@c -*-texinfo-*-
@c This is part of the GNU Guile Reference Manual.
-@c Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010
+@c Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013
@c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c See the file guile.texi for copying conditions.
@chapter Introduction
Guile is an implementation of the Scheme programming language. Scheme
-(@url{schemers.org}) is an elegant and conceptually simple dialect of
-Lisp, originated by Guy Steele and Gerald Sussman, and since evolved
-by the series of reports known as RnRS (the
+(@url{http://schemers.org/}) is an elegant and conceptually simple
+dialect of Lisp, originated by Guy Steele and Gerald Sussman, and since
+evolved by the series of reports known as RnRS (the
@tex
Revised$^n$
@end tex
@end ifnottex
Reports on Scheme).
-Unlike -- for example -- Python or Perl, Scheme has no benevolent
+Unlike, for example, Python or Perl, Scheme has no benevolent
dictator. There are many Scheme implementations, with different
characteristics and with communities and academic activities around
them, and the language develops as a result of the interplay between
The Scheme community has recently agreed and published R6RS, the
latest installment in the RnRS series. R6RS significantly expands the
core Scheme language, and standardises many non-core functions that
-implementations -- including Guile -- have previously done in
+implementations---including Guile---have previously done in
different ways. Guile has been updated to incorporate some of the
features of R6RS, and to adjust some existing features to conform to
the R6RS specification, but it is by no means a complete R6RS
@node Combining with C
@section Combining with C Code
-Like a shell, Guile can run interactively --- reading expressions from the user,
-evaluating them, and displaying the results --- or as a script interpreter,
+Like a shell, Guile can run interactively---reading expressions from the user,
+evaluating them, and displaying the results---or as a script interpreter,
reading and executing Scheme code from a file. Guile also provides an object
library, @dfn{libguile}, that allows other applications to easily incorporate a
complete Scheme interpreter. An application can then use Guile as an extension
and history. First is that Guile has always been targeted as an
extension language. Hence its C API has always been of great
importance, and has been developed accordingly. Second and third are
-rather technical points -- that Guile uses conservative garbage
+rather technical points---that Guile uses conservative garbage
collection, and that it implements the Scheme concept of continuations
-by copying and reinstating the C stack -- but whose practical
+by copying and reinstating the C stack---but whose practical
consequence is that most existing C code can be glued into Guile as
is, without needing modifications to cope with strange Scheme
execution flows. Last is the module system, which helps extensions to
Guile is designed for this kind of interactive programming, and this
distinguishes it from many Scheme implementations that instead prioritise
-running a fixed Scheme program as fast as possible --- because there are
+running a fixed Scheme program as fast as possible---because there are
tradeoffs between performance and the ability to modify parts of an already
running program. There are faster Schemes than Guile, but Guile is a GNU
project and so prioritises the GNU vision of programming freedom and
guile-@var{version}.tar.gz. The current version is @value{VERSION}, so the
file you should grab is:
-@url{ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/guile/guile-@value{VERSION}.tar.gz}
+@url{ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/guile/guile-@value{VERSION}.tar.gz}
To unbundle Guile use the instruction
@node Typographical Conventions
@section Typographical Conventions
-We use some conventions in this manual.
-
-@itemize @bullet
-
-@item
-For some procedures, notably type predicates, we use ``iff'' to mean
-``if and only if''. The construct is usually something like: `Return
-@var{val} iff @var{condition}', where @var{val} is usually
-``@nicode{#t}'' or ``non-@nicode{#f}''. This typically means that
-@var{val} is returned if @var{condition} holds, and that @samp{#f} is
-returned otherwise. To clarify: @var{val} will @strong{only} be
-returned when @var{condition} is true.
-@cindex iff
-
-@item
In examples and procedure descriptions and all other places where the
evaluation of Scheme expression is shown, we use some notation for
denoting the output and evaluation results of expressions.
@samp{@print{}}), and returns @code{hooray} (denoted by
@samp{@result{}}).
-@c Add other conventions here.
-
-@end itemize
-
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