packaged together because the
6197 Ctax translator uses Rx to parse Ctax source code.
6199 This NEWS file describes the changes made to guile-core since the 1.0
6202 We no longer distribute the documentation, since it was either out of
6203 date, or incomplete. As soon as we have current documentation, we
6208 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
6210 ** guile now accepts command-line arguments compatible with SCSH, Olin
6211 Shivers' Scheme Shell.
6213 In general, arguments are evaluated from left to right, but there are
6214 exceptions. The following switches stop argument processing, and
6215 stash all remaining command-line arguments as the value returned by
6216 the (command-line) function.
6217 -s SCRIPT load Scheme source code from FILE, and exit
6218 -c EXPR evalute Scheme expression EXPR, and exit
6219 -- stop scanning arguments; run interactively
6221 The switches below are processed as they are encountered.
6222 -l FILE load Scheme source code from FILE
6223 -e FUNCTION after reading script, apply FUNCTION to
6224 command line arguments
6225 -ds do -s script at this point
6226 --emacs enable Emacs protocol (experimental)
6227 -h, --help display this help and exit
6228 -v, --version display version information and exit
6229 \ read arguments from following script lines
6231 So, for example, here is a Guile script named `ekko' (thanks, Olin)
6232 which re-implements the traditional "echo" command:
6234 #!/usr/local/bin/guile -s
6237 (map (lambda (arg) (display arg) (display " "))
6241 (main (command-line))
6243 Suppose we invoke this script as follows:
6245 ekko a speckled gecko
6247 Through the magic of Unix script processing (triggered by the `#!'
6248 token at the top of the file), /usr/local/bin/guile receives the
6249 following list of command-line arguments:
6251 ("-s" "./ekko" "a" "speckled" "gecko")
6253 Unix inserts the name of the script after the argument specified on
6254 the first line of the file (in this case, "-s"), and then follows that
6255 with the arguments given to the script. Guile loads the script, which
6256 defines the `main' function, and then applies it to the list of
6257 remaining command-line arguments, ("a" "speckled" "gecko").
6259 In Unix, the first line of a script file must take the following form:
6261 #!INTERPRETER ARGUMENT
6263 where INTERPRETER is the absolute filename of the interpreter
6264 executable, and ARGUMENT is a single command-line argument to pass to
6267 You may only pass one argument to the interpreter, and its length is
6268 limited. These restrictions can be annoying to work around, so Guile
6269 provides a general mechanism (borrowed from, and compatible with,
6270 SCSH) for circumventing them.
6272 If the ARGUMENT in a Guile script is a single backslash character,
6273 `\', Guile will open the script file, parse arguments from its second
6274 and subsequent lines, and replace the `\' with them. So, for example,
6275 here is another implementation of the `ekko' script:
6277 #!/usr/local/bin/guile \
6281 (for-each (lambda (arg) (display arg) (display " "))
6285 If the user invokes this script as follows:
6287 ekko a speckled gecko
6289 Unix expands this into
6291 /usr/local/bin/guile \ ekko a speckled gecko
6293 When Guile sees the `\' argument, it replaces it with the arguments
6294 read from the second line of the script, producing:
6296 /usr/local/bin/guile -e main -s ekko a speckled gecko
6298 This tells Guile to load the `ekko' script, and apply the function
6299 `main' to the argument list ("a" "speckled" "gecko").
6301 Here is how Guile parses the command-line arguments:
6302 - Each space character terminates an argument. This means that two
6303 spaces in a row introduce an empty-string argument.
6304 - The tab character is not permitted (unless you quote it with the
6305 backslash character, as described below), to avoid confusion.
6306 - The newline character terminates the sequence of arguments, and will
6307 also terminate a final non-empty argument. (However, a newline
6308 following a space will not introduce a final empty-string argument;
6309 it only terminates the argument list.)
6310 - The backslash character is the escape character. It escapes
6311 backslash, space, tab, and newline. The ANSI C escape sequences
6312 like \n and \t are also supported. These produce argument
6313 constituents; the two-character combination \n doesn't act like a
6314 terminating newline. The escape sequence \NNN for exactly three
6315 octal digits reads as the character whose ASCII code is NNN. As
6316 above, characters produced this way are argument constituents.
6317 Backslash followed by other characters is not allowed.
6319 * Changes to the procedure for linking libguile with your programs
6321 ** Guile now builds and installs a shared guile library, if your
6322 system support shared libraries. (It still builds a static library on
6323 all systems.) Guile automatically detects whether your system
6324 supports shared libraries. To prevent Guile from buildisg shared
6325 libraries, pass the `--disable-shared' flag to the configure script.
6327 Guile takes longer to compile when it builds shared libraries, because
6328 it must compile every file twice --- once to produce position-
6329 independent object code, and once to produce normal object code.
6331 ** The libthreads library has been merged into libguile.
6333 To link a program against Guile, you now need only link against
6334 -lguile and -lqt; -lthreads is no longer needed. If you are using
6335 autoconf to generate configuration scripts for your application, the
6336 following lines should suffice to add the appropriate libraries to
6339 ### Find quickthreads and libguile.
6340 AC_CHECK_LIB(qt, main)
6341 AC_CHECK_LIB(guile, scm_shell)
6343 * Changes to Scheme functions
6345 ** Guile Scheme's special syntax for keyword objects is now optional,
6346 and disabled by default.
6348 The syntax variation from R4RS made it difficult to port some
6349 interesting packages to Guile. The routines which accepted keyword
6350 arguments (mostly in the module system) have been modified to also
6351 accept symbols whose names begin with `:'.
6353 To change the keyword syntax, you must first import the (ice-9 debug)
6355 (use-modules (ice-9 debug))
6357 Then you can enable the keyword syntax as follows:
6358 (read-set! keywords 'prefix)
6360 To disable keyword syntax, do this:
6361 (read-set! keywords #f)
6363 ** Many more primitive functions accept shared substrings as
6364 arguments. In the past, these functions required normal, mutable
6365 strings as arguments, although they never made use of this
6368 ** The uniform array functions now operate on byte vectors. These
6369 functions are `array-fill!', `serial-array-copy!', `array-copy!',
6370 `serial-array-map', `array-map', `array-for-each', and
6373 ** The new functions `trace' and `untrace' implement simple debugging
6374 support for Scheme functions.
6376 The `trace' function accepts any number of procedures as arguments,
6377 and tells the Guile interpreter to display each procedure's name and
6378 arguments each time the procedure is invoked. When invoked with no
6379 arguments, `trace' returns the list of procedures currently being
6382 The `untrace' function accepts any number of procedures as arguments,
6383 and tells the Guile interpreter not to trace them any more. When
6384 invoked with no arguments, `untrace' untraces all curretly traced
6387 The tracing in Guile has an advantage over most other systems: we
6388 don't create new procedure objects, but mark the procedure objects
6389 themselves. This means that anonymous and internal procedures can be
6392 ** The function `assert-repl-prompt' has been renamed to
6393 `set-repl-prompt!'. It takes one argument, PROMPT.
6394 - If PROMPT is #f, the Guile read-eval-print loop will not prompt.
6395 - If PROMPT is a string, we use it as a prompt.
6396 - If PROMPT is a procedure accepting no arguments, we call it, and
6397 display the result as a prompt.
6398 - Otherwise, we display "> ".
6400 ** The new function `eval-string' reads Scheme expressions from a
6401 string and evaluates them, returning the value of the last expression
6402 in the string. If the string contains no expressions, it returns an
6405 ** The new function `thunk?' returns true iff its argument is a
6406 procedure of zero arguments.
6408 ** `defined?' is now a builtin function, instead of syntax. This
6409 means that its argument should be quoted. It returns #t iff its
6410 argument is bound in the current module.
6412 ** The new syntax `use-modules' allows you to add new modules to your
6413 environment without re-typing a complete `define-module' form. It
6414 accepts any number of module names as arguments, and imports their
6415 public bindings into the current module.
6417 ** The new function (module-defined? NAME MODULE) returns true iff
6418 NAME, a symbol, is defined in MODULE, a module object.
6420 ** The new function `builtin-bindings' creates and returns a hash
6421 table containing copies of all the root module's bindings.
6423 ** The new function `builtin-weak-bindings' does the same as
6424 `builtin-bindings', but creates a doubly-weak hash table.
6426 ** The `equal?' function now considers variable objects to be
6427 equivalent if they have the same name and the same value.
6429 ** The new function `command-line' returns the command-line arguments
6430 given to Guile, as a list of strings.
6432 When using guile as a script interpreter, `command-line' returns the
6433 script's arguments; those processed by the interpreter (like `-s' or
6434 `-c') are omitted. (In other words, you get the normal, expected
6435 behavior.) Any application that uses scm_shell to process its
6436 command-line arguments gets this behavior as well.
6438 ** The new function `load-user-init' looks for a file called `.guile'
6439 in the user's home directory, and loads it if it exists. This is
6440 mostly for use by the code generated by scm_compile_shell_switches,
6441 but we thought it might also be useful in other circumstances.
6443 ** The new function `log10' returns the base-10 logarithm of its
6446 ** Changes to I/O functions
6448 *** The functions `read', `primitive-load', `read-and-eval!', and
6449 `primitive-load-path' no longer take optional arguments controlling
6450 case insensitivity and a `#' parser.
6452 Case sensitivity is now controlled by a read option called
6453 `case-insensitive'. The user can add new `#' syntaxes with the
6454 `read-hash-extend' function (see below).
6456 *** The new function `read-hash-extend' allows the user to change the
6457 syntax of Guile Scheme in a somewhat controlled way.
6459 (read-hash-extend CHAR PROC)
6460 When parsing S-expressions, if we read a `#' character followed by
6461 the character CHAR, use PROC to parse an object from the stream.
6462 If PROC is #f, remove any parsing procedure registered for CHAR.
6464 The reader applies PROC to two arguments: CHAR and an input port.
6466 *** The new functions read-delimited and read-delimited! provide a
6467 general mechanism for doing delimited input on streams.
6469 (read-delimited DELIMS [PORT HANDLE-DELIM])
6470 Read until we encounter one of the characters in DELIMS (a string),
6471 or end-of-file. PORT is the input port to read from; it defaults to
6472 the current input port. The HANDLE-DELIM parameter determines how
6473 the terminating character is handled; it should be one of the
6476 'trim omit delimiter from result
6477 'peek leave delimiter character in input stream
6478 'concat append delimiter character to returned value
6479 'split return a pair: (RESULT . TERMINATOR)
6481 HANDLE-DELIM defaults to 'peek.
6483 (read-delimited! DELIMS BUF [PORT HANDLE-DELIM START END])
6484 A side-effecting variant of `read-delimited'.
6486 The data is written into the string BUF at the indices in the
6487 half-open interval [START, END); the default interval is the whole
6488 string: START = 0 and END = (string-length BUF). The values of
6489 START and END must specify a well-defined interval in BUF, i.e.
6490 0 <= START <= END <= (string-length BUF).
6492 It returns NBYTES, the number of bytes read. If the buffer filled
6493 up without a delimiter character being found, it returns #f. If the
6494 port is at EOF when the read starts, it returns the EOF object.
6496 If an integer is returned (i.e., the read is successfully terminated
6497 by reading a delimiter character), then the HANDLE-DELIM parameter
6498 determines how to handle the terminating character. It is described
6499 above, and defaults to 'peek.
6501 (The descriptions of these functions were borrowed from the SCSH
6502 manual, by Olin Shivers and Brian Carlstrom.)
6504 *** The `%read-delimited!' function is the primitive used to implement
6505 `read-delimited' and `read-delimited!'.
6507 (%read-delimited! DELIMS BUF GOBBLE? [PORT START END])
6509 This returns a pair of values: (TERMINATOR . NUM-READ).
6510 - TERMINATOR describes why the read was terminated. If it is a
6511 character or the eof object, then that is the value that terminated
6512 the read. If it is #f, the function filled the buffer without finding
6513 a delimiting character.
6514 - NUM-READ is the number of characters read into BUF.
6516 If the read is successfully terminated by reading a delimiter
6517 character, then the gobble? parameter determines what to do with the
6518 terminating character. If true, the character is removed from the
6519 input stream; if false, the character is left in the input stream
6520 where a subsequent read operation will retrieve it. In either case,
6521 the character is also the first value returned by the procedure call.
6523 (The descriptions of this function was borrowed from the SCSH manual,
6524 by Olin Shivers and Brian Carlstrom.)
6526 *** The `read-line' and `read-line!' functions have changed; they now
6527 trim the terminator by default; previously they appended it to the
6528 returned string. For the old behavior, use (read-line PORT 'concat).
6530 *** The functions `uniform-array-read!' and `uniform-array-write!' now
6531 take new optional START and END arguments, specifying the region of
6532 the array to read and write.
6534 *** The `ungetc-char-ready?' function has been removed. We feel it's
6535 inappropriate for an interface to expose implementation details this
6538 ** Changes to the Unix library and system call interface
6540 *** The new fcntl function provides access to the Unix `fcntl' system
6543 (fcntl PORT COMMAND VALUE)
6544 Apply COMMAND to PORT's file descriptor, with VALUE as an argument.
6545 Values for COMMAND are:
6547 F_DUPFD duplicate a file descriptor
6548 F_GETFD read the descriptor's close-on-exec flag
6549 F_SETFD set the descriptor's close-on-exec flag to VALUE
6550 F_GETFL read the descriptor's flags, as set on open
6551 F_SETFL set the descriptor's flags, as set on open to VALUE
6552 F_GETOWN return the process ID of a socket's owner, for SIGIO
6553 F_SETOWN set the process that owns a socket to VALUE, for SIGIO
6554 FD_CLOEXEC not sure what this is
6556 For details, see the documentation for the fcntl system call.
6558 *** The arguments to `select' have changed, for compatibility with
6559 SCSH. The TIMEOUT parameter may now be non-integral, yielding the
6560 expected behavior. The MILLISECONDS parameter has been changed to
6561 MICROSECONDS, to more closely resemble the underlying system call.
6562 The RVEC, WVEC, and EVEC arguments can now be vectors; the type of the
6563 corresponding return set will be the same.
6565 *** The arguments to the `mknod' system call have changed. They are
6568 (mknod PATH TYPE PERMS DEV)
6569 Create a new file (`node') in the file system. PATH is the name of
6570 the file to create. TYPE is the kind of file to create; it should
6571 be 'fifo, 'block-special, or 'char-special. PERMS specifies the
6572 permission bits to give the newly created file. If TYPE is
6573 'block-special or 'char-special, DEV specifies which device the
6574 special file refers to; its interpretation depends on the kind of
6575 special file being created.
6577 *** The `fork' function has been renamed to `primitive-fork', to avoid
6578 clashing with various SCSH forks.
6580 *** The `recv' and `recvfrom' functions have been renamed to `recv!'
6581 and `recvfrom!'. They no longer accept a size for a second argument;
6582 you must pass a string to hold the received value. They no longer
6583 return the buffer. Instead, `recv' returns the length of the message
6584 received, and `recvfrom' returns a pair containing the packet's length
6585 and originating address.
6587 *** The file descriptor datatype has been removed, as have the
6588 `read-fd', `write-fd', `close', `lseek', and `dup' functions.
6589 We plan to replace these functions with a SCSH-compatible interface.
6591 *** The `create' function has been removed; it's just a special case
6594 *** There are new functions to break down process termination status
6595 values. In the descriptions below, STATUS is a value returned by
6598 (status:exit-val STATUS)
6599 If the child process exited normally, this function returns the exit
6600 code for the child process (i.e., the value passed to exit, or
6601 returned from main). If the child process did not exit normally,
6602 this function returns #f.
6604 (status:stop-sig STATUS)
6605 If the child process was suspended by a signal, this function
6606 returns the signal that suspended the child. Otherwise, it returns
6609 (status:term-sig STATUS)
6610 If the child process terminated abnormally, this function returns
6611 the signal that terminated the child. Otherwise, this function
6614 POSIX promises that exactly one of these functions will return true on
6615 a valid STATUS value.
6617 These functions are compatible with SCSH.
6619 *** There are new accessors and setters for the broken-out time vectors
6620 returned by `localtime', `gmtime', and that ilk. They are:
6622 Component Accessor Setter
6623 ========================= ============ ============
6624 seconds tm:sec set-tm:sec
6625 minutes tm:min set-tm:min
6626 hours tm:hour set-tm:hour
6627 day of the month tm:mday set-tm:mday
6628 month tm:mon set-tm:mon
6629 year tm:year set-tm:year
6630 day of the week tm:wday set-tm:wday
6631 day in the year tm:yday set-tm:yday
6632 daylight saving time tm:isdst set-tm:isdst
6633 GMT offset, seconds tm:gmtoff set-tm:gmtoff
6634 name of time zone tm:zone set-tm:zone
6636 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `uname',
6637 describing the host system:
6640 ============================================== ================
6641 name of the operating system implementation utsname:sysname
6642 network name of this machine utsname:nodename
6643 release level of the operating system utsname:release
6644 version level of the operating system utsname:version
6645 machine hardware platform utsname:machine
6647 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `getpw',
6648 `getpwnam', `getpwuid', and `getpwent', describing entries from the
6649 system's user database:
6652 ====================== =================
6653 user name passwd:name
6654 user password passwd:passwd
6657 real name passwd:gecos
6658 home directory passwd:dir
6659 shell program passwd:shell
6661 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `getgr',
6662 `getgrnam', `getgrgid', and `getgrent', describing entries from the
6663 system's group database:
6666 ======================= ============
6667 group name group:name
6668 group password group:passwd
6670 group members group:mem
6672 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `gethost',
6673 `gethostbyaddr', `gethostbyname', and `gethostent', describing
6677 ========================= ===============
6678 official name of host hostent:name
6679 alias list hostent:aliases
6680 host address type hostent:addrtype
6681 length of address hostent:length
6682 list of addresses hostent:addr-list
6684 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `getnet',
6685 `getnetbyaddr', `getnetbyname', and `getnetent', describing internet
6689 ========================= ===============
6690 official name of net netent:name
6691 alias list netent:aliases
6692 net number type netent:addrtype
6693 net number netent:net
6695 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `getproto',
6696 `getprotobyname', `getprotobynumber', and `getprotoent', describing
6700 ========================= ===============
6701 official protocol name protoent:name
6702 alias list protoent:aliases
6703 protocol number protoent:proto
6705 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `getserv',
6706 `getservbyname', `getservbyport', and `getservent', describing
6710 ========================= ===============
6711 official service name servent:name
6712 alias list servent:aliases
6713 port number servent:port
6714 protocol to use servent:proto
6716 *** There are new accessors for the sockaddr structures returned by
6717 `accept', `getsockname', `getpeername', `recvfrom!':
6720 ======================================== ===============
6721 address format (`family') sockaddr:fam
6722 path, for file domain addresses sockaddr:path
6723 address, for internet domain addresses sockaddr:addr
6724 TCP or UDP port, for internet sockaddr:port
6726 *** The `getpwent', `getgrent', `gethostent', `getnetent',
6727 `getprotoent', and `getservent' functions now return #f at the end of
6728 the user database. (They used to throw an exception.)
6730 Note that calling MUMBLEent function is equivalent to calling the
6731 corresponding MUMBLE function with no arguments.
6733 *** The `setpwent', `setgrent', `sethostent', `setnetent',
6734 `setprotoent', and `setservent' routines now take no arguments.
6736 *** The `gethost', `getproto', `getnet', and `getserv' functions now
6737 provide more useful information when they throw an exception.
6739 *** The `lnaof' function has been renamed to `inet-lnaof'.
6741 *** Guile now claims to have the `current-time' feature.
6743 *** The `mktime' function now takes an optional second argument ZONE,
6744 giving the time zone to use for the conversion. ZONE should be a
6745 string, in the same format as expected for the "TZ" environment variable.
6747 *** The `strptime' function now returns a pair (TIME . COUNT), where
6748 TIME is the parsed time as a vector, and COUNT is the number of
6749 characters from the string left unparsed. This function used to
6750 return the remaining characters as a string.
6752 *** The `gettimeofday' function has replaced the old `time+ticks' function.
6753 The return value is now (SECONDS . MICROSECONDS); the fractional
6754 component is no longer expressed in "ticks".
6756 *** The `ticks/sec' constant has been removed, in light of the above change.
6758 * Changes to the gh_ interface
6760 ** gh_eval_str() now returns an SCM object which is the result of the
6763 ** gh_scm2str() now copies the Scheme data to a caller-provided C
6766 ** gh_scm2newstr() now makes a C array, copies the Scheme data to it,
6767 and returns the array
6769 ** gh_scm2str0() is gone: there is no need to distinguish
6770 null-terminated from non-null-terminated, since gh_scm2newstr() allows
6771 the user to interpret the data both ways.
6773 * Changes to the scm_ interface
6775 ** The new function scm_symbol_value0 provides an easy way to get a
6776 symbol's value from C code:
6778 SCM scm_symbol_value0 (char *NAME)
6779 Return the value of the symbol named by the null-terminated string
6780 NAME in the current module. If the symbol named NAME is unbound in
6781 the current module, return SCM_UNDEFINED.
6783 ** The new function scm_sysintern0 creates new top-level variables,
6784 without assigning them a value.
6786 SCM scm_sysintern0 (char *NAME)
6787 Create a new Scheme top-level variable named NAME. NAME is a
6788 null-terminated string. Return the variable's value cell.
6790 ** The function scm_internal_catch is the guts of catch. It handles
6791 all the mechanics of setting up a catch target, invoking the catch
6792 body, and perhaps invoking the handler if the body does a throw.
6794 The function is designed to be usable from C code, but is general
6795 enough to implement all the semantics Guile Scheme expects from throw.
6797 TAG is the catch tag. Typically, this is a symbol, but this function
6798 doesn't actually care about that.
6800 BODY is a pointer to a C function which runs the body of the catch;
6801 this is the code you can throw from. We call it like this:
6802 BODY (BODY_DATA, JMPBUF)
6804 BODY_DATA is just the BODY_DATA argument we received; we pass it
6805 through to BODY as its first argument. The caller can make
6806 BODY_DATA point to anything useful that BODY might need.
6807 JMPBUF is the Scheme jmpbuf object corresponding to this catch,
6808 which we have just created and initialized.
6810 HANDLER is a pointer to a C function to deal with a throw to TAG,
6811 should one occur. We call it like this:
6812 HANDLER (HANDLER_DATA, THROWN_TAG, THROW_ARGS)
6814 HANDLER_DATA is the HANDLER_DATA argument we recevied; it's the
6815 same idea as BODY_DATA above.
6816 THROWN_TAG is the tag that the user threw to; usually this is
6817 TAG, but it could be something else if TAG was #t (i.e., a
6818 catch-all), or the user threw to a jmpbuf.
6819 THROW_ARGS is the list of arguments the user passed to the THROW
6822 BODY_DATA is just a pointer we pass through to BODY. HANDLER_DATA
6823 is just a pointer we pass through to HANDLER. We don't actually
6824 use either of those pointers otherwise ourselves. The idea is
6825 that, if our caller wants to communicate something to BODY or
6826 HANDLER, it can pass a pointer to it as MUMBLE_DATA, which BODY and
6827 HANDLER can then use. Think of it as a way to make BODY and
6828 HANDLER closures, not just functions; MUMBLE_DATA points to the
6831 Of course, it's up to the caller to make sure that any data a
6832 MUMBLE_DATA needs is protected from GC. A common way to do this is
6833 to make MUMBLE_DATA a pointer to data stored in an automatic
6834 structure variable; since the collector must scan the stack for
6835 references anyway, this assures that any references in MUMBLE_DATA
6838 ** The new function scm_internal_lazy_catch is exactly like
6839 scm_internal_catch, except:
6841 - It does not unwind the stack (this is the major difference).
6842 - If handler returns, its value is returned from the throw.
6843 - BODY always receives #f as its JMPBUF argument (since there's no
6844 jmpbuf associated with a lazy catch, because we don't unwind the
6847 ** scm_body_thunk is a new body function you can pass to
6848 scm_internal_catch if you want the body to be like Scheme's `catch'
6849 --- a thunk, or a function of one argument if the tag is #f.
6851 BODY_DATA is a pointer to a scm_body_thunk_data structure, which
6852 contains the Scheme procedure to invoke as the body, and the tag
6853 we're catching. If the tag is #f, then we pass JMPBUF (created by
6854 scm_internal_catch) to the body procedure; otherwise, the body gets
6857 ** scm_handle_by_proc is a new handler function you can pass to
6858 scm_internal_catch if you want the handler to act like Scheme's catch
6859 --- call a procedure with the tag and the throw arguments.
6861 If the user does a throw to this catch, this function runs a handler
6862 procedure written in Scheme. HANDLER_DATA is a pointer to an SCM
6863 variable holding the Scheme procedure object to invoke. It ought to
6864 be a pointer to an automatic variable (i.e., one living on the stack),
6865 or the procedure object should be otherwise protected from GC.
6867 ** scm_handle_by_message is a new handler function to use with
6868 `scm_internal_catch' if you want Guile to print a message and die.
6869 It's useful for dealing with throws to uncaught keys at the top level.
6871 HANDLER_DATA, if non-zero, is assumed to be a char * pointing to a
6872 message header to print; if zero, we use "guile" instead. That
6873 text is followed by a colon, then the message described by ARGS.
6875 ** The return type of scm_boot_guile is now void; the function does
6876 not return a value, and indeed, never returns at all.
6878 ** The new function scm_shell makes it easy for user applications to
6879 process command-line arguments in a way that is compatible with the
6880 stand-alone guile interpreter (which is in turn compatible with SCSH,
6883 To use the scm_shell function, first initialize any guile modules
6884 linked into your application, and then call scm_shell with the values
6885 of ARGC and ARGV your `main' function received. scm_shell will add
6886 any SCSH-style meta-arguments from the top of the script file to the
6887 argument vector, and then process the command-line arguments. This
6888 generally means loading a script file or starting up an interactive
6889 command interpreter. For details, see "Changes to the stand-alone
6892 ** The new functions scm_get_meta_args and scm_count_argv help you
6893 implement the SCSH-style meta-argument, `\'.
6895 char **scm_get_meta_args (int ARGC, char **ARGV)
6896 If the second element of ARGV is a string consisting of a single
6897 backslash character (i.e. "\\" in Scheme notation), open the file
6898 named by the following argument, parse arguments from it, and return
6899 the spliced command line. The returned array is terminated by a
6902 For details of argument parsing, see above, under "guile now accepts
6903 command-line arguments compatible with SCSH..."
6905 int scm_count_argv (char **ARGV)
6906 Count the arguments in ARGV, assuming it is terminated by a null
6909 For an example of how these functions might be used, see the source
6910 code for the function scm_shell in libguile/script.c.
6912 You will usually want to use scm_shell instead of calling this
6915 ** The new function scm_compile_shell_switches turns an array of
6916 command-line arguments into Scheme code to carry out the actions they
6917 describe. Given ARGC and ARGV, it returns a Scheme expression to
6918 evaluate, and calls scm_set_program_arguments to make any remaining
6919 command-line arguments available to the Scheme code. For example,
6920 given the following arguments:
6922 -e main -s ekko a speckled gecko
6924 scm_set_program_arguments will return the following expression:
6926 (begin (load "ekko") (main (command-line)) (quit))
6928 You will usually want to use scm_shell instead of calling this
6931 ** The function scm_shell_usage prints a usage message appropriate for
6932 an interpreter that uses scm_compile_shell_switches to handle its
6933 command-line arguments.
6935 void scm_shell_usage (int FATAL, char *MESSAGE)
6936 Print a usage message to the standard error output. If MESSAGE is
6937 non-zero, write it before the usage message, followed by a newline.
6938 If FATAL is non-zero, exit the process, using FATAL as the
6939 termination status. (If you want to be compatible with Guile,
6940 always use 1 as the exit status when terminating due to command-line
6943 You will usually want to use scm_shell instead of calling this
6946 ** scm_eval_0str now returns SCM_UNSPECIFIED if the string contains no
6947 expressions. It used to return SCM_EOL. Earth-shattering.
6949 ** The macros for declaring scheme objects in C code have been
6950 rearranged slightly. They are now:
6952 SCM_SYMBOL (C_NAME, SCHEME_NAME)
6953 Declare a static SCM variable named C_NAME, and initialize it to
6954 point to the Scheme symbol whose name is SCHEME_NAME. C_NAME should
6955 be a C identifier, and SCHEME_NAME should be a C string.
6957 SCM_GLOBAL_SYMBOL (C_NAME, SCHEME_NAME)
6958 Just like SCM_SYMBOL, but make C_NAME globally visible.
6960 SCM_VCELL (C_NAME, SCHEME_NAME)
6961 Create a global variable at the Scheme level named SCHEME_NAME.
6962 Declare a static SCM variable named C_NAME, and initialize it to
6963 point to the Scheme variable's value cell.
6965 SCM_GLOBAL_VCELL (C_NAME, SCHEME_NAME)
6966 Just like SCM_VCELL, but make C_NAME globally visible.
6968 The `guile-snarf' script writes initialization code for these macros
6969 to its standard output, given C source code as input.
6971 The SCM_GLOBAL macro is gone.
6973 ** The scm_read_line and scm_read_line_x functions have been replaced
6974 by Scheme code based on the %read-delimited! procedure (known to C
6975 code as scm_read_delimited_x). See its description above for more
6978 ** The function scm_sys_open has been renamed to scm_open. It now
6979 returns a port instead of an FD object.
6981 * The dynamic linking support has changed. For more information, see
6982 libguile/DYNAMIC-LINKING.
6987 User-visible changes from Thursday, September 5, 1996 until Guile 1.0
6990 * Changes to the 'guile' program:
6992 ** Guile now loads some new files when it starts up. Guile first
6993 searches the load path for init.scm, and loads it if found. Then, if
6994 Guile is not being used to execute a script, and the user's home
6995 directory contains a file named `.guile', Guile loads that.
6997 ** You can now use Guile as a shell script interpreter.
6999 To paraphrase the SCSH manual:
7001 When Unix tries to execute an executable file whose first two
7002 characters are the `#!', it treats the file not as machine code to
7003 be directly executed by the native processor, but as source code
7004 to be executed by some interpreter. The interpreter to use is
7005 specified immediately after the #! sequence on the first line of
7006 the source file. The kernel reads in the name of the interpreter,
7007 and executes that instead. It passes the interpreter the source
7008 filename as its first argument, with the original arguments
7009 following. Consult the Unix man page for the `exec' system call
7010 for more information.
7012 Now you can use Guile as an interpreter, using a mechanism which is a
7013 compatible subset of that provided by SCSH.
7015 Guile now recognizes a '-s' command line switch, whose argument is the
7016 name of a file of Scheme code to load. It also treats the two
7017 characters `#!' as the start of a comment, terminated by `!#'. Thus,
7018 to make a file of Scheme code directly executable by Unix, insert the
7019 following two lines at the top of the file:
7021 #!/usr/local/bin/guile -s
7024 Guile treats the argument of the `-s' command-line switch as the name
7025 of a file of Scheme code to load, and treats the sequence `#!' as the
7026 start of a block comment, terminated by `!#'.
7028 For example, here's a version of 'echo' written in Scheme:
7030 #!/usr/local/bin/guile -s
7032 (let loop ((args (cdr (program-arguments))))
7035 (display (car args))
7036 (if (pair? (cdr args))
7038 (loop (cdr args)))))
7041 Why does `#!' start a block comment terminated by `!#', instead of the
7042 end of the line? That is the notation SCSH uses, and although we
7043 don't yet support the other SCSH features that motivate that choice,
7044 we would like to be backward-compatible with any existing Guile
7045 scripts once we do. Furthermore, if the path to Guile on your system
7046 is too long for your kernel, you can start the script with this
7050 exec /really/long/path/to/guile -s "$0" ${1+"$@"}
7053 Note that some very old Unix systems don't support the `#!' syntax.
7056 ** You can now run Guile without installing it.
7058 Previous versions of the interactive Guile interpreter (`guile')
7059 couldn't start up unless Guile's Scheme library had been installed;
7060 they used the value of the environment variable `SCHEME_LOAD_PATH'
7061 later on in the startup process, but not to find the startup code
7062 itself. Now Guile uses `SCHEME_LOAD_PATH' in all searches for Scheme
7065 To run Guile without installing it, build it in the normal way, and
7066 then set the environment variable `SCHEME_LOAD_PATH' to a
7067 colon-separated list of directories, including the top-level directory
7068 of the Guile sources. For example, if you unpacked Guile so that the
7069 full filename of this NEWS file is /home/jimb/guile-1.0b3/NEWS, then
7072 export SCHEME_LOAD_PATH=/home/jimb/my-scheme:/home/jimb/guile-1.0b3
7075 ** Guile's read-eval-print loop no longer prints #<unspecified>
7076 results. If the user wants to see this, she can evaluate the
7077 expression (assert-repl-print-unspecified #t), perhaps in her startup
7080 ** Guile no longer shows backtraces by default when an error occurs;
7081 however, it does display a message saying how to get one, and how to
7082 request that they be displayed by default. After an error, evaluate
7084 to see a backtrace, and
7085 (debug-enable 'backtrace)
7086 to see them by default.
7090 * Changes to Guile Scheme:
7092 ** Guile now distinguishes between #f and the empty list.
7094 This is for compatibility with the IEEE standard, the (possibly)
7095 upcoming Revised^5 Report on Scheme, and many extant Scheme
7098 Guile used to have #f and '() denote the same object, to make Scheme's
7099 type system more compatible with Emacs Lisp's. However, the change
7100 caused too much trouble for Scheme programmers, and we found another
7101 way to reconcile Emacs Lisp with Scheme that didn't require this.
7104 ** Guile's delq, delv, delete functions, and their destructive
7105 counterparts, delq!, delv!, and delete!, now remove all matching
7106 elements from the list, not just the first. This matches the behavior
7107 of the corresponding Emacs Lisp functions, and (I believe) the Maclisp
7108 functions which inspired them.
7110 I recognize that this change may break code in subtle ways, but it
7111 seems best to make the change before the FSF's first Guile release,
7115 ** The compiled-library-path function has been deleted from libguile.
7117 ** The facilities for loading Scheme source files have changed.
7119 *** The variable %load-path now tells Guile which directories to search
7120 for Scheme code. Its value is a list of strings, each of which names
7123 *** The variable %load-extensions now tells Guile which extensions to
7124 try appending to a filename when searching the load path. Its value
7125 is a list of strings. Its default value is ("" ".scm").
7127 *** (%search-load-path FILENAME) searches the directories listed in the
7128 value of the %load-path variable for a Scheme file named FILENAME,
7129 with all the extensions listed in %load-extensions. If it finds a
7130 match, then it returns its full filename. If FILENAME is absolute, it
7131 returns it unchanged. Otherwise, it returns #f.
7133 %search-load-path will not return matches that refer to directories.
7135 *** (primitive-load FILENAME :optional CASE-INSENSITIVE-P SHARP)
7136 uses %seach-load-path to find a file named FILENAME, and loads it if
7137 it finds it. If it can't read FILENAME for any reason, it throws an
7140 The arguments CASE-INSENSITIVE-P and SHARP are interpreted as by the
7143 *** load uses the same searching semantics as primitive-load.
7145 *** The functions %try-load, try-load-with-path, %load, load-with-path,
7146 basic-try-load-with-path, basic-load-with-path, try-load-module-with-
7147 path, and load-module-with-path have been deleted. The functions
7148 above should serve their purposes.
7150 *** If the value of the variable %load-hook is a procedure,
7151 `primitive-load' applies its value to the name of the file being
7152 loaded (without the load path directory name prepended). If its value
7153 is #f, it is ignored. Otherwise, an error occurs.
7155 This is mostly useful for printing load notification messages.
7158 ** The function `eval!' is no longer accessible from the scheme level.
7159 We can't allow operations which introduce glocs into the scheme level,
7160 because Guile's type system can't handle these as data. Use `eval' or
7161 `read-and-eval!' (see below) as replacement.
7163 ** The new function read-and-eval! reads an expression from PORT,
7164 evaluates it, and returns the result. This is more efficient than
7165 simply calling `read' and `eval', since it is not necessary to make a
7166 copy of the expression for the evaluator to munge.
7168 Its optional arguments CASE_INSENSITIVE_P and SHARP are interpreted as
7169 for the `read' function.
7172 ** The function `int?' has been removed; its definition was identical
7173 to that of `integer?'.
7175 ** The functions `<?', `<?', `<=?', `=?', `>?', and `>=?'. Code should
7176 use the R4RS names for these functions.
7178 ** The function object-properties no longer returns the hash handle;
7179 it simply returns the object's property list.
7181 ** Many functions have been changed to throw errors, instead of
7182 returning #f on failure. The point of providing exception handling in
7183 the language is to simplify the logic of user code, but this is less
7184 useful if Guile's primitives don't throw exceptions.
7186 ** The function `fileno' has been renamed from `%fileno'.
7188 ** The function primitive-mode->fdes returns #t or #f now, not 1 or 0.
7191 * Changes to Guile's C interface:
7193 ** The library's initialization procedure has been simplified.
7194 scm_boot_guile now has the prototype:
7196 void scm_boot_guile (int ARGC,
7198 void (*main_func) (),
7201 scm_boot_guile calls MAIN_FUNC, passing it CLOSURE, ARGC, and ARGV.
7202 MAIN_FUNC should do all the work of the program (initializing other
7203 packages, reading user input, etc.) before returning. When MAIN_FUNC
7204 returns, call exit (0); this function never returns. If you want some
7205 other exit value, MAIN_FUNC may call exit itself.
7207 scm_boot_guile arranges for program-arguments to return the strings
7208 given by ARGC and ARGV. If MAIN_FUNC modifies ARGC/ARGV, should call
7209 scm_set_program_arguments with the final list, so Scheme code will
7210 know which arguments have been processed.
7212 scm_boot_guile establishes a catch-all catch handler which prints an
7213 error message and exits the process. This means that Guile exits in a
7214 coherent way when system errors occur and the user isn't prepared to
7215 handle it. If the user doesn't like this behavior, they can establish
7216 their own universal catcher in MAIN_FUNC to shadow this one.
7218 Why must the caller do all the real work from MAIN_FUNC? The garbage
7219 collector assumes that all local variables of type SCM will be above
7220 scm_boot_guile's stack frame on the stack. If you try to manipulate
7221 SCM values after this function returns, it's the luck of the draw
7222 whether the GC will be able to find the objects you allocate. So,
7223 scm_boot_guile function exits, rather than returning, to discourage
7224 people from making that mistake.
7226 The IN, OUT, and ERR arguments were removed; there are other
7227 convenient ways to override these when desired.
7229 The RESULT argument was deleted; this function should never return.
7231 The BOOT_CMD argument was deleted; the MAIN_FUNC argument is more
7235 ** Guile's header files should no longer conflict with your system's
7238 In order to compile code which #included <libguile.h>, previous
7239 versions of Guile required you to add a directory containing all the
7240 Guile header files to your #include path. This was a problem, since
7241 Guile's header files have names which conflict with many systems'
7244 Now only <libguile.h> need appear in your #include path; you must
7245 refer to all Guile's other header files as <libguile/mumble.h>.
7246 Guile's installation procedure puts libguile.h in $(includedir), and
7247 the rest in $(includedir)/libguile.
7250 ** Two new C functions, scm_protect_object and scm_unprotect_object,
7251 have been added to the Guile library.
7253 scm_protect_object (OBJ) protects OBJ from the garbage collector.
7254 OBJ will not be freed, even if all other references are dropped,
7255 until someone does scm_unprotect_object (OBJ). Both functions
7258 Note that calls to scm_protect_object do not nest. You can call
7259 scm_protect_object any number of times on a given object, and the
7260 next call to scm_unprotect_object will unprotect it completely.
7262 Basically, scm_protect_object and scm_unprotect_object just
7263 maintain a list of references to things. Since the GC knows about
7264 this list, all objects it mentions stay alive. scm_protect_object
7265 adds its argument to the list; scm_unprotect_object remove its
7266 argument from the list.
7269 ** scm_eval_0str now returns the value of the last expression
7272 ** The new function scm_read_0str reads an s-expression from a
7273 null-terminated string, and returns it.
7275 ** The new function `scm_stdio_to_port' converts a STDIO file pointer
7276 to a Scheme port object.
7278 ** The new function `scm_set_program_arguments' allows C code to set
7279 the value returned by the Scheme `program-arguments' function.
7284 * Guile no longer includes sophisticated Tcl/Tk support.
7286 The old Tcl/Tk support was unsatisfying to us, because it required the
7287 user to link against the Tcl library, as well as Tk and Guile. The
7288 interface was also un-lispy, in that it preserved Tcl/Tk's practice of
7289 referring to widgets by names, rather than exporting widgets to Scheme
7290 code as a special datatype.
7292 In the Usenix Tk Developer's Workshop held in July 1996, the Tcl/Tk
7293 maintainers described some very interesting changes in progress to the
7294 Tcl/Tk internals, which would facilitate clean interfaces between lone
7295 Tk and other interpreters --- even for garbage-collected languages
7296 like Scheme. They expected the new Tk to be publicly available in the
7299 Since it seems that Guile might soon have a new, cleaner interface to
7300 lone Tk, and that the old Guile/Tk glue code would probably need to be
7301 completely rewritten, we (Jim Blandy and Richard Stallman) have
7302 decided not to support the old code. We'll spend the time instead on
7303 a good interface to the newer Tk, as soon as it is available.
7305 Until then, gtcltk-lib provides trivial, low-maintenance functionality.
7308 Copyright information:
7310 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
7312 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
7313 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
7314 copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved,
7315 thus giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
7317 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions
7318 of this document, or of portions of it,
7319 under the above conditions, provided also that they
7320 carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.
7325 paragraph-separate: "[
\f]*$"