1 Guile NEWS --- history of user-visible changes.
2 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 See the end for copying conditions.
5 Please send Guile bug reports to bug-guile@gnu.org.
8 (During the 1.9 series, we will keep an incremental NEWS for the latest
9 prerelease, and a full NEWS corresponding to 1.8 -> 2.0.)
11 Changes in 1.9.7 (since the 1.9.6 prerelease):
13 ** Complete support for version information in Guile's `module' form
15 Guile modules now have a `#:version' field. They may be loaded by
16 version as well. See "R6RS Version References", "General Information
17 about Modules", "Using Guile Modules", and "Creating Guile Modules" in
18 the manual for more information.
20 ** Support for renaming bindings on module export
22 Wherever Guile accepts a symbol as an argument to specify a binding to
23 export, it now also accepts a pair of symbols, indicating that a binding
24 should be renamed on export. See "Creating Guile Modules" in the manual
27 ** Imported statprof, SSAX, and texinfo modules from Guile-Lib
29 The statprof statistical profiler, the SSAX XML toolkit, and the texinfo
30 toolkit from Guile-Lib have been imported into Guile proper. See
31 "Standard Library" in the manual for more details.
33 ** Function profiling and tracing at the REPL
35 The `,profile FORM' REPL meta-command can now be used to statistically
36 profile execution of a form, to see which functions are taking the most
37 time. See `,help profile' for more information.
39 Similarly, `,trace FORM' traces all function applications that occur
40 during the execution of `FORM'. See `,help trace' for more information.
44 By default, if an exception is raised at the REPL and not caught by user
45 code, Guile will drop the user into a debugger. The user may request a
46 backtrace, inspect frames, or continue raising the exception. Full
47 documentation is available from within the debugger.
49 ** New function, `truncated-print', with `format' support
51 `(ice-9 pretty-print)' now exports `truncated-print', a printer that
52 will ensure that the output stays within a certain width, truncating the
53 output in what is hopefully an intelligent manner. See the manual for
56 There is a new `format' specifier, `~@y', for doing a truncated
57 print (as opposed to `~y', which does a pretty-print). See the `format'
58 documentation for more details.
60 ** Primitive procedures are now VM trampoline procedures
62 Guile's old evaluator used to have special cases for applying "gsubrs",
63 primitive procedures with specified numbers of required, optional, and
64 rest arguments. Now, however, Guile represents gsubrs as normal VM
65 procedures, with appropriate bytecode to parse out the correct number of
66 arguments, including optional and rest arguments, and then with a
67 special bytecode to apply the gsubr.
69 This allows primitive procedures to appear on the VM stack, allowing
70 them to be accurately counted in profiles. Also they now have more
71 debugging information attached to them -- their number of arguments, for
72 example. In addition, the VM can completely inline the application
73 mechanics, allowing for faster primitive calls.
75 However there are some changes on the C level. There is no more
76 `scm_tc7_gsubr' or `scm_tcs_subrs' typecode for primitive procedures, as
77 they are just VM procedures. Likewise the macros `SCM_GSUBR_TYPE',
78 `SCM_GSUBR_MAKTYPE', `SCM_GSUBR_REQ', `SCM_GSUBR_OPT', and
79 `SCM_GSUBR_REST' are gone, as are `SCM_SUBR_META_INFO', `SCM_SUBR_PROPS'
80 `SCM_SET_SUBR_GENERIC_LOC', and `SCM_SUBR_ARITY_TO_TYPE'.
82 Perhaps more significantly, `scm_c_make_subr',
83 `scm_c_make_subr_with_generic', `scm_c_define_subr', and
84 `scm_c_define_subr_with_generic'. They all operated on subr typecodes,
85 and there are no more subr typecodes. Use the scm_c_make_gsubr family
88 Normal users of gsubrs should not be affected, though, as the
89 scm_c_make_gsubr family still is the correct way to create primitive
92 ** SRFI-4 vectors reimplemented in terms of R6RS bytevectors
94 Guile now implements SRFI-4 vectors using bytevectors. Often when you
95 have a numeric vector, you end up wanting to write its bytes somewhere,
96 or have access to the underlying bytes, or read in bytes from somewhere
97 else. Bytevectors are very good at this sort of thing. But the SRFI-4
98 APIs are nicer to use when doing number-crunching, because they are
99 addressed by element and not by byte.
101 So as a compromise, Guile allows all bytevector functions to operate on
102 numeric vectors. They address the underlying bytes in the native
103 endianness, as one would expect.
105 Following the same reasoning, that it's just bytes underneath, Guile
106 also allows uniform vectors of a given type to be accessed as if they
107 were of any type. One can fill a u32vector, and access its elements with
108 u8vector-ref. One can use f64vector-ref on bytevectors. It's all the
111 In this way, uniform numeric vectors may be written to and read from
112 input/output ports using the procedures that operate on bytevectors.
114 Calls to SRFI-4 accessors (ref and set functions) from Scheme are now
115 inlined to the VM instructions for bytevector access.
117 See "SRFI-4" in the manual, for more information.
119 ** Nonstandard SRFI-4 procedures now available from `(srfi srfi-4 gnu)'
121 Guile's `(srfi srfi-4)' now only exports those srfi-4 procedures that
122 are part of the standard. Complex uniform vectors and the
123 `any->FOOvector' family are now available only from `(srfi srfi-4 gnu)'.
125 Guile's default environment imports `(srfi srfi-4)', and probably should
126 import `(srfi srfi-4 gnu)' as well.
128 See "SRFI-4 Extensions" in the manual, for more information.
130 ** Unicode: String normalization, general categories, title case
132 Guile now exports the Unicode string normalization functions
133 `string-normalize-nfc', `string-normalize-nfd', `string-normalize-nfkc',
134 and `string-normalize-nfkd'. See "String Comparison" in the manual for
135 more information. See "Characters" for information on the new
136 `char-general-category', and "Character Case Mapping" for
137 `char-titlecase', `char-locale-titlecase', and
138 `string-locale-titlecase'.
140 ** Faster access to the free variables of a closure
142 Guile's old garbage collector limited the size of Scheme objects to be 2
143 or 4 words. Now with the BDW collector, Guile can allocate
144 variable-sized objects, allowing storage of the free variables of a
145 closure inline to the closure itself.
147 ** New primitive `getsid'
149 Scheme binding for the `getsid' C library call.
151 ** Changed invocation mechanics of applicable SMOBs
153 Guile's old evaluator used to have special cases for applying SMOB
154 objects. Now, with the VM, when Guile sees a SMOB, it looks up a VM
155 trampoline procedure for it, and use the normal mechanics to apply the
156 trampoline. This simplifies procedure application in the normal,
159 The upshot is that the mechanics used to apply a SMOB are different from
160 1.8. Descriptors no longer have `apply_0', `apply_1', `apply_2', and
161 `apply_3' functions, and the macros SCM_SMOB_APPLY_0 and friends are now
162 deprecated. Just use the scm_call_0 family of procedures.
164 ** Remove deprecated array C interfaces
166 Removed the deprecated array functions `scm_i_arrayp',
167 `scm_i_array_ndim', `scm_i_array_mem', `scm_i_array_v',
168 `scm_i_array_base', `scm_i_array_dims', and the deprecated macros
169 `SCM_ARRAYP', `SCM_ARRAY_NDIM', `SCM_ARRAY_CONTP', `SCM_ARRAY_MEM',
170 `SCM_ARRAY_V', `SCM_ARRAY_BASE', and `SCM_ARRAY_DIMS'.
172 ** String encoding errors throw to `encoding-error' instead of `misc-error'
174 ** Keyword argument errors uniformly throw to `keyword-argument-error'
176 ** Remove unused snarf macros
178 `SCM_DEFINE1', `SCM_PRIMITIVE_GENERIC_1', `SCM_PROC1, and `SCM_GPROC1'
179 are no more. Use SCM_DEFINE or SCM_PRIMITIVE_GENERIC instead.
181 ** Add foreign value wrapper
183 Guile now has a datatype for aliasing "foreign" values, such as native
184 long values. This should be useful for making a proper foreign function
185 interface. Interested hackers should see libguile/foreign.h.
187 ** New functions: `scm_call_n', `scm_c_run_hookn'
189 `scm_call_n' applies to apply a function to an array of arguments.
190 `scm_c_run_hookn' runs a hook with an array of arguments.
192 ** Load path change: search in version-specific paths before site paths
194 When looking for a module, Guile now searches first in Guile's
195 version-specific path (the library path), *then* in the site dir. This
196 allows Guile's copy of SSAX to override any Guile-Lib copy the user has
197 installed. Also it should cut the number of `stat' system calls by half,
200 ** And of course, the usual collection of bugfixes
202 Interested users should see the ChangeLog for more information.
206 Changes in 1.9.x (since the 1.8.x series):
208 * New modules (see the manual for details)
210 ** `(srfi srfi-18)', more sophisticated multithreading support
211 ** `(ice-9 i18n)', internationalization support
212 ** `(rnrs bytevector)', the R6RS bytevector API
213 ** `(rnrs io ports)', a subset of the R6RS I/O port API
214 ** `(system xref)', a cross-referencing facility (FIXME undocumented)
216 ** Imported statprof, SSAX, and texinfo modules from Guile-Lib
218 The statprof statistical profiler, the SSAX XML toolkit, and the texinfo
219 toolkit from Guile-Lib have been imported into Guile proper. See
220 "Standard Library" in the manual for more details.
222 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
224 ** Guile now can compile Scheme to bytecode for a custom virtual machine.
226 Compiled code loads much faster than Scheme source code, and runs around
227 3 or 4 times as fast, generating much less garbage in the process.
229 ** The stack limit is now initialized from the environment.
231 If getrlimit(2) is available and a stack limit is set, Guile will set
232 its stack limit to 80% of the rlimit. Otherwise the limit is 160000
233 words, a four-fold increase from the earlier default limit.
235 ** New environment variables: GUILE_LOAD_COMPILED_PATH,
236 GUILE_SYSTEM_LOAD_COMPILED_PATH
238 GUILE_LOAD_COMPILED_PATH is for compiled files what GUILE_LOAD_PATH is
239 for source files. It is a different path, however, because compiled
240 files are architecture-specific. GUILE_SYSTEM_LOAD_COMPILED_PATH is like
243 ** New read-eval-print loop (REPL) implementation
245 Running Guile with no arguments drops the user into the new REPL. While
246 it is self-documenting to an extent, the new REPL has not yet been
247 documented in the manual. This will be fixed before 2.0.
249 ** Function profiling and tracing at the REPL
251 The `,profile FORM' REPL meta-command can now be used to statistically
252 profile execution of a form, to see which functions are taking the most
253 time. See `,help profile' for more information.
255 Similarly, `,trace FORM' traces all function applications that occur
256 during the execution of `FORM'. See `,help trace' for more information.
260 By default, if an exception is raised at the REPL and not caught by user
261 code, Guile will drop the user into a debugger. The user may request a
262 backtrace, inspect frames, or continue raising the exception. Full
263 documentation is available from within the debugger.
265 ** New `guile-tools' commands: `compile', `disassemble'
267 Pass the `--help' command-line option to these commands for more
270 ** Guile now adds its install prefix to the LTDL_LIBRARY_PATH
272 Users may now install Guile to nonstandard prefixes and just run
273 `/path/to/bin/guile', instead of also having to set LTDL_LIBRARY_PATH to
274 include `/path/to/lib'.
276 ** Guile's Emacs integration is now more keyboard-friendly
278 Backtraces may now be disclosed with the keyboard in addition to the
281 ** Load path change: search in version-specific paths before site paths
283 When looking for a module, Guile now searches first in Guile's
284 version-specific path (the library path), *then* in the site dir. This
285 allows Guile's copy of SSAX to override any Guile-Lib copy the user has
286 installed. Also it should cut the number of `stat' system calls by half,
290 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
292 ** New implementation of `primitive-eval'
294 Guile's `primitive-eval' is now implemented in Scheme. Actually there is
295 still a C evaluator, used when building a fresh Guile to interpret the
296 compiler, so we can compile eval.scm. Thereafter all calls to
297 primitive-eval are implemented by VM-compiled code.
299 This allows all of Guile's procedures, be they interpreted or compiled,
300 to execute on the same stack, unifying multiple-value return semantics,
301 providing for proper tail recursion between interpreted and compiled
302 code, and simplifying debugging.
304 As part of this change, the evaluator no longer mutates the internal
305 representation of the code being evaluated in a thread-unsafe manner.
307 There are two negative aspects of this change, however. First, Guile
308 takes a lot longer to compile now. Also, there is less debugging
309 information available for debugging interpreted code. We hope to improve
310 both of these situations.
312 There are many changes to the internal C evalator interface, but all
313 public interfaces should be the same. See the ChangeLog for details. If
314 we have inadvertantly changed an interface that you were using, please
315 contact bug-guile@gnu.org.
317 ** Procedure removed: `the-environment'
319 This procedure was part of the interpreter's execution model, and does
320 not apply to the compiler.
322 ** No more `local-eval'
324 `local-eval' used to exist so that one could evaluate code in the
325 lexical context of a function. Since there is no way to get the lexical
326 environment any more, as that concept has no meaning for the compiler,
327 and a different meaning for the interpreter, we have removed the
330 If you think you need `local-eval', you should probably implement your
331 own metacircular evaluator. It will probably be as fast as Guile's
334 ** Files loaded with `primitive-load-path' will now be compiled
337 If a compiled .go file corresponding to a .scm file is not found or is
338 not fresh, the .scm file will be compiled on the fly, and the resulting
339 .go file stored away. An advisory note will be printed on the console.
341 Note that this mechanism depends on preservation of the .scm and .go
342 modification times; if the .scm or .go files are moved after
343 installation, care should be taken to preserve their original
346 Autocompiled files will be stored in the $XDG_CACHE_HOME/guile/ccache
347 directory, where $XDG_CACHE_HOME defaults to ~/.cache. This directory
348 will be created if needed.
350 To inhibit autocompilation, set the GUILE_AUTO_COMPILE environment
351 variable to 0, or pass --no-autocompile on the Guile command line.
353 Note that there is currently a bug here: automatic compilation will
354 sometimes be attempted when it shouldn't.
356 For example, the old (lang elisp) modules are meant to be interpreted,
357 not compiled. This bug will be fixed before 2.0. FIXME 2.0: Should say
358 something here about module-transformer called for compile.
360 ** Files loaded with `load' will now be compiled automatically.
362 As with files loaded via `primitive-load-path', `load' will also compile
363 its target if autocompilation is enabled, and a fresh compiled file is
366 There are two points of difference to note, however. First, `load' does
367 not search `GUILE_LOAD_COMPILED_PATH' for the file; it only looks in the
368 autocompilation directory, normally a subdirectory of ~/.cache/guile.
370 Secondly, autocompilation also applies to files loaded via the -l
371 command-line argument -- so the user may experience a slight slowdown
372 the first time they run a Guile script, as the script is autocompiled.
374 ** New POSIX procedures: `getrlimit' and `setrlimit'
376 Note however that the interface of these functions is likely to change
377 in the next prerelease.
379 ** New POSIX procedure: `getsid'
381 Scheme binding for the `getsid' C library call.
383 ** New procedure in `(oops goops)': `method-formals'
385 ** BUG: (procedure-property func 'arity) does not work on compiled
388 This will be fixed one way or another before 2.0.
390 ** New procedures in (ice-9 session): `add-value-help-handler!',
391 `remove-value-help-handler!', `add-name-help-handler!'
392 `remove-name-help-handler!', `procedure-arguments',
394 The value and name help handlers provide some minimal extensibility to
395 the help interface. Guile-lib's `(texinfo reflection)' uses them, for
396 example, to make stexinfo help documentation available. See those
397 procedures' docstrings for more information.
399 `procedure-arguments' describes the arguments that a procedure can take,
400 combining arity and formals. For example:
402 (procedure-arguments resolve-interface)
403 => ((required . (name)) (rest . args))
405 Additionally, `module-commentary' is now publically exported from
408 ** Removed: `procedure->memoizing-macro', `procedure->syntax'
410 These procedures created primitive fexprs for the old evaluator, and are
411 no longer supported. If you feel that you need these functions, you
412 probably need to write your own metacircular evaluator (which will
413 probably be as fast as Guile's, anyway).
415 ** New language: ECMAScript
417 Guile now ships with one other high-level language supported,
418 ECMAScript. The goal is to support all of version 3.1 of the standard,
419 but not all of the libraries are there yet. This support is not yet
420 documented; ask on the mailing list if you are interested.
422 ** New language: Brainfuck
424 Brainfuck is a toy language that closely models Turing machines. Guile's
425 brainfuck compiler is meant to be an example of implementing other
426 languages. See the manual for details, or
427 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainfuck for more information about the
428 Brainfuck language itself.
430 ** New language: Elisp
432 Guile now has an experimental Emacs Lisp compiler and runtime. You can
433 now switch to Elisp at the repl: `,language elisp'. All kudos to Daniel
434 Kraft, and all bugs to bug-guile@gnu.org.
436 ** Defmacros may now have docstrings.
438 Indeed, any macro may have a docstring. `object-documentation' from
439 `(ice-9 documentation)' may be used to retrieve the docstring, once you
440 have a macro value -- but see the above note about first-class macros.
441 Docstrings are associated with the syntax transformer procedures.
443 ** The psyntax expander now knows how to interpret the @ and @@ special
446 ** The psyntax expander is now hygienic with respect to modules.
448 Free variables in a macro are scoped in the module that the macro was
449 defined in, not in the module the macro is used in. For example, code
452 (define-module (foo) #:export (bar))
453 (define (helper x) ...)
455 (syntax-rules () ((_ x) (helper x))))
457 (define-module (baz) #:use-module (foo))
460 It used to be you had to export `helper' from `(foo)' as well.
461 Thankfully, this has been fixed.
463 ** Complete support for version information in Guile's `module' form
465 Guile modules now have a `#:version' field. They may be loaded by
466 version as well. See "R6RS Version References", "General Information
467 about Modules", "Using Guile Modules", and "Creating Guile Modules" in
468 the manual for more information.
470 ** Support for renaming bindings on module export
472 Wherever Guile accepts a symbol as an argument to specify a binding to
473 export, it now also accepts a pair of symbols, indicating that a binding
474 should be renamed on export. See "Creating Guile Modules" in the manual
475 for more information.
477 ** `eval-case' has been deprecated, and replaced by `eval-when'.
479 The semantics of `eval-when' are easier to understand. It is still
480 missing documentation, however.
482 ** Guile is now more strict about prohibiting definitions in expression
485 Although previous versions of Guile accepted it, the following
486 expression is not valid, in R5RS or R6RS:
488 (if test (define foo 'bar) (define foo 'baz))
490 In this specific case, it would be better to do:
492 (define foo (if test 'bar 'baz))
494 It is certainly possible to circumvent this resriction with e.g.
495 `(module-define! (current-module) 'foo 'baz)'. We would appreciate
496 feedback about this change (a consequence of using psyntax as the
497 default expander), and may choose to revisit this situation before 2.0
498 in response to user feedback.
500 ** Defmacros must now produce valid Scheme expressions.
502 It used to be that defmacros could unquote in Scheme values, as a way of
503 supporting partial evaluation, and avoiding some hygiene issues. For
506 (define (helper x) ...)
507 (define-macro (foo bar)
510 Assuming this macro is in the `(baz)' module, the direct translation of
513 (define (helper x) ...)
514 (define-macro (foo bar)
515 `((@@ (baz) helper) ,bar))
517 Of course, one could just use a hygienic macro instead:
521 ((_ bar) (helper bar))))
523 ** Guile's psyntax now supports docstrings and internal definitions.
525 The following Scheme is not strictly legal:
532 However its intent is fairly clear. Guile interprets "bar" to be the
533 docstring of `foo', and the definition of `baz' is still in definition
536 ** Macros need to be defined before their first use.
538 It used to be that with lazy memoization, this might work:
542 (define-macro (ref x) x)
545 But now, the body of `foo' is interpreted to mean a call to the toplevel
546 `ref' function, instead of a macro expansion. The solution is to define
547 macros before code that uses them.
549 ** Functions needed by macros at expand-time need to be present at
552 For example, this code will work at the REPL:
554 (define (double-helper x) (* x x))
555 (define-macro (double-literal x) (double-helper x))
556 (double-literal 2) => 4
558 But it will not work when a file is compiled, because the definition of
559 `double-helper' is not present at expand-time. The solution is to wrap
560 the definition of `double-helper' in `eval-when':
562 (eval-when (load compile eval)
563 (define (double-helper x) (* x x)))
564 (define-macro (double-literal x) (double-helper x))
565 (double-literal 2) => 4
567 See the (currently missing) documentation for eval-when for more
570 ** New variable, %pre-modules-transformer
572 Need to document this one some more.
574 ** Temporarily removed functions: `macroexpand', `macroexpand-1'
576 `macroexpand' will be added back before 2.0. It is unclear how to
577 implement `macroexpand-1' with syntax-case, though PLT Scheme does prove
580 ** New reader macros: #' #` #, #,@
582 These macros translate, respectively, to `syntax', `quasisyntax',
583 `unsyntax', and `unsyntax-splicing'. See the R6RS for more information.
584 These reader macros may be overridden by `read-hash-extend'.
586 ** Incompatible change to #'
588 Guile did have a #' hash-extension, by default, which just returned the
589 subsequent datum: #'foo => foo. In the unlikely event that anyone
590 actually used this, this behavior may be reinstated via the
591 `read-hash-extend' mechanism.
593 ** Scheme expresssions may be commented out with #;
595 #; comments out an entire expression. See SRFI-62 or the R6RS for more
598 ** `make-stack' with a tail-called procedural narrowing argument no longer
599 works (with compiled procedures)
601 It used to be the case that a captured stack could be narrowed to select
602 calls only up to or from a certain procedure, even if that procedure
603 already tail-called another procedure. This was because the debug
604 information from the original procedure was kept on the stack.
606 Now with the new compiler, the stack only contains active frames from
607 the current continuation. A narrow to a procedure that is not in the
608 stack will result in an empty stack. To fix this, narrow to a procedure
609 that is active in the current continuation, or narrow to a specific
610 number of stack frames.
612 ** backtraces through compiled procedures only show procedures that are
613 active in the current continuation
615 Similarly to the previous issue, backtraces in compiled code may be
616 different from backtraces in interpreted code. There are no semantic
617 differences, however. Please mail bug-guile@gnu.org if you see any
618 deficiencies with Guile's backtraces.
620 ** syntax-rules and syntax-case macros now propagate source information
621 through to the expanded code
623 This should result in better backtraces.
625 ** The currying behavior of `define' has been removed.
627 Before, `(define ((f a) b) (* a b))' would translate to
629 (define f (lambda (a) (lambda (b) (* a b))))
631 Now a syntax error is signaled, as this syntax is not supported by
632 default. If there is sufficient demand, this syntax can be supported
635 ** New procedure, `define!'
637 `define!' is a procedure that takes two arguments, a symbol and a value,
638 and binds the value to the symbol in the current module. It's useful to
639 programmatically make definitions in the current module, and is slightly
640 less verbose than `module-define!'.
642 ** All modules have names now
644 Before, you could have anonymous modules: modules without names. Now,
645 because of hygiene and macros, all modules have names. If a module was
646 created without a name, the first time `module-name' is called on it, a
647 fresh name will be lazily generated for it.
649 ** Many syntax errors have different texts now
651 Syntax errors still throw to the `syntax-error' key, but the arguments
652 are often different now. Perhaps in the future, Guile will switch to
653 using standard SRFI-35 conditions.
655 ** Returning multiple values to compiled code will silently truncate the
656 values to the expected number
658 For example, the interpreter would raise an error evaluating the form,
659 `(+ (values 1 2) (values 3 4))', because it would see the operands as
660 being two compound "values" objects, to which `+' does not apply.
662 The compiler, on the other hand, receives multiple values on the stack,
663 not as a compound object. Given that it must check the number of values
664 anyway, if too many values are provided for a continuation, it chooses
665 to truncate those values, effectively evaluating `(+ 1 3)' instead.
667 The idea is that the semantics that the compiler implements is more
668 intuitive, and the use of the interpreter will fade out with time.
669 This behavior is allowed both by the R5RS and the R6RS.
671 ** Multiple values in compiled code are not represented by compound
674 This change may manifest itself in the following situation:
676 (let ((val (foo))) (do-something) val)
678 In the interpreter, if `foo' returns multiple values, multiple values
679 are produced from the `let' expression. In the compiler, those values
680 are truncated to the first value, and that first value is returned. In
681 the compiler, if `foo' returns no values, an error will be raised, while
682 the interpreter would proceed.
684 Both of these behaviors are allowed by R5RS and R6RS. The compiler's
685 behavior is more correct, however. If you wish to preserve a potentially
686 multiply-valued return, you will need to set up a multiple-value
687 continuation, using `call-with-values'.
689 ** Defmacros are now implemented in terms of syntax-case.
691 The practical ramification of this is that the `defmacro?' predicate has
692 been removed, along with `defmacro-transformer', `macro-table',
693 `xformer-table', `assert-defmacro?!', `set-defmacro-transformer!' and
694 `defmacro:transformer'. This is because defmacros are simply macros. If
695 any of these procedures provided useful facilities to you, we encourage
696 you to contact the Guile developers.
698 ** psyntax is now the default expander
700 Scheme code is now expanded by default by the psyntax hygienic macro
701 expander. Expansion is performed completely before compilation or
704 Notably, syntax errors will be signalled before interpretation begins.
705 In the past, many syntax errors were only detected at runtime if the
706 code in question was memoized.
708 As part of its expansion, psyntax renames all lexically-bound
709 identifiers. Original identifier names are preserved and given to the
710 compiler, but the interpreter will see the renamed variables, e.g.,
711 `x432' instead of `x'.
713 Note that the psyntax that Guile uses is a fork, as Guile already had
714 modules before incompatible modules were added to psyntax -- about 10
715 years ago! Thus there are surely a number of bugs that have been fixed
716 in psyntax since then. If you find one, please notify bug-guile@gnu.org.
718 ** syntax-rules and syntax-case are available by default.
720 There is no longer any need to import the `(ice-9 syncase)' module
721 (which is now deprecated). The expander may be invoked directly via
722 `sc-expand', though it is normally searched for via the current module
725 Also, the helper routines for syntax-case are available in the default
726 environment as well: `syntax->datum', `datum->syntax',
727 `bound-identifier=?', `free-identifier=?', `generate-temporaries',
728 `identifier?', and `syntax-violation'. See the R6RS for documentation.
730 ** Tail patterns in syntax-case
732 Guile has pulled in some more recent changes from the psyntax portable
733 syntax expander, to implement support for "tail patterns". Such patterns
734 are supported by syntax-rules and syntax-case. This allows a syntax-case
735 match clause to have ellipses, then a pattern at the end. For example:
739 ((_ val match-clause ... (else e e* ...))
742 Note how there is MATCH-CLAUSE, which is ellipsized, then there is a
743 tail pattern for the else clause. Thanks to Andreas Rottmann for the
744 patch, and Kent Dybvig for the code.
746 ** Lexical bindings introduced by hygienic macros may not be referenced
747 by nonhygienic macros.
749 If a lexical binding is introduced by a hygienic macro, it may not be
750 referenced by a nonhygienic macro. For example, this works:
753 (define-macro (bind-x val body)
754 `(let ((x ,val)) ,body))
755 (define-macro (ref x)
762 (define-syntax bind-x
764 ((_ val body) (let ((x val)) body))))
765 (define-macro (ref x)
769 It is not normal to run into this situation with existing code. However,
770 as code is ported over from defmacros to syntax-case, it is possible to
771 run into situations like this. In the future, Guile will probably port
772 its `while' macro to syntax-case, which makes this issue one to know
775 ** Macros may no longer be referenced as first-class values.
777 In the past, you could evaluate e.g. `if', and get its macro value. Now,
778 expanding this form raises a syntax error.
780 Macros still /exist/ as first-class values, but they must be
781 /referenced/ via the module system, e.g. `(module-ref (current-module)
784 This decision may be revisited before the 2.0 release. Feedback welcome
785 to guile-devel@gnu.org (subscription required) or bug-guile@gnu.org (no
786 subscription required).
788 ** `case-lambda' is now available in the default environment.
790 The binding in the default environment is equivalent to the one from the
791 `(srfi srfi-16)' module. Use the srfi-16 module explicitly if you wish
792 to maintain compatibility with Guile 1.8 and earlier.
794 ** Compiled procedures may now have more than one arity.
796 This can be the case, for example, in case-lambda procedures. The
797 arities of compiled procedures may be accessed via procedures from the
798 `(system vm program)' module; see "Compiled Procedures", "Optional
799 Arguments", and "Case-lambda" in the manual.
801 ** `lambda*' and `define*' are now available in the default environment
803 As with `case-lambda', `(ice-9 optargs)' continues to be supported, for
804 compatibility purposes. No semantic change has been made (we hope).
805 Optional and keyword arguments now dispatch via special VM operations,
806 without the need to cons rest arguments, making them very fast.
808 ** New function, `truncated-print', with `format' support
810 `(ice-9 pretty-print)' now exports `truncated-print', a printer that
811 will ensure that the output stays within a certain width, truncating the
812 output in what is hopefully an intelligent manner. See the manual for
815 There is a new `format' specifier, `~@y', for doing a truncated
816 print (as opposed to `~y', which does a pretty-print). See the `format'
817 documentation for more details.
819 ** SRFI-4 vectors reimplemented in terms of R6RS bytevectors
821 Guile now implements SRFI-4 vectors using bytevectors. Often when you
822 have a numeric vector, you end up wanting to write its bytes somewhere,
823 or have access to the underlying bytes, or read in bytes from somewhere
824 else. Bytevectors are very good at this sort of thing. But the SRFI-4
825 APIs are nicer to use when doing number-crunching, because they are
826 addressed by element and not by byte.
828 So as a compromise, Guile allows all bytevector functions to operate on
829 numeric vectors. They address the underlying bytes in the native
830 endianness, as one would expect.
832 Following the same reasoning, that it's just bytes underneath, Guile
833 also allows uniform vectors of a given type to be accessed as if they
834 were of any type. One can fill a u32vector, and access its elements with
835 u8vector-ref. One can use f64vector-ref on bytevectors. It's all the
838 In this way, uniform numeric vectors may be written to and read from
839 input/output ports using the procedures that operate on bytevectors.
841 Calls to SRFI-4 accessors (ref and set functions) from Scheme are now
842 inlined to the VM instructions for bytevector access.
844 See "SRFI-4" in the manual, for more information.
846 ** Nonstandard SRFI-4 procedures now available from `(srfi srfi-4 gnu)'
848 Guile's `(srfi srfi-4)' now only exports those srfi-4 procedures that
849 are part of the standard. Complex uniform vectors and the
850 `any->FOOvector' family are now available only from `(srfi srfi-4 gnu)'.
852 Guile's default environment imports `(srfi srfi-4)', and probably should
853 import `(srfi srfi-4 gnu)' as well.
855 See "SRFI-4 Extensions" in the manual, for more information.
857 ** New syntax: include-from-path.
859 `include-from-path' is like `include', except it looks for its file in
860 the load path. It can be used to compile other files into a file.
862 ** New syntax: quasisyntax.
864 `quasisyntax' is to `syntax' as `quasiquote' is to `quote'. See the R6RS
865 documentation for more information. Thanks to Andre van Tonder for the
868 ** Unicode characters
870 Unicode characters may be entered in octal format via e.g. `#\454', or
871 created via (integer->char 300). A hex external representation will
872 probably be introduced at some point.
876 Internally, strings are now represented either in the `latin-1'
877 encoding, one byte per character, or in UTF-32, with four bytes per
878 character. Strings manage their own allocation, switching if needed.
880 Extended characters may be written in a literal string using the
881 hexadecimal escapes `\xXX', `\uXXXX', or `\UXXXXXX', for 8-bit, 16-bit,
882 or 24-bit codepoints, respectively, or entered directly in the native
883 encoding of the port on which the string is read.
887 One may now use U+03BB (GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMBDA) as an identifier.
889 ** Support for non-ASCII source code files
891 The default reader now handles source code files for some of the
892 non-ASCII character encodings, such as UTF-8. A non-ASCII source file
893 should have an encoding declaration near the top of the file. Also,
894 there is a new function, `file-encoding', that scans a port for a coding
895 declaration. See the section of the manual entitled, "Character Encoding
898 The pre-1.9.3 reader handled 8-bit clean but otherwise unspecified source
899 code. This use is now discouraged.
901 ** Support for locale transcoding when reading from and writing to ports
903 Ports now have an associated character encoding, and port read and write
904 operations do conversion to and from locales automatically. Ports also
905 have an associated strategy for how to deal with locale conversion
908 See the documentation in the manual for the four new support functions,
909 `set-port-encoding!', `port-encoding', `set-port-conversion-strategy!',
910 and `port-conversion-strategy'.
912 ** String and SRFI-13 functions can operate on Unicode strings
914 ** Unicode support for SRFI-14 character sets
916 The default character sets are no longer locale dependent and contain
917 characters from the whole Unicode range. There is a new predefined
918 character set, `char-set:designated', which contains all assigned
919 Unicode characters. There is a new debugging function, `%char-set-dump'.
921 ** Character functions operate on Unicode characters
923 `char-upcase' and `char-downcase' use default Unicode casing rules.
924 Character comparisons such as `char<?' and `char-ci<?' now sort based on
927 ** Global variables `scm_charnames' and `scm_charnums' are removed
929 These variables contained the names of control characters and were
930 used when writing characters. While these were global, they were
931 never intended to be public API. They have been replaced with private
934 ** EBCDIC support is removed
936 There was an EBCDIC compile flag that altered some of the character
937 processing. It appeared that full EBCDIC support was never completed
938 and was unmaintained.
940 ** Compile-time warnings: -Wunbound-variable, -Warity-mismatch.
942 Guile can warn about potentially unbound free variables. Pass the
943 -Wunbound-variable on the `guile-tools compile' command line, or add
944 `#:warnings '(unbound-variable)' to your `compile' or `compile-file'
947 Guile can also warn when you pass the wrong number of arguments to a
948 procedure, with -Warity-mismatch, or `arity-mismatch' in the
949 `#:warnings' as above.
951 ** A new `memoize-symbol' evaluator trap has been added.
953 This trap can be used for efficiently implementing a Scheme code
956 ** Duplicate bindings among used modules are resolved lazily.
958 This slightly improves program startup times.
960 ** New thread cancellation and thread cleanup API
962 See `cancel-thread', `set-thread-cleanup!', and `thread-cleanup'.
964 ** GOOPS dispatch in scheme
966 As an implementation detail, GOOPS dispatch is no longer implemented by
967 special evaluator bytecodes, but rather directly via a Scheme function
968 associated with an applicable struct. There is some VM support for the
969 underlying primitives, like `class-of'.
971 This change will in the future allow users to customize generic function
972 dispatch without incurring a performance penalty, and allow us to
973 implement method combinations.
977 GOOPS had a number of concepts that were relevant to the days of Tcl,
978 but not any more: operators and entities, mainly. These objects were
979 never documented, and it is unlikely that they were ever used. Operators
980 were a kind of generic specific to the Tcl support. Entities were
981 applicable structures, but were unusable; entities will come back in the
982 next alpha release, but with a less stupid name.
984 ** Applicable struct support
986 One may now make structs from Scheme that may be applied as procedures.
987 To do so, make a struct whose vtable is `<applicable-struct-vtable>'.
988 That struct will be the vtable of your applicable structs; instances of
989 that new struct are assumed to have the procedure in their first slot.
990 `<applicable-struct-vtable>' is like Common Lisp's
991 `funcallable-standard-class'. Likewise there is
992 `<applicable-struct-with-setter-vtable>', which looks for the setter in
993 the second slot. This needs to be better documented.
995 ** New struct slot allocation: "hidden"
997 A hidden slot is readable and writable, but will not be initialized by a
998 call to make-struct. For example in your layout you would say "ph"
999 instead of "pw". Hidden slots are useful for adding new slots to a
1000 vtable without breaking existing invocations to make-struct.
1002 ** eqv? not a generic
1004 One used to be able to extend `eqv?' as a primitive-generic, but no
1005 more. Because `eqv?' is in the expansion of `case' (via `memv'), which
1006 should be able to compile to static dispatch tables, it doesn't make
1007 sense to allow extensions that would subvert this optimization.
1009 ** `inet-ntop' and `inet-pton' are always available.
1011 Guile now use a portable implementation of `inet_pton'/`inet_ntop', so
1012 there is no more need to use `inet-aton'/`inet-ntoa'. The latter
1013 functions are deprecated.
1015 ** Fast bit operations.
1017 The bit-twiddling operations `ash', `logand', `logior', and `logxor' now
1018 have dedicated bytecodes. Guile is not just for symbolic computation,
1019 it's for number crunching too.
1021 ** Faster SRFI-9 record access
1023 SRFI-9 records are now implemented directly on top of Guile's structs,
1024 and their accessors are defined in such a way that normal call-sites
1025 inline to special VM opcodes, while still allowing for the general case
1026 (e.g. passing a record accessor to `apply').
1028 ** R6RS block comment support
1030 Guile now supports R6RS nested block comments. The start of a comment is
1031 marked with `#|', and the end with `|#'.
1033 ** `guile-2' cond-expand feature
1035 To test if your code is running under Guile 2.0 (or its alpha releases),
1036 test for the `guile-2' cond-expand feature. Like this:
1038 (cond-expand (guile-2 (eval-when (compile)
1039 ;; This must be evaluated at compile time.
1040 (fluid-set! current-reader my-reader)))
1042 ;; Earlier versions of Guile do not have a
1043 ;; separate compilation phase.
1044 (fluid-set! current-reader my-reader)))
1046 ** Fix bad interaction between `false-if-exception' and stack-call.
1048 Exceptions thrown by `false-if-exception' were erronously causing the
1049 stack to be saved, causing later errors to show the incorrectly-saved
1050 backtrace. This has been fixed.
1052 ** New global variables: %load-compiled-path, %load-compiled-extensions
1054 These are analogous to %load-path and %load-extensions.
1056 ** New procedure, `make-promise'
1058 `(make-promise (lambda () foo))' is equivalent to `(delay foo)'.
1060 ** `defined?' may accept a module as its second argument
1062 Previously it only accepted internal structures from the evaluator.
1064 ** New entry into %guile-build-info: `ccachedir'
1066 ** Fix bug in `module-bound?'.
1068 `module-bound?' was returning true if a module did have a local
1069 variable, but one that was unbound, but another imported module bound
1070 the variable. This was an error, and was fixed.
1072 ** `(ice-9 syncase)' has been deprecated.
1074 As syntax-case is available by default, importing `(ice-9 syncase)' has
1075 no effect, and will trigger a deprecation warning.
1077 ** New readline history functions
1079 The (ice-9 readline) module now provides add-history, read-history,
1080 write-history and clear-history, which wrap the corresponding GNU
1081 History library functions.
1083 ** Removed deprecated uniform array procedures:
1084 dimensions->uniform-array, list->uniform-array, array-prototype
1086 Instead, use make-typed-array, list->typed-array, or array-type,
1089 ** Last but not least, the `λ' macro can be used in lieu of `lambda'
1091 * Changes to the C interface
1093 ** Guile now uses libgc, the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage collector
1095 The semantics of `scm_gc_malloc ()' have been changed, in a
1096 backward-compatible way. A new allocation routine,
1097 `scm_gc_malloc_pointerless ()', was added.
1099 Libgc is a conservative GC, which we hope will make interaction with C
1100 code easier and less error-prone.
1102 ** New type definitions for `scm_t_intptr' and friends.
1104 `SCM_T_UINTPTR_MAX', `SCM_T_INTPTR_MIN', `SCM_T_INTPTR_MAX',
1105 `SIZEOF_SCM_T_BITS', `scm_t_intptr' and `scm_t_uintptr' are now
1106 available to C. Have fun!
1108 ** The GH interface (deprecated in version 1.6, 2001) was removed.
1110 ** Internal `scm_i_' functions now have "hidden" linkage with GCC/ELF
1112 This makes these internal functions technically not callable from
1115 ** Functions for handling `scm_option' now no longer require an argument
1116 indicating length of the `scm_t_option' array.
1118 ** Procedures-with-setters are now implemented using applicable structs
1120 From a user's perspective this doesn't mean very much. But if, for some
1121 odd reason, you used the SCM_PROCEDURE_WITH_SETTER_P, SCM_PROCEDURE, or
1122 SCM_SETTER macros, know that they're deprecated now. Also, scm_tc7_pws
1125 ** Remove old evaluator closures
1127 There used to be ranges of typecodes allocated to interpreted data
1128 structures, but that it no longer the case, given that interpreted
1129 procedure are now just regular VM closures. As a result, there is a
1130 newly free tc3, and a number of removed macros. See the ChangeLog for
1133 ** Primitive procedures are now VM trampoline procedures
1135 It used to be that there were something like 12 different typecodes
1136 allocated to primitive procedures, each with its own calling convention.
1137 Now there is only one, the gsubr. This may affect user code if you were
1138 defining a procedure using scm_c_make_subr rather scm_c_make_gsubr. The
1139 solution is to switch to use scm_c_make_gsubr. This solution works well
1140 both with the old 1.8 and and with the current 1.9 branch.
1142 Guile's old evaluator used to have special cases for applying "gsubrs",
1143 primitive procedures with specified numbers of required, optional, and
1144 rest arguments. Now, however, Guile represents gsubrs as normal VM
1145 procedures, with appropriate bytecode to parse out the correct number of
1146 arguments, including optional and rest arguments, and then with a
1147 special bytecode to apply the gsubr.
1149 This allows primitive procedures to appear on the VM stack, allowing
1150 them to be accurately counted in profiles. Also they now have more
1151 debugging information attached to them -- their number of arguments, for
1152 example. In addition, the VM can completely inline the application
1153 mechanics, allowing for faster primitive calls.
1155 However there are some changes on the C level. There is no more
1156 `scm_tc7_gsubr' or `scm_tcs_subrs' typecode for primitive procedures, as
1157 they are just VM procedures. Likewise the macros `SCM_GSUBR_TYPE',
1158 `SCM_GSUBR_MAKTYPE', `SCM_GSUBR_REQ', `SCM_GSUBR_OPT', and
1159 `SCM_GSUBR_REST' are gone, as are `SCM_SUBR_META_INFO', `SCM_SUBR_PROPS'
1160 `SCM_SET_SUBR_GENERIC_LOC', and `SCM_SUBR_ARITY_TO_TYPE'.
1162 Perhaps more significantly, `scm_c_make_subr',
1163 `scm_c_make_subr_with_generic', `scm_c_define_subr', and
1164 `scm_c_define_subr_with_generic'. They all operated on subr typecodes,
1165 and there are no more subr typecodes. Use the scm_c_make_gsubr family
1168 Normal users of gsubrs should not be affected, though, as the
1169 scm_c_make_gsubr family still is the correct way to create primitive
1172 ** Remove deprecated array C interfaces
1174 Removed the deprecated array functions `scm_i_arrayp',
1175 `scm_i_array_ndim', `scm_i_array_mem', `scm_i_array_v',
1176 `scm_i_array_base', `scm_i_array_dims', and the deprecated macros
1177 `SCM_ARRAYP', `SCM_ARRAY_NDIM', `SCM_ARRAY_CONTP', `SCM_ARRAY_MEM',
1178 `SCM_ARRAY_V', `SCM_ARRAY_BASE', and `SCM_ARRAY_DIMS'.
1180 ** Remove unused snarf macros
1182 `SCM_DEFINE1', `SCM_PRIMITIVE_GENERIC_1', `SCM_PROC1, and `SCM_GPROC1'
1183 are no more. Use SCM_DEFINE or SCM_PRIMITIVE_GENERIC instead.
1185 ** Add foreign value wrapper
1187 Guile now has a datatype for aliasing "foreign" values, such as native
1188 long values. This should be useful for making a proper foreign function
1189 interface. Interested hackers should see libguile/foreign.h.
1191 ** New functions: `scm_call_n', `scm_c_run_hookn'
1193 `scm_call_n' applies to apply a function to an array of arguments.
1194 `scm_c_run_hookn' runs a hook with an array of arguments.
1196 ** Some SMOB types changed to have static typecodes
1198 Fluids, dynamic states, and hash tables used to be SMOB objects, but now
1199 they have statically allocated tc7 typecodes.
1201 ** Preparations for changing SMOB representation
1203 If things go right, we'll be changing the SMOB representation soon. To
1204 that end, we did a lot of cleanups to calls to e.g. SCM_CELL_WORD_2(x) when
1205 the code meant SCM_SMOB_DATA_2(x); user code will need similar changes
1206 in the future. Code accessing SMOBs using SCM_CELL macros was never
1207 correct, but until now things still worked. Users should be aware of
1210 ** Changed invocation mechanics of applicable SMOBs
1212 Guile's old evaluator used to have special cases for applying SMOB
1213 objects. Now, with the VM, when Guile sees a SMOB, it looks up a VM
1214 trampoline procedure for it, and use the normal mechanics to apply the
1215 trampoline. This simplifies procedure application in the normal,
1218 The upshot is that the mechanics used to apply a SMOB are different from
1219 1.8. Descriptors no longer have `apply_0', `apply_1', `apply_2', and
1220 `apply_3' functions, and the macros SCM_SMOB_APPLY_0 and friends are now
1221 deprecated. Just use the scm_call_0 family of procedures.
1223 ** New C function: scm_module_public_interface
1225 This procedure corresponds to Scheme's `module-public-interface'.
1227 ** Undeprecate `scm_the_root_module ()'
1229 It's useful to be able to get the root module from C without doing a
1232 ** Inline vector allocation
1234 Instead of having vectors point out into the heap for their data, their
1235 data is now allocated inline to the vector object itself. The same is
1236 true for bytevectors, by default, though there is an indirection
1237 available which should allow for making a bytevector from an existing
1240 ** New struct constructors that don't involve making lists
1242 `scm_c_make_struct' and `scm_c_make_structv' are new varargs and array
1243 constructors, respectively, for structs. You might find them useful.
1247 In Guile 1.8, there were debugging frames on the C stack. Now there is
1248 no more need to explicitly mark the stack in this way, because Guile has
1249 a VM stack that it knows how to walk, which simplifies the C API
1250 considerably. See the ChangeLog for details; the relevant interface is
1251 in libguile/stacks.h. The Scheme API has not been changed significantly.
1253 ** Removal of Guile's primitive object system.
1255 There were a number of pieces in `objects.[ch]' that tried to be a
1256 minimal object system, but were never documented, and were quickly
1257 obseleted by GOOPS' merge into Guile proper. So `scm_make_class_object',
1258 `scm_make_subclass_object', `scm_metaclass_standard', and like symbols
1259 from objects.h are no more. In the very unlikely case in which these
1260 were useful to you, we urge you to contact guile-devel.
1264 Actually the future is still in the state that it was, is, and ever
1265 shall be, Amen, except that `futures.c' and `futures.h' are no longer a
1266 part of it. These files were experimental, never compiled, and would be
1267 better implemented in Scheme anyway. In the future, that is.
1269 ** Deprecate trampolines
1271 There used to be C functions `scm_trampoline_0', `scm_trampoline_1', and
1272 so on. The point was to do some precomputation on the type of the
1273 procedure, then return a specialized "call" procedure. However this
1274 optimization wasn't actually an optimization, so it is now deprecated.
1275 Just use `scm_call_0', etc instead.
1277 ** Better support for Lisp `nil'.
1279 The bit representation of `nil' has been tweaked so that it is now very
1280 efficient to check e.g. if a value is equal to Scheme's end-of-list or
1281 Lisp's nil. Additionally there are a heap of new, specific predicates
1282 like scm_is_null_or_nil. Probably in the future we will #define
1283 scm_is_null to scm_is_null_or_nil.
1285 ** Support for static allocation of strings, symbols, and subrs.
1287 Calls to snarfing CPP macros like SCM_DEFINE macro will now allocate
1288 much of their associated data as static variables, reducing Guile's
1291 ** `scm_stat' has an additional argument, `exception_on_error'
1292 ** `scm_primitive_load_path' has an additional argument `exception_on_not_found'
1294 ** `scm_set_port_seek' and `scm_set_port_truncate' use the `scm_t_off' type
1296 Previously they would use the `off_t' type, which is fragile since its
1297 definition depends on the application's value for `_FILE_OFFSET_BITS'.
1299 ** The `long_long' C type, deprecated in 1.8, has been removed
1301 ** Removed deprecated uniform array procedures: scm_make_uve,
1302 scm_array_prototype, scm_list_to_uniform_array,
1303 scm_dimensions_to_uniform_array, scm_make_ra, scm_shap2ra, scm_cvref,
1304 scm_ra_set_contp, scm_aind, scm_raprin1
1306 These functions have been deprecated since early 2005.
1308 * Changes to the distribution
1310 ** Guile's license is now LGPLv3+
1312 In other words the GNU Lesser General Public License, version 3 or
1313 later (at the discretion of each person that chooses to redistribute
1316 ** GOOPS documentation folded into Guile reference manual
1318 GOOPS, Guile's object system, used to be documented in separate manuals.
1319 This content is now included in Guile's manual directly.
1321 ** `guile-config' will be deprecated in favor of `pkg-config'
1323 `guile-config' has been rewritten to get its information from
1324 `pkg-config', so this should be a transparent change. Note however that
1325 guile.m4 has yet to be modified to call pkg-config instead of
1328 ** Guile now provides `guile-2.0.pc' instead of `guile-1.8.pc'
1330 Programs that use `pkg-config' to find Guile or one of its Autoconf
1331 macros should now require `guile-2.0' instead of `guile-1.8'.
1333 ** New installation directory: $(pkglibdir)/1.9/ccache
1335 If $(libdir) is /usr/lib, for example, Guile will install its .go files
1336 to /usr/lib/guile/1.9/ccache. These files are architecture-specific.
1338 ** Dynamically loadable extensions may be placed in a Guile-specific path
1340 Before, Guile only searched the system library paths for extensions
1341 (e.g. /usr/lib), which meant that the names of Guile extensions had to
1342 be globally unique. Installing them to a Guile-specific extensions
1343 directory is cleaner. Use `pkg-config --variable=extensionsdir
1344 guile-2.0' to get the location of the extensions directory.
1346 ** New dependency: libgc
1348 See http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Hans_Boehm/gc/, for more information.
1350 ** New dependency: GNU libunistring
1352 See http://www.gnu.org/software/libunistring/, for more information. Our
1353 Unicode support uses routines from libunistring.
1357 Changes in 1.8.8 (since 1.8.7)
1361 ** Fix possible buffer overruns when parsing numbers
1362 ** Avoid clash with system setjmp/longjmp on IA64
1363 ** Fix `wrong type arg' exceptions with IPv6 addresses
1366 Changes in 1.8.7 (since 1.8.6)
1368 * New modules (see the manual for details)
1370 ** `(srfi srfi-98)', an interface to access environment variables
1374 ** Fix compilation with `--disable-deprecated'
1375 ** Fix %fast-slot-ref/set!, to avoid possible segmentation fault
1376 ** Fix MinGW build problem caused by HAVE_STRUCT_TIMESPEC confusion
1377 ** Fix build problem when scm_t_timespec is different from struct timespec
1378 ** Fix build when compiled with -Wundef -Werror
1379 ** More build fixes for `alphaev56-dec-osf5.1b' (Tru64)
1380 ** Build fixes for `powerpc-ibm-aix5.3.0.0' (AIX 5.3)
1381 ** With GCC, always compile with `-mieee' on `alpha*' and `sh*'
1382 ** Better diagnose broken `(strftime "%z" ...)' in `time.test' (bug #24130)
1383 ** Fix parsing of SRFI-88/postfix keywords longer than 128 characters
1384 ** Fix reading of complex numbers where both parts are inexact decimals
1386 ** Allow @ macro to work with (ice-9 syncase)
1388 Previously, use of the @ macro in a module whose code is being
1389 transformed by (ice-9 syncase) would cause an "Invalid syntax" error.
1390 Now it works as you would expect (giving the value of the specified
1393 ** Have `scm_take_locale_symbol ()' return an interned symbol (bug #25865)
1396 Changes in 1.8.6 (since 1.8.5)
1398 * New features (see the manual for details)
1400 ** New convenience function `scm_c_symbol_length ()'
1402 ** Single stepping through code from Emacs
1404 When you use GDS to evaluate Scheme code from Emacs, you can now use
1405 `C-u' to indicate that you want to single step through that code. See
1406 `Evaluating Scheme Code' in the manual for more details.
1408 ** New "guile(1)" man page!
1410 * Changes to the distribution
1412 ** Automake's `AM_MAINTAINER_MODE' is no longer used
1414 Thus, the `--enable-maintainer-mode' configure option is no longer
1415 available: Guile is now always configured in "maintainer mode".
1417 ** `ChangeLog' files are no longer updated
1419 Instead, changes are detailed in the version control system's logs. See
1420 the top-level `ChangeLog' files for details.
1425 ** `symbol->string' now returns a read-only string, as per R5RS
1426 ** Fix incorrect handling of the FLAGS argument of `fold-matches'
1427 ** `guile-config link' now prints `-L$libdir' before `-lguile'
1428 ** Fix memory corruption involving GOOPS' `class-redefinition'
1429 ** Fix possible deadlock in `mutex-lock'
1430 ** Fix build issue on Tru64 and ia64-hp-hpux11.23 (`SCM_UNPACK' macro)
1431 ** Fix build issue on mips, mipsel, powerpc and ia64 (stack direction)
1432 ** Fix build issue on hppa2.0w-hp-hpux11.11 (`dirent64' and `readdir64_r')
1433 ** Fix build issue on i386-unknown-freebsd7.0 ("break strict-aliasing rules")
1434 ** Fix misleading output from `(help rationalize)'
1435 ** Fix build failure on Debian hppa architecture (bad stack growth detection)
1436 ** Fix `gcd' when called with a single, negative argument.
1437 ** Fix `Stack overflow' errors seen when building on some platforms
1438 ** Fix bug when `scm_with_guile ()' was called several times from the
1440 ** The handler of SRFI-34 `with-exception-handler' is now invoked in the
1441 dynamic environment of the call to `raise'
1442 ** Fix potential deadlock in `make-struct'
1443 ** Fix compilation problem with libltdl from Libtool 2.2.x
1444 ** Fix sloppy bound checking in `string-{ref,set!}' with the empty string
1447 Changes in 1.8.5 (since 1.8.4)
1449 * Infrastructure changes
1451 ** Guile repository switched from CVS to Git
1453 The new repository can be accessed using
1454 "git-clone git://git.sv.gnu.org/guile.git", or can be browsed on-line at
1455 http://git.sv.gnu.org/gitweb/?p=guile.git . See `README' for details.
1457 ** Add support for `pkg-config'
1459 See "Autoconf Support" in the manual for details.
1461 * New modules (see the manual for details)
1465 * New features (see the manual for details)
1467 ** New `postfix' read option, for SRFI-88 keyword syntax
1468 ** Some I/O primitives have been inlined, which improves I/O performance
1469 ** New object-based traps infrastructure
1471 This is a GOOPS-based infrastructure that builds on Guile's low-level
1472 evaluator trap calls and facilitates the development of debugging
1473 features like single-stepping, breakpoints, tracing and profiling.
1474 See the `Traps' node of the manual for details.
1476 ** New support for working on Guile code from within Emacs
1478 Guile now incorporates the `GDS' library (previously distributed
1479 separately) for working on Guile code from within Emacs. See the
1480 `Using Guile In Emacs' node of the manual for details.
1484 ** `scm_add_slot ()' no longer segfaults (fixes bug #22369)
1485 ** Fixed `(ice-9 match)' for patterns like `((_ ...) ...)'
1487 Previously, expressions like `(match '((foo) (bar)) (((_ ...) ...) #t))'
1488 would trigger an unbound variable error for `match:andmap'.
1490 ** `(oop goops describe)' now properly provides the `describe' feature
1491 ** Fixed `args-fold' from `(srfi srfi-37)'
1493 Previously, parsing short option names of argument-less options would
1494 lead to a stack overflow.
1496 ** `(srfi srfi-35)' is now visible through `cond-expand'
1497 ** Fixed type-checking for the second argument of `eval'
1498 ** Fixed type-checking for SRFI-1 `partition'
1499 ** Fixed `struct-ref' and `struct-set!' on "light structs"
1500 ** Honor struct field access rights in GOOPS
1501 ** Changed the storage strategy of source properties, which fixes a deadlock
1502 ** Allow compilation of Guile-using programs in C99 mode with GCC 4.3 and later
1503 ** Fixed build issue for GNU/Linux on IA64
1504 ** Fixed build issues on NetBSD 1.6
1505 ** Fixed build issue on Solaris 2.10 x86_64
1506 ** Fixed build issue with DEC/Compaq/HP's compiler
1507 ** Fixed `scm_from_complex_double' build issue on FreeBSD
1508 ** Fixed `alloca' build issue on FreeBSD 6
1509 ** Removed use of non-portable makefile constructs
1510 ** Fixed shadowing of libc's <random.h> on Tru64, which broke compilation
1511 ** Make sure all tests honor `$TMPDIR'
1514 Changes in 1.8.4 (since 1.8.3)
1518 ** CR (ASCII 0x0d) is (again) recognized as a token delimiter by the reader
1519 ** Fixed a segmentation fault which occurred when displaying the
1520 backtrace of a stack with a promise object (made by `delay') in it.
1521 ** Make `accept' leave guile mode while blocking
1522 ** `scm_c_read ()' and `scm_c_write ()' now type-check their port argument
1523 ** Fixed a build problem on AIX (use of func_data identifier)
1524 ** Fixed a segmentation fault which occurred when hashx-ref or hashx-set! was
1525 called with an associator proc that returns neither a pair nor #f.
1526 ** Secondary threads now always return a valid module for (current-module).
1527 ** Avoid MacOS build problems caused by incorrect combination of "64"
1528 system and library calls.
1529 ** `guile-snarf' now honors `$TMPDIR'
1530 ** `guile-config compile' now reports CPPFLAGS used at compile-time
1531 ** Fixed build with Sun Studio (Solaris 9)
1532 ** Fixed wrong-type-arg errors when creating zero length SRFI-4
1533 uniform vectors on AIX.
1534 ** Fixed a deadlock that occurs upon GC with multiple threads.
1535 ** Fixed compile problem with GCC on Solaris and AIX (use of _Complex_I)
1536 ** Fixed autotool-derived build problems on AIX 6.1.
1537 ** Fixed NetBSD/alpha support
1538 ** Fixed MacOS build problem caused by use of rl_get_keymap(_name)
1540 * New modules (see the manual for details)
1544 * Documentation fixes and improvements
1546 ** Removed premature breakpoint documentation
1548 The features described are not available in the series of 1.8.x
1549 releases, so the documentation was misleading and has been removed.
1551 ** More about Guile's default *random-state* variable
1553 ** GOOPS: more about how to use `next-method'
1555 * Changes to the distribution
1557 ** Corrected a few files that referred incorrectly to the old GPL + special exception licence
1559 In fact Guile since 1.8.0 has been licensed with the GNU Lesser
1560 General Public License, and the few incorrect files have now been
1561 fixed to agree with the rest of the Guile distribution.
1563 ** Removed unnecessary extra copies of COPYING*
1565 The distribution now contains a single COPYING.LESSER at its top level.
1568 Changes in 1.8.3 (since 1.8.2)
1570 * New modules (see the manual for details)
1577 ** The `(ice-9 slib)' module now works as expected
1578 ** Expressions like "(set! 'x #t)" no longer yield a crash
1579 ** Warnings about duplicate bindings now go to stderr
1580 ** A memory leak in `make-socket-address' was fixed
1581 ** Alignment issues (e.g., on SPARC) in network routines were fixed
1582 ** A threading issue that showed up at least on NetBSD was fixed
1583 ** Build problems on Solaris and IRIX fixed
1585 * Implementation improvements
1587 ** The reader is now faster, which reduces startup time
1588 ** Procedures returned by `record-accessor' and `record-modifier' are faster
1591 Changes in 1.8.2 (since 1.8.1):
1593 * New procedures (see the manual for details)
1595 ** set-program-arguments
1598 * Incompatible changes
1600 ** The body of a top-level `define' no longer sees the binding being created
1602 In a top-level `define', the binding being created is no longer visible
1603 from the `define' body. This breaks code like
1604 "(define foo (begin (set! foo 1) (+ foo 1)))", where `foo' is now
1605 unbound in the body. However, such code was not R5RS-compliant anyway,
1610 ** Fractions were not `equal?' if stored in unreduced form.
1611 (A subtle problem, since printing a value reduced it, making it work.)
1612 ** srfi-60 `copy-bit' failed on 64-bit systems
1613 ** "guile --use-srfi" option at the REPL can replace core functions
1614 (Programs run with that option were ok, but in the interactive REPL
1615 the core bindings got priority, preventing SRFI replacements or
1617 ** `regexp-exec' doesn't abort() on #\nul in the input or bad flags arg
1618 ** `kill' on mingw throws an error for a PID other than oneself
1619 ** Procedure names are attached to procedure-with-setters
1620 ** Array read syntax works with negative lower bound
1621 ** `array-in-bounds?' fix if an array has different lower bounds on each index
1622 ** `*' returns exact 0 for "(* inexact 0)"
1623 This follows what it always did for "(* 0 inexact)".
1624 ** SRFI-19: Value returned by `(current-time time-process)' was incorrect
1625 ** SRFI-19: `date->julian-day' did not account for timezone offset
1626 ** `ttyname' no longer crashes when passed a non-tty argument
1627 ** `inet-ntop' no longer crashes on SPARC when passed an `AF_INET' address
1628 ** Small memory leaks have been fixed in `make-fluid' and `add-history'
1629 ** GOOPS: Fixed a bug in `method-more-specific?'
1630 ** Build problems on Solaris fixed
1631 ** Build problems on HP-UX IA64 fixed
1632 ** Build problems on MinGW fixed
1635 Changes in 1.8.1 (since 1.8.0):
1637 * LFS functions are now used to access 64-bit files on 32-bit systems.
1639 * New procedures (see the manual for details)
1641 ** primitive-_exit - [Scheme] the-root-module
1642 ** scm_primitive__exit - [C]
1643 ** make-completion-function - [Scheme] (ice-9 readline)
1644 ** scm_c_locale_stringn_to_number - [C]
1645 ** scm_srfi1_append_reverse [C]
1646 ** scm_srfi1_append_reverse_x [C]
1654 ** Build problems have been fixed on MacOS, SunOS, and QNX.
1656 ** `strftime' fix sign of %z timezone offset.
1658 ** A one-dimensional array can now be 'equal?' to a vector.
1660 ** Structures, records, and SRFI-9 records can now be compared with `equal?'.
1662 ** SRFI-14 standard char sets are recomputed upon a successful `setlocale'.
1664 ** `record-accessor' and `record-modifier' now have strict type checks.
1666 Record accessor and modifier procedures now throw an error if the
1667 record type of the record they're given is not the type expected.
1668 (Previously accessors returned #f and modifiers silently did nothing).
1670 ** It is now OK to use both autoload and use-modules on a given module.
1672 ** `apply' checks the number of arguments more carefully on "0 or 1" funcs.
1674 Previously there was no checking on primatives like make-vector that
1675 accept "one or two" arguments. Now there is.
1677 ** The srfi-1 assoc function now calls its equality predicate properly.
1679 Previously srfi-1 assoc would call the equality predicate with the key
1680 last. According to the SRFI, the key should be first.
1682 ** A bug in n-par-for-each and n-for-each-par-map has been fixed.
1684 ** The array-set! procedure no longer segfaults when given a bit vector.
1686 ** Bugs in make-shared-array have been fixed.
1688 ** string<? and friends now follow char<? etc order on 8-bit chars.
1690 ** The format procedure now handles inf and nan values for ~f correctly.
1692 ** exact->inexact should no longer overflow when given certain large fractions.
1694 ** srfi-9 accessor and modifier procedures now have strict record type checks.
1696 This matches the srfi-9 specification.
1698 ** (ice-9 ftw) procedures won't ignore different files with same inode number.
1700 Previously the (ice-9 ftw) procedures would ignore any file that had
1701 the same inode number as a file they had already seen, even if that
1702 file was on a different device.
1705 Changes in 1.8.0 (changes since the 1.6.x series):
1707 * Changes to the distribution
1709 ** Guile is now licensed with the GNU Lesser General Public License.
1711 ** The manual is now licensed with the GNU Free Documentation License.
1713 ** Guile now requires GNU MP (http://swox.com/gmp).
1715 Guile now uses the GNU MP library for arbitrary precision arithmetic.
1717 ** Guile now has separate private and public configuration headers.
1719 That is, things like HAVE_STRING_H no longer leak from Guile's
1722 ** Guile now provides and uses an "effective" version number.
1724 Guile now provides scm_effective_version and effective-version
1725 functions which return the "effective" version number. This is just
1726 the normal full version string without the final micro-version number,
1727 so the current effective-version is "1.8". The effective version
1728 should remain unchanged during a stable series, and should be used for
1729 items like the versioned share directory name
1730 i.e. /usr/share/guile/1.8.
1732 Providing an unchanging version number during a stable release for
1733 things like the versioned share directory can be particularly
1734 important for Guile "add-on" packages, since it provides a directory
1735 that they can install to that won't be changed out from under them
1736 with each micro release during a stable series.
1738 ** Thread implementation has changed.
1740 When you configure "--with-threads=null", you will get the usual
1741 threading API (call-with-new-thread, make-mutex, etc), but you can't
1742 actually create new threads. Also, "--with-threads=no" is now
1743 equivalent to "--with-threads=null". This means that the thread API
1744 is always present, although you might not be able to create new
1747 When you configure "--with-threads=pthreads" or "--with-threads=yes",
1748 you will get threads that are implemented with the portable POSIX
1749 threads. These threads can run concurrently (unlike the previous
1750 "coop" thread implementation), but need to cooperate for things like
1753 The default is "pthreads", unless your platform doesn't have pthreads,
1754 in which case "null" threads are used.
1756 See the manual for details, nodes "Initialization", "Multi-Threading",
1757 "Blocking", and others.
1759 ** There is the new notion of 'discouraged' features.
1761 This is a milder form of deprecation.
1763 Things that are discouraged should not be used in new code, but it is
1764 OK to leave them in old code for now. When a discouraged feature is
1765 used, no warning message is printed like there is for 'deprecated'
1766 features. Also, things that are merely discouraged are nevertheless
1767 implemented efficiently, while deprecated features can be very slow.
1769 You can omit discouraged features from libguile by configuring it with
1770 the '--disable-discouraged' option.
1772 ** Deprecation warnings can be controlled at run-time.
1774 (debug-enable 'warn-deprecated) switches them on and (debug-disable
1775 'warn-deprecated) switches them off.
1777 ** Support for SRFI 61, extended cond syntax for multiple values has
1780 This SRFI is always available.
1782 ** Support for require-extension, SRFI-55, has been added.
1784 The SRFI-55 special form `require-extension' has been added. It is
1785 available at startup, and provides a portable way to load Scheme
1786 extensions. SRFI-55 only requires support for one type of extension,
1787 "srfi"; so a set of SRFIs may be loaded via (require-extension (srfi 1
1790 ** New module (srfi srfi-26) provides support for `cut' and `cute'.
1792 The (srfi srfi-26) module is an implementation of SRFI-26 which
1793 provides the `cut' and `cute' syntax. These may be used to specialize
1794 parameters without currying.
1796 ** New module (srfi srfi-31)
1798 This is an implementation of SRFI-31 which provides a special form
1799 `rec' for recursive evaluation.
1801 ** The modules (srfi srfi-13), (srfi srfi-14) and (srfi srfi-4) have
1802 been merged with the core, making their functionality always
1805 The modules are still available, tho, and you could use them together
1806 with a renaming import, for example.
1808 ** Guile no longer includes its own version of libltdl.
1810 The official version is good enough now.
1812 ** The --enable-htmldoc option has been removed from 'configure'.
1814 Support for translating the documentation into HTML is now always
1815 provided. Use 'make html'.
1817 ** New module (ice-9 serialize):
1819 (serialize FORM1 ...) and (parallelize FORM1 ...) are useful when you
1820 don't trust the thread safety of most of your program, but where you
1821 have some section(s) of code which you consider can run in parallel to
1822 other sections. See ice-9/serialize.scm for more information.
1824 ** The configure option '--disable-arrays' has been removed.
1826 Support for arrays and uniform numeric arrays is now always included
1829 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
1831 ** New command line option `-L'.
1833 This option adds a directory to the front of the load path.
1835 ** New command line option `--no-debug'.
1837 Specifying `--no-debug' on the command line will keep the debugging
1838 evaluator turned off, even for interactive sessions.
1840 ** User-init file ~/.guile is now loaded with the debugging evaluator.
1842 Previously, the normal evaluator would have been used. Using the
1843 debugging evaluator gives better error messages.
1845 ** The '-e' option now 'read's its argument.
1847 This is to allow the new '(@ MODULE-NAME VARIABLE-NAME)' construct to
1848 be used with '-e'. For example, you can now write a script like
1851 exec guile -e '(@ (demo) main)' -s "$0" "$@"
1854 (define-module (demo)
1858 (format #t "Demo: ~a~%" args))
1861 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
1863 ** Guardians have changed back to their original semantics
1865 Guardians now behave like described in the paper by Dybvig et al. In
1866 particular, they no longer make guarantees about the order in which
1867 they return objects, and they can no longer be greedy.
1869 They no longer drop cyclic data structures.
1871 The C function scm_make_guardian has been changed incompatibly and no
1872 longer takes the 'greedy_p' argument.
1874 ** New function hashx-remove!
1876 This function completes the set of 'hashx' functions.
1878 ** The concept of dynamic roots has been factored into continuation
1879 barriers and dynamic states.
1881 Each thread has a current dynamic state that carries the values of the
1882 fluids. You can create and copy dynamic states and use them as the
1883 second argument for 'eval'. See "Fluids and Dynamic States" in the
1886 To restrict the influence that captured continuations can have on the
1887 control flow, you can errect continuation barriers. See "Continuation
1888 Barriers" in the manual.
1890 The function call-with-dynamic-root now essentially temporarily
1891 installs a new dynamic state and errects a continuation barrier.
1893 ** The default load path no longer includes "." at the end.
1895 Automatically loading modules from the current directory should not
1896 happen by default. If you want to allow it in a more controlled
1897 manner, set the environment variable GUILE_LOAD_PATH or the Scheme
1898 variable %load-path.
1900 ** The uniform vector and array support has been overhauled.
1902 It now complies with SRFI-4 and the weird prototype based uniform
1903 array creation has been deprecated. See the manual for more details.
1905 Some non-compatible changes have been made:
1906 - characters can no longer be stored into byte arrays.
1907 - strings and bit vectors are no longer considered to be uniform numeric
1909 - array-rank throws an error for non-arrays instead of returning zero.
1910 - array-ref does no longer accept non-arrays when no indices are given.
1912 There is the new notion of 'generalized vectors' and corresponding
1913 procedures like 'generalized-vector-ref'. Generalized vectors include
1914 strings, bitvectors, ordinary vectors, and uniform numeric vectors.
1916 Arrays use generalized vectors as their storage, so that you still
1917 have arrays of characters, bits, etc. However, uniform-array-read!
1918 and uniform-array-write can no longer read/write strings and
1921 ** There is now support for copy-on-write substrings, mutation-sharing
1922 substrings and read-only strings.
1924 Three new procedures are related to this: substring/shared,
1925 substring/copy, and substring/read-only. See the manual for more
1928 ** Backtraces will now highlight the value that caused the error.
1930 By default, these values are enclosed in "{...}", such as in this
1939 <unnamed port>:1:1: In procedure car in expression (car (quote a)):
1940 <unnamed port>:1:1: Wrong type (expecting pair): a
1941 ABORT: (wrong-type-arg)
1943 The prefix and suffix used for highlighting can be set via the two new
1944 printer options 'highlight-prefix' and 'highlight-suffix'. For
1945 example, putting this into ~/.guile will output the bad value in bold
1946 on an ANSI terminal:
1948 (print-set! highlight-prefix "\x1b[1m")
1949 (print-set! highlight-suffix "\x1b[22m")
1952 ** 'gettext' support for internationalization has been added.
1954 See the manual for details.
1956 ** New syntax '@' and '@@':
1958 You can now directly refer to variables exported from a module by
1961 (@ MODULE-NAME VARIABLE-NAME)
1963 For example (@ (ice-9 pretty-print) pretty-print) will directly access
1964 the pretty-print variable exported from the (ice-9 pretty-print)
1965 module. You don't need to 'use' that module first. You can also use
1966 '@' as a target of 'set!', as in (set! (@ mod var) val).
1968 The related syntax (@@ MODULE-NAME VARIABLE-NAME) works just like '@',
1969 but it can also access variables that have not been exported. It is
1970 intended only for kluges and temporary fixes and for debugging, not
1973 ** Keyword syntax has been made more disciplined.
1975 Previously, the name of a keyword was read as a 'token' but printed as
1976 a symbol. Now, it is read as a general Scheme datum which must be a
1987 ERROR: In expression (a b c):
1991 ERROR: Unbound variable: foo
1996 ERROR: Wrong type (expecting symbol): 12
2000 ERROR: Wrong type (expecting symbol): (a b c)
2004 ** The printing of symbols that might look like keywords can be
2007 The new printer option 'quote-keywordish-symbols' controls how symbols
2008 are printed that have a colon as their first or last character. The
2009 default now is to only quote a symbol with #{...}# when the read
2010 option 'keywords' is not '#f'. Thus:
2012 guile> (define foo (string->symbol ":foo"))
2013 guile> (read-set! keywords #f)
2016 guile> (read-set! keywords 'prefix)
2019 guile> (print-set! quote-keywordish-symbols #f)
2023 ** 'while' now provides 'break' and 'continue'
2025 break and continue were previously bound in a while loop, but not
2026 documented, and continue didn't quite work properly. The undocumented
2027 parameter to break which gave a return value for the while has been
2030 ** 'call-with-current-continuation' is now also available under the name
2033 ** The module system now checks for duplicate bindings.
2035 The module system now can check for name conflicts among imported
2038 The behavior can be controlled by specifying one or more 'duplicates'
2039 handlers. For example, to make Guile return an error for every name
2042 (define-module (foo)
2047 The new default behavior of the module system when a name collision
2048 has been detected is to
2050 1. Give priority to bindings marked as a replacement.
2051 2. Issue a warning (different warning if overriding core binding).
2052 3. Give priority to the last encountered binding (this corresponds to
2055 If you want the old behavior back without replacements or warnings you
2058 (default-duplicate-binding-handler 'last)
2060 to your .guile init file.
2062 ** New define-module option: :replace
2064 :replace works as :export, but, in addition, marks the binding as a
2067 A typical example is `format' in (ice-9 format) which is a replacement
2068 for the core binding `format'.
2070 ** Adding prefixes to imported bindings in the module system
2072 There is now a new :use-module option :prefix. It can be used to add
2073 a prefix to all imported bindings.
2075 (define-module (foo)
2076 :use-module ((bar) :prefix bar:))
2078 will import all bindings exported from bar, but rename them by adding
2081 ** Conflicting generic functions can be automatically merged.
2083 When two imported bindings conflict and they are both generic
2084 functions, the two functions can now be merged automatically. This is
2085 activated with the 'duplicates' handler 'merge-generics'.
2087 ** New function: effective-version
2089 Returns the "effective" version number. This is just the normal full
2090 version string without the final micro-version number. See "Changes
2091 to the distribution" above.
2093 ** New threading functions: parallel, letpar, par-map, and friends
2095 These are convenient ways to run calculations in parallel in new
2096 threads. See "Parallel forms" in the manual for details.
2098 ** New function 'try-mutex'.
2100 This function will attempt to lock a mutex but will return immediately
2101 instead of blocking and indicate failure.
2103 ** Waiting on a condition variable can have a timeout.
2105 The function 'wait-condition-variable' now takes a third, optional
2106 argument that specifies the point in time where the waiting should be
2109 ** New function 'broadcast-condition-variable'.
2111 ** New functions 'all-threads' and 'current-thread'.
2113 ** Signals and system asyncs work better with threads.
2115 The function 'sigaction' now takes a fourth, optional, argument that
2116 specifies the thread that the handler should run in. When the
2117 argument is omitted, the handler will run in the thread that called
2120 Likewise, 'system-async-mark' takes a second, optional, argument that
2121 specifies the thread that the async should run in. When it is
2122 omitted, the async will run in the thread that called
2123 'system-async-mark'.
2125 C code can use the new functions scm_sigaction_for_thread and
2126 scm_system_async_mark_for_thread to pass the new thread argument.
2128 When a thread blocks on a mutex, a condition variable or is waiting
2129 for IO to be possible, it will still execute system asyncs. This can
2130 be used to interrupt such a thread by making it execute a 'throw', for
2133 ** The function 'system-async' is deprecated.
2135 You can now pass any zero-argument procedure to 'system-async-mark'.
2136 The function 'system-async' will just return its argument unchanged
2139 ** New functions 'call-with-blocked-asyncs' and
2140 'call-with-unblocked-asyncs'
2142 The expression (call-with-blocked-asyncs PROC) will call PROC and will
2143 block execution of system asyncs for the current thread by one level
2144 while PROC runs. Likewise, call-with-unblocked-asyncs will call a
2145 procedure and will unblock the execution of system asyncs by one
2146 level for the current thread.
2148 Only system asyncs are affected by these functions.
2150 ** The functions 'mask-signals' and 'unmask-signals' are deprecated.
2152 Use 'call-with-blocked-asyncs' or 'call-with-unblocked-asyncs'
2153 instead. Those functions are easier to use correctly and can be
2156 ** New function 'unsetenv'.
2158 ** New macro 'define-syntax-public'.
2160 It works like 'define-syntax' and also exports the defined macro (but
2163 ** There is support for Infinity and NaNs.
2165 Following PLT Scheme, Guile can now work with infinite numbers, and
2168 There is new syntax for numbers: "+inf.0" (infinity), "-inf.0"
2169 (negative infinity), "+nan.0" (not-a-number), and "-nan.0" (same as
2170 "+nan.0"). These numbers are inexact and have no exact counterpart.
2172 Dividing by an inexact zero returns +inf.0 or -inf.0, depending on the
2173 sign of the dividend. The infinities are integers, and they answer #t
2174 for both 'even?' and 'odd?'. The +nan.0 value is not an integer and is
2175 not '=' to itself, but '+nan.0' is 'eqv?' to itself.
2186 ERROR: Numerical overflow
2188 Two new predicates 'inf?' and 'nan?' can be used to test for the
2191 ** Inexact zero can have a sign.
2193 Guile can now distinguish between plus and minus inexact zero, if your
2194 platform supports this, too. The two zeros are equal according to
2195 '=', but not according to 'eqv?'. For example
2206 ** Guile now has exact rationals.
2208 Guile can now represent fractions such as 1/3 exactly. Computing with
2209 them is also done exactly, of course:
2214 ** 'floor', 'ceiling', 'round' and 'truncate' now return exact numbers
2215 for exact arguments.
2217 For example: (floor 2) now returns an exact 2 where in the past it
2218 returned an inexact 2.0. Likewise, (floor 5/4) returns an exact 1.
2220 ** inexact->exact no longer returns only integers.
2222 Without exact rationals, the closest exact number was always an
2223 integer, but now inexact->exact returns the fraction that is exactly
2224 equal to a floating point number. For example:
2226 (inexact->exact 1.234)
2227 => 694680242521899/562949953421312
2229 When you want the old behavior, use 'round' explicitly:
2231 (inexact->exact (round 1.234))
2234 ** New function 'rationalize'.
2236 This function finds a simple fraction that is close to a given real
2237 number. For example (and compare with inexact->exact above):
2239 (rationalize (inexact->exact 1.234) 1/2000)
2242 Note that, as required by R5RS, rationalize returns only then an exact
2243 result when both its arguments are exact.
2245 ** 'odd?' and 'even?' work also for inexact integers.
2247 Previously, (odd? 1.0) would signal an error since only exact integers
2248 were recognized as integers. Now (odd? 1.0) returns #t, (odd? 2.0)
2249 returns #f and (odd? 1.5) signals an error.
2251 ** Guile now has uninterned symbols.
2253 The new function 'make-symbol' will return an uninterned symbol. This
2254 is a symbol that is unique and is guaranteed to remain unique.
2255 However, uninterned symbols can not yet be read back in.
2257 Use the new function 'symbol-interned?' to check whether a symbol is
2260 ** pretty-print has more options.
2262 The function pretty-print from the (ice-9 pretty-print) module can now
2263 also be invoked with keyword arguments that control things like
2264 maximum output width. See the manual for details.
2266 ** Variables have no longer a special behavior for `equal?'.
2268 Previously, comparing two variables with `equal?' would recursivly
2269 compare their values. This is no longer done. Variables are now only
2270 `equal?' if they are `eq?'.
2272 ** `(begin)' is now valid.
2274 You can now use an empty `begin' form. It will yield #<unspecified>
2275 when evaluated and simply be ignored in a definition context.
2277 ** Deprecated: procedure->macro
2279 Change your code to use 'define-macro' or r5rs macros. Also, be aware
2280 that macro expansion will not be done during evaluation, but prior to
2283 ** Soft ports now allow a `char-ready?' procedure
2285 The vector argument to `make-soft-port' can now have a length of
2286 either 5 or 6. (Previously the length had to be 5.) The optional 6th
2287 element is interpreted as an `input-waiting' thunk -- i.e. a thunk
2288 that returns the number of characters that can be read immediately
2289 without the soft port blocking.
2291 ** Deprecated: undefine
2293 There is no replacement for undefine.
2295 ** The functions make-keyword-from-dash-symbol and keyword-dash-symbol
2296 have been discouraged.
2298 They are relics from a time where a keyword like #:foo was used
2299 directly as a Tcl option "-foo" and thus keywords were internally
2300 stored as a symbol with a starting dash. We now store a symbol
2303 Use symbol->keyword and keyword->symbol instead.
2305 ** The `cheap' debug option is now obsolete
2307 Evaluator trap calls are now unconditionally "cheap" - in other words,
2308 they pass a debug object to the trap handler rather than a full
2309 continuation. The trap handler code can capture a full continuation
2310 by using `call-with-current-continuation' in the usual way, if it so
2313 The `cheap' option is retained for now so as not to break existing
2314 code which gets or sets it, but setting it now has no effect. It will
2315 be removed in the next major Guile release.
2317 ** Evaluator trap calls now support `tweaking'
2319 `Tweaking' means that the trap handler code can modify the Scheme
2320 expression that is about to be evaluated (in the case of an
2321 enter-frame trap) or the value that is being returned (in the case of
2322 an exit-frame trap). The trap handler code indicates that it wants to
2323 do this by returning a pair whose car is the symbol 'instead and whose
2324 cdr is the modified expression or return value.
2326 * Changes to the C interface
2328 ** The functions scm_hash_fn_remove_x and scm_hashx_remove_x no longer
2329 take a 'delete' function argument.
2331 This argument makes no sense since the delete function is used to
2332 remove a pair from an alist, and this must not be configurable.
2334 This is an incompatible change.
2336 ** The GH interface is now subject to the deprecation mechanism
2338 The GH interface has been deprecated for quite some time but now it is
2339 actually removed from Guile when it is configured with
2340 --disable-deprecated.
2342 See the manual "Transitioning away from GH" for more information.
2344 ** A new family of functions for converting between C values and
2345 Scheme values has been added.
2347 These functions follow a common naming scheme and are designed to be
2348 easier to use, thread-safe and more future-proof than the older
2351 - int scm_is_* (...)
2353 These are predicates that return a C boolean: 1 or 0. Instead of
2354 SCM_NFALSEP, you can now use scm_is_true, for example.
2356 - <type> scm_to_<type> (SCM val, ...)
2358 These are functions that convert a Scheme value into an appropriate
2359 C value. For example, you can use scm_to_int to safely convert from
2362 - SCM scm_from_<type> (<type> val, ...)
2364 These functions convert from a C type to a SCM value; for example,
2365 scm_from_int for ints.
2367 There is a huge number of these functions, for numbers, strings,
2368 symbols, vectors, etc. They are documented in the reference manual in
2369 the API section together with the types that they apply to.
2371 ** New functions for dealing with complex numbers in C have been added.
2373 The new functions are scm_c_make_rectangular, scm_c_make_polar,
2374 scm_c_real_part, scm_c_imag_part, scm_c_magnitude and scm_c_angle.
2375 They work like scm_make_rectangular etc but take or return doubles
2378 ** The function scm_make_complex has been discouraged.
2380 Use scm_c_make_rectangular instead.
2382 ** The INUM macros have been deprecated.
2384 A lot of code uses these macros to do general integer conversions,
2385 although the macros only work correctly with fixnums. Use the
2386 following alternatives.
2388 SCM_INUMP -> scm_is_integer or similar
2389 SCM_NINUMP -> !scm_is_integer or similar
2390 SCM_MAKINUM -> scm_from_int or similar
2391 SCM_INUM -> scm_to_int or similar
2393 SCM_VALIDATE_INUM_* -> Do not use these; scm_to_int, etc. will
2394 do the validating for you.
2396 ** The scm_num2<type> and scm_<type>2num functions and scm_make_real
2397 have been discouraged.
2399 Use the newer scm_to_<type> and scm_from_<type> functions instead for
2400 new code. The functions have been discouraged since they don't fit
2403 ** The 'boolean' macros SCM_FALSEP etc have been discouraged.
2405 They have strange names, especially SCM_NFALSEP, and SCM_BOOLP
2406 evaluates its argument twice. Use scm_is_true, etc. instead for new
2409 ** The macro SCM_EQ_P has been discouraged.
2411 Use scm_is_eq for new code, which fits better into the naming
2414 ** The macros SCM_CONSP, SCM_NCONSP, SCM_NULLP, and SCM_NNULLP have
2417 Use the function scm_is_pair or scm_is_null instead.
2419 ** The functions scm_round and scm_truncate have been deprecated and
2420 are now available as scm_c_round and scm_c_truncate, respectively.
2422 These functions occupy the names that scm_round_number and
2423 scm_truncate_number should have.
2425 ** The functions scm_c_string2str, scm_c_substring2str, and
2426 scm_c_symbol2str have been deprecated.
2428 Use scm_to_locale_stringbuf or similar instead, maybe together with
2431 ** New functions scm_c_make_string, scm_c_string_length,
2432 scm_c_string_ref, scm_c_string_set_x, scm_c_substring,
2433 scm_c_substring_shared, scm_c_substring_copy.
2435 These are like scm_make_string, scm_length, etc. but are slightly
2436 easier to use from C.
2438 ** The macros SCM_STRINGP, SCM_STRING_CHARS, SCM_STRING_LENGTH,
2439 SCM_SYMBOL_CHARS, and SCM_SYMBOL_LENGTH have been deprecated.
2441 They export too many assumptions about the implementation of strings
2442 and symbols that are no longer true in the presence of
2443 mutation-sharing substrings and when Guile switches to some form of
2446 When working with strings, it is often best to use the normal string
2447 functions provided by Guile, such as scm_c_string_ref,
2448 scm_c_string_set_x, scm_string_append, etc. Be sure to look in the
2449 manual since many more such functions are now provided than
2452 When you want to convert a SCM string to a C string, use the
2453 scm_to_locale_string function or similar instead. For symbols, use
2454 scm_symbol_to_string and then work with that string. Because of the
2455 new string representation, scm_symbol_to_string does not need to copy
2456 and is thus quite efficient.
2458 ** Some string, symbol and keyword functions have been discouraged.
2460 They don't fit into the uniform naming scheme and are not explicit
2461 about the character encoding.
2463 Replace according to the following table:
2465 scm_allocate_string -> scm_c_make_string
2466 scm_take_str -> scm_take_locale_stringn
2467 scm_take0str -> scm_take_locale_string
2468 scm_mem2string -> scm_from_locale_stringn
2469 scm_str2string -> scm_from_locale_string
2470 scm_makfrom0str -> scm_from_locale_string
2471 scm_mem2symbol -> scm_from_locale_symboln
2472 scm_mem2uninterned_symbol -> scm_from_locale_stringn + scm_make_symbol
2473 scm_str2symbol -> scm_from_locale_symbol
2475 SCM_SYMBOL_HASH -> scm_hashq
2476 SCM_SYMBOL_INTERNED_P -> scm_symbol_interned_p
2478 scm_c_make_keyword -> scm_from_locale_keyword
2480 ** The functions scm_keyword_to_symbol and sym_symbol_to_keyword are
2481 now also available to C code.
2483 ** SCM_KEYWORDP and SCM_KEYWORDSYM have been deprecated.
2485 Use scm_is_keyword and scm_keyword_to_symbol instead, but note that
2486 the latter returns the true name of the keyword, not the 'dash name',
2487 as SCM_KEYWORDSYM used to do.
2489 ** A new way to access arrays in a thread-safe and efficient way has
2492 See the manual, node "Accessing Arrays From C".
2494 ** The old uniform vector and bitvector implementations have been
2495 unceremoniously removed.
2497 This implementation exposed the details of the tagging system of
2498 Guile. Use the new C API explained in the manual in node "Uniform
2499 Numeric Vectors" and "Bit Vectors", respectively.
2501 The following macros are gone: SCM_UVECTOR_BASE, SCM_SET_UVECTOR_BASE,
2502 SCM_UVECTOR_MAXLENGTH, SCM_UVECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_MAKE_UVECTOR_TAG,
2503 SCM_SET_UVECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_BITVECTOR_P, SCM_BITVECTOR_BASE,
2504 SCM_SET_BITVECTOR_BASE, SCM_BITVECTOR_MAX_LENGTH,
2505 SCM_BITVECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_MAKE_BITVECTOR_TAG,
2506 SCM_SET_BITVECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_BITVEC_REF, SCM_BITVEC_SET,
2509 ** The macros dealing with vectors have been deprecated.
2511 Use the new functions scm_is_vector, scm_vector_elements,
2512 scm_vector_writable_elements, etc, or scm_is_simple_vector,
2513 SCM_SIMPLE_VECTOR_REF, SCM_SIMPLE_VECTOR_SET, etc instead. See the
2514 manual for more details.
2516 Deprecated are SCM_VECTORP, SCM_VELTS, SCM_VECTOR_MAX_LENGTH,
2517 SCM_VECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_VECTOR_REF, SCM_VECTOR_SET, SCM_WRITABLE_VELTS.
2519 The following macros have been removed: SCM_VECTOR_BASE,
2520 SCM_SET_VECTOR_BASE, SCM_MAKE_VECTOR_TAG, SCM_SET_VECTOR_LENGTH,
2521 SCM_VELTS_AS_STACKITEMS, SCM_SETVELTS, SCM_GC_WRITABLE_VELTS.
2523 ** Some C functions and macros related to arrays have been deprecated.
2525 Migrate according to the following table:
2527 scm_make_uve -> scm_make_typed_array, scm_make_u8vector etc.
2528 scm_make_ra -> scm_make_array
2529 scm_shap2ra -> scm_make_array
2530 scm_cvref -> scm_c_generalized_vector_ref
2531 scm_ra_set_contp -> do not use
2532 scm_aind -> scm_array_handle_pos
2533 scm_raprin1 -> scm_display or scm_write
2535 SCM_ARRAYP -> scm_is_array
2536 SCM_ARRAY_NDIM -> scm_c_array_rank
2537 SCM_ARRAY_DIMS -> scm_array_handle_dims
2538 SCM_ARRAY_CONTP -> do not use
2539 SCM_ARRAY_MEM -> do not use
2540 SCM_ARRAY_V -> scm_array_handle_elements or similar
2541 SCM_ARRAY_BASE -> do not use
2543 ** SCM_CELL_WORD_LOC has been deprecated.
2545 Use the new macro SCM_CELL_OBJECT_LOC instead, which returns a pointer
2546 to a SCM, as opposed to a pointer to a scm_t_bits.
2548 This was done to allow the correct use of pointers into the Scheme
2549 heap. Previously, the heap words were of type scm_t_bits and local
2550 variables and function arguments were of type SCM, making it
2551 non-standards-conformant to have a pointer that can point to both.
2553 ** New macros SCM_SMOB_DATA_2, SCM_SMOB_DATA_3, etc.
2555 These macros should be used instead of SCM_CELL_WORD_2/3 to access the
2556 second and third words of double smobs. Likewise for
2557 SCM_SET_SMOB_DATA_2 and SCM_SET_SMOB_DATA_3.
2559 Also, there is SCM_SMOB_FLAGS and SCM_SET_SMOB_FLAGS that should be
2560 used to get and set the 16 exra bits in the zeroth word of a smob.
2562 And finally, there is SCM_SMOB_OBJECT and SCM_SMOB_SET_OBJECT for
2563 accesing the first immediate word of a smob as a SCM value, and there
2564 is SCM_SMOB_OBJECT_LOC for getting a pointer to the first immediate
2565 smob word. Like wise for SCM_SMOB_OBJECT_2, etc.
2567 ** New way to deal with non-local exits and re-entries.
2569 There is a new set of functions that essentially do what
2570 scm_internal_dynamic_wind does, but in a way that is more convenient
2571 for C code in some situations. Here is a quick example of how to
2572 prevent a potential memory leak:
2579 scm_dynwind_begin (0);
2581 mem = scm_malloc (100);
2582 scm_dynwind_unwind_handler (free, mem, SCM_F_WIND_EXPLICITLY);
2584 /* MEM would leak if BAR throws an error.
2585 SCM_DYNWIND_UNWIND_HANDLER frees it nevertheless.
2592 /* Because of SCM_F_WIND_EXPLICITLY, MEM will be freed by
2593 SCM_DYNWIND_END as well.
2597 For full documentation, see the node "Dynamic Wind" in the manual.
2599 ** New function scm_dynwind_free
2601 This function calls 'free' on a given pointer when a dynwind context
2602 is left. Thus the call to scm_dynwind_unwind_handler above could be
2603 replaced with simply scm_dynwind_free (mem).
2605 ** New functions scm_c_call_with_blocked_asyncs and
2606 scm_c_call_with_unblocked_asyncs
2608 Like scm_call_with_blocked_asyncs etc. but for C functions.
2610 ** New functions scm_dynwind_block_asyncs and scm_dynwind_unblock_asyncs
2612 In addition to scm_c_call_with_blocked_asyncs you can now also use
2613 scm_dynwind_block_asyncs in a 'dynwind context' (see above). Likewise for
2614 scm_c_call_with_unblocked_asyncs and scm_dynwind_unblock_asyncs.
2616 ** The macros SCM_DEFER_INTS, SCM_ALLOW_INTS, SCM_REDEFER_INTS,
2617 SCM_REALLOW_INTS have been deprecated.
2619 They do no longer fulfill their original role of blocking signal
2620 delivery. Depending on what you want to achieve, replace a pair of
2621 SCM_DEFER_INTS and SCM_ALLOW_INTS with a dynwind context that locks a
2622 mutex, blocks asyncs, or both. See node "Critical Sections" in the
2625 ** The value 'scm_mask_ints' is no longer writable.
2627 Previously, you could set scm_mask_ints directly. This is no longer
2628 possible. Use scm_c_call_with_blocked_asyncs and
2629 scm_c_call_with_unblocked_asyncs instead.
2631 ** New way to temporarily set the current input, output or error ports
2633 C code can now use scm_dynwind_current_<foo>_port in a 'dynwind
2634 context' (see above). <foo> is one of "input", "output" or "error".
2636 ** New way to temporarily set fluids
2638 C code can now use scm_dynwind_fluid in a 'dynwind context' (see
2639 above) to temporarily set the value of a fluid.
2641 ** New types scm_t_intmax and scm_t_uintmax.
2643 On platforms that have them, these types are identical to intmax_t and
2644 uintmax_t, respectively. On other platforms, they are identical to
2645 the largest integer types that Guile knows about.
2647 ** The functions scm_unmemocopy and scm_unmemoize have been removed.
2649 You should not have used them.
2651 ** Many public #defines with generic names have been made private.
2653 #defines with generic names like HAVE_FOO or SIZEOF_FOO have been made
2654 private or renamed with a more suitable public name.
2656 ** The macro SCM_TYP16S has been deprecated.
2658 This macro is not intended for public use.
2660 ** The macro SCM_SLOPPY_INEXACTP has been deprecated.
2662 Use scm_is_true (scm_inexact_p (...)) instead.
2664 ** The macro SCM_SLOPPY_REALP has been deprecated.
2666 Use scm_is_real instead.
2668 ** The macro SCM_SLOPPY_COMPLEXP has been deprecated.
2670 Use scm_is_complex instead.
2672 ** Some preprocessor defines have been deprecated.
2674 These defines indicated whether a certain feature was present in Guile
2675 or not. Going forward, assume that the features are always present.
2677 The macros are: USE_THREADS, GUILE_ISELECT, READER_EXTENSIONS,
2678 DEBUG_EXTENSIONS, DYNAMIC_LINKING.
2680 The following macros have been removed completely: MEMOIZE_LOCALS,
2681 SCM_RECKLESS, SCM_CAUTIOUS.
2683 ** The preprocessor define STACK_DIRECTION has been deprecated.
2685 There should be no need to know about the stack direction for ordinary
2688 ** New function: scm_effective_version
2690 Returns the "effective" version number. This is just the normal full
2691 version string without the final micro-version number. See "Changes
2692 to the distribution" above.
2694 ** The function scm_call_with_new_thread has a new prototype.
2696 Instead of taking a list with the thunk and handler, these two
2697 arguments are now passed directly:
2699 SCM scm_call_with_new_thread (SCM thunk, SCM handler);
2701 This is an incompatible change.
2703 ** New snarfer macro SCM_DEFINE_PUBLIC.
2705 This is like SCM_DEFINE, but also calls scm_c_export for the defined
2706 function in the init section.
2708 ** The snarfer macro SCM_SNARF_INIT is now officially supported.
2710 ** Garbage collector rewrite.
2712 The garbage collector is cleaned up a lot, and now uses lazy
2713 sweeping. This is reflected in the output of (gc-stats); since cells
2714 are being freed when they are allocated, the cells-allocated field
2715 stays roughly constant.
2717 For malloc related triggers, the behavior is changed. It uses the same
2718 heuristic as the cell-triggered collections. It may be tuned with the
2719 environment variables GUILE_MIN_YIELD_MALLOC. This is the percentage
2720 for minimum yield of malloc related triggers. The default is 40.
2721 GUILE_INIT_MALLOC_LIMIT sets the initial trigger for doing a GC. The
2724 Debugging operations for the freelist have been deprecated, along with
2725 the C variables that control garbage collection. The environment
2726 variables GUILE_MAX_SEGMENT_SIZE, GUILE_INIT_SEGMENT_SIZE_2,
2727 GUILE_INIT_SEGMENT_SIZE_1, and GUILE_MIN_YIELD_2 should be used.
2729 For understanding the memory usage of a GUILE program, the routine
2730 gc-live-object-stats returns an alist containing the number of live
2731 objects for every type.
2734 ** The function scm_definedp has been renamed to scm_defined_p
2736 The name scm_definedp is deprecated.
2738 ** The struct scm_cell type has been renamed to scm_t_cell
2740 This is in accordance to Guile's naming scheme for types. Note that
2741 the name scm_cell is now used for a function that allocates and
2742 initializes a new cell (see below).
2744 ** New functions for memory management
2746 A new set of functions for memory management has been added since the
2747 old way (scm_must_malloc, scm_must_free, etc) was error prone and
2748 indeed, Guile itself contained some long standing bugs that could
2749 cause aborts in long running programs.
2751 The new functions are more symmetrical and do not need cooperation
2752 from smob free routines, among other improvements.
2754 The new functions are scm_malloc, scm_realloc, scm_calloc, scm_strdup,
2755 scm_strndup, scm_gc_malloc, scm_gc_calloc, scm_gc_realloc,
2756 scm_gc_free, scm_gc_register_collectable_memory, and
2757 scm_gc_unregister_collectable_memory. Refer to the manual for more
2758 details and for upgrading instructions.
2760 The old functions for memory management have been deprecated. They
2761 are: scm_must_malloc, scm_must_realloc, scm_must_free,
2762 scm_must_strdup, scm_must_strndup, scm_done_malloc, scm_done_free.
2764 ** Declarations of exported features are marked with SCM_API.
2766 Every declaration of a feature that belongs to the exported Guile API
2767 has been marked by adding the macro "SCM_API" to the start of the
2768 declaration. This macro can expand into different things, the most
2769 common of which is just "extern" for Unix platforms. On Win32, it can
2770 be used to control which symbols are exported from a DLL.
2772 If you `#define SCM_IMPORT' before including <libguile.h>, SCM_API
2773 will expand into "__declspec (dllimport) extern", which is needed for
2774 linking to the Guile DLL in Windows.
2776 There are also SCM_RL_IMPORT, SCM_SRFI1314_IMPORT, and
2777 SCM_SRFI4_IMPORT, for the corresponding libraries.
2779 ** SCM_NEWCELL and SCM_NEWCELL2 have been deprecated.
2781 Use the new functions scm_cell and scm_double_cell instead. The old
2782 macros had problems because with them allocation and initialization
2783 was separated and the GC could sometimes observe half initialized
2784 cells. Only careful coding by the user of SCM_NEWCELL and
2785 SCM_NEWCELL2 could make this safe and efficient.
2787 ** CHECK_ENTRY, CHECK_APPLY and CHECK_EXIT have been deprecated.
2789 Use the variables scm_check_entry_p, scm_check_apply_p and scm_check_exit_p
2792 ** SRCBRKP has been deprecated.
2794 Use scm_c_source_property_breakpoint_p instead.
2796 ** Deprecated: scm_makmacro
2798 Change your code to use either scm_makmmacro or to define macros in
2799 Scheme, using 'define-macro'.
2801 ** New function scm_c_port_for_each.
2803 This function is like scm_port_for_each but takes a pointer to a C
2804 function as the callback instead of a SCM value.
2806 ** The names scm_internal_select, scm_thread_sleep, and
2807 scm_thread_usleep have been discouraged.
2809 Use scm_std_select, scm_std_sleep, scm_std_usleep instead.
2811 ** The GC can no longer be blocked.
2813 The global flags scm_gc_heap_lock and scm_block_gc have been removed.
2814 The GC can now run (partially) concurrently with other code and thus
2815 blocking it is not well defined.
2817 ** Many definitions have been removed that were previously deprecated.
2819 scm_lisp_nil, scm_lisp_t, s_nil_ify, scm_m_nil_ify, s_t_ify,
2820 scm_m_t_ify, s_0_cond, scm_m_0_cond, s_0_ify, scm_m_0_ify, s_1_ify,
2821 scm_m_1_ify, scm_debug_newcell, scm_debug_newcell2,
2822 scm_tc16_allocated, SCM_SET_SYMBOL_HASH, SCM_IM_NIL_IFY, SCM_IM_T_IFY,
2823 SCM_IM_0_COND, SCM_IM_0_IFY, SCM_IM_1_IFY, SCM_GC_SET_ALLOCATED,
2824 scm_debug_newcell, scm_debug_newcell2, SCM_HUP_SIGNAL, SCM_INT_SIGNAL,
2825 SCM_FPE_SIGNAL, SCM_BUS_SIGNAL, SCM_SEGV_SIGNAL, SCM_ALRM_SIGNAL,
2826 SCM_GC_SIGNAL, SCM_TICK_SIGNAL, SCM_SIG_ORD, SCM_ORD_SIG,
2827 SCM_NUM_SIGS, scm_top_level_lookup_closure_var,
2828 *top-level-lookup-closure*, scm_system_transformer, scm_eval_3,
2829 scm_eval2, root_module_lookup_closure, SCM_SLOPPY_STRINGP,
2830 SCM_RWSTRINGP, scm_read_only_string_p, scm_make_shared_substring,
2831 scm_tc7_substring, sym_huh, SCM_VARVCELL, SCM_UDVARIABLEP,
2832 SCM_DEFVARIABLEP, scm_mkbig, scm_big2inum, scm_adjbig, scm_normbig,
2833 scm_copybig, scm_2ulong2big, scm_dbl2big, scm_big2dbl, SCM_FIXNUM_BIT,
2834 SCM_SETCHARS, SCM_SLOPPY_SUBSTRP, SCM_SUBSTR_STR, SCM_SUBSTR_OFFSET,
2835 SCM_LENGTH_MAX, SCM_SETLENGTH, SCM_ROSTRINGP, SCM_ROLENGTH,
2836 SCM_ROCHARS, SCM_ROUCHARS, SCM_SUBSTRP, SCM_COERCE_SUBSTR,
2837 scm_sym2vcell, scm_intern, scm_intern0, scm_sysintern, scm_sysintern0,
2838 scm_sysintern0_no_module_lookup, scm_init_symbols_deprecated,
2839 scm_vector_set_length_x, scm_contregs, scm_debug_info,
2840 scm_debug_frame, SCM_DSIDEVAL, SCM_CONST_LONG, SCM_VCELL,
2841 SCM_GLOBAL_VCELL, SCM_VCELL_INIT, SCM_GLOBAL_VCELL_INIT,
2842 SCM_HUGE_LENGTH, SCM_VALIDATE_STRINGORSUBSTR, SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING,
2843 SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING_COPY, SCM_VALIDATE_NULLORROSTRING_COPY,
2844 SCM_VALIDATE_RWSTRING, DIGITS, scm_small_istr2int, scm_istr2int,
2845 scm_istr2flo, scm_istring2number, scm_istr2int, scm_istr2flo,
2846 scm_istring2number, scm_vtable_index_vcell, scm_si_vcell, SCM_ECONSP,
2847 SCM_NECONSP, SCM_GLOC_VAR, SCM_GLOC_VAL, SCM_GLOC_SET_VAL,
2848 SCM_GLOC_VAL_LOC, scm_make_gloc, scm_gloc_p, scm_tc16_variable,
2849 SCM_CHARS, SCM_LENGTH, SCM_SET_STRING_CHARS, SCM_SET_STRING_LENGTH.
2851 * Changes to bundled modules
2855 Using the (ice-9 debug) module no longer automatically switches Guile
2856 to use the debugging evaluator. If you want to switch to the
2857 debugging evaluator (which is needed for backtrace information if you
2858 hit an error), please add an explicit "(debug-enable 'debug)" to your
2859 code just after the code to use (ice-9 debug).
2862 Changes since Guile 1.4:
2864 * Changes to the distribution
2866 ** A top-level TODO file is included.
2868 ** Guile now uses a versioning scheme similar to that of the Linux kernel.
2870 Guile now always uses three numbers to represent the version,
2871 i.e. "1.6.5". The first number, 1, is the major version number, the
2872 second number, 6, is the minor version number, and the third number,
2873 5, is the micro version number. Changes in major version number
2874 indicate major changes in Guile.
2876 Minor version numbers that are even denote stable releases, and odd
2877 minor version numbers denote development versions (which may be
2878 unstable). The micro version number indicates a minor sub-revision of
2879 a given MAJOR.MINOR release.
2881 In keeping with the new scheme, (minor-version) and scm_minor_version
2882 no longer return everything but the major version number. They now
2883 just return the minor version number. Two new functions
2884 (micro-version) and scm_micro_version have been added to report the
2885 micro version number.
2887 In addition, ./GUILE-VERSION now defines GUILE_MICRO_VERSION.
2889 ** New preprocessor definitions are available for checking versions.
2891 version.h now #defines SCM_MAJOR_VERSION, SCM_MINOR_VERSION, and
2892 SCM_MICRO_VERSION to the appropriate integer values.
2894 ** Guile now actively warns about deprecated features.
2896 The new configure option `--enable-deprecated=LEVEL' and the
2897 environment variable GUILE_WARN_DEPRECATED control this mechanism.
2898 See INSTALL and README for more information.
2900 ** Guile is much more likely to work on 64-bit architectures.
2902 Guile now compiles and passes "make check" with only two UNRESOLVED GC
2903 cases on Alpha and ia64 based machines now. Thanks to John Goerzen
2904 for the use of a test machine, and thanks to Stefan Jahn for ia64
2907 ** New functions: setitimer and getitimer.
2909 These implement a fairly direct interface to the libc functions of the
2912 ** The #. reader extension is now disabled by default.
2914 For safety reasons, #. evaluation is disabled by default. To
2915 re-enable it, set the fluid read-eval? to #t. For example:
2917 (fluid-set! read-eval? #t)
2919 but make sure you realize the potential security risks involved. With
2920 read-eval? enabled, reading a data file from an untrusted source can
2923 ** New SRFI modules have been added:
2925 SRFI-0 `cond-expand' is now supported in Guile, without requiring
2928 (srfi srfi-1) is a library containing many useful pair- and list-processing
2931 (srfi srfi-2) exports and-let*.
2933 (srfi srfi-4) implements homogeneous numeric vector datatypes.
2935 (srfi srfi-6) is a dummy module for now, since guile already provides
2936 all of the srfi-6 procedures by default: open-input-string,
2937 open-output-string, get-output-string.
2939 (srfi srfi-8) exports receive.
2941 (srfi srfi-9) exports define-record-type.
2943 (srfi srfi-10) exports define-reader-ctor and implements the reader
2946 (srfi srfi-11) exports let-values and let*-values.
2948 (srfi srfi-13) implements the SRFI String Library.
2950 (srfi srfi-14) implements the SRFI Character-Set Library.
2952 (srfi srfi-17) implements setter and getter-with-setter and redefines
2953 some accessor procedures as procedures with getters. (such as car,
2954 cdr, vector-ref etc.)
2956 (srfi srfi-19) implements the SRFI Time/Date Library.
2958 ** New scripts / "executable modules"
2960 Subdirectory "scripts" contains Scheme modules that are packaged to
2961 also be executable as scripts. At this time, these scripts are available:
2970 See README there for more info.
2972 These scripts can be invoked from the shell with the new program
2973 "guile-tools", which keeps track of installation directory for you.
2976 $ guile-tools display-commentary srfi/*.scm
2978 guile-tools is copied to the standard $bindir on "make install".
2980 ** New module (ice-9 stack-catch):
2982 stack-catch is like catch, but saves the current state of the stack in
2983 the fluid the-last-stack. This fluid can be useful when using the
2984 debugger and when re-throwing an error.
2986 ** The module (ice-9 and-let*) has been renamed to (ice-9 and-let-star)
2988 This has been done to prevent problems on lesser operating systems
2989 that can't tolerate `*'s in file names. The exported macro continues
2990 to be named `and-let*', of course.
2992 On systems that support it, there is also a compatibility module named
2993 (ice-9 and-let*). It will go away in the next release.
2995 ** New modules (oop goops) etc.:
2998 (oop goops describe)
3000 (oop goops active-slot)
3001 (oop goops composite-slot)
3003 The Guile Object Oriented Programming System (GOOPS) has been
3004 integrated into Guile. For further information, consult the GOOPS
3005 manual and tutorial in the `doc' directory.
3007 ** New module (ice-9 rdelim).
3009 This exports the following procedures which were previously defined
3010 in the default environment:
3012 read-line read-line! read-delimited read-delimited! %read-delimited!
3013 %read-line write-line
3015 For backwards compatibility the definitions are still imported into the
3016 default environment in this version of Guile. However you should add:
3018 (use-modules (ice-9 rdelim))
3020 to any program which uses the definitions, since this may change in
3023 Alternatively, if guile-scsh is installed, the (scsh rdelim) module
3024 can be used for similar functionality.
3026 ** New module (ice-9 rw)
3028 This is a subset of the (scsh rw) module from guile-scsh. Currently
3029 it defines two procedures:
3031 *** New function: read-string!/partial str [port_or_fdes [start [end]]]
3033 Read characters from a port or file descriptor into a string STR.
3034 A port must have an underlying file descriptor -- a so-called
3035 fport. This procedure is scsh-compatible and can efficiently read
3038 *** New function: write-string/partial str [port_or_fdes [start [end]]]
3040 Write characters from a string STR to a port or file descriptor.
3041 A port must have an underlying file descriptor -- a so-called
3042 fport. This procedure is mostly compatible and can efficiently
3043 write large strings.
3045 ** New module (ice-9 match)
3047 This module includes Andrew K. Wright's pattern matcher. See
3048 ice-9/match.scm for brief description or
3050 http://www.star-lab.com/wright/code.html
3052 for complete documentation.
3054 ** New module (ice-9 buffered-input)
3056 This module provides procedures to construct an input port from an
3057 underlying source of input that reads and returns its input in chunks.
3058 The underlying input source is a Scheme procedure, specified by the
3059 caller, which the port invokes whenever it needs more input.
3061 This is useful when building an input port whose back end is Readline
3062 or a UI element such as the GtkEntry widget.
3066 The reference and tutorial documentation that was previously
3067 distributed separately, as `guile-doc', is now included in the core
3068 Guile distribution. The documentation consists of the following
3071 - The Guile Tutorial (guile-tut.texi) contains a tutorial introduction
3074 - The Guile Reference Manual (guile.texi) contains (or is intended to
3075 contain) reference documentation on all aspects of Guile.
3077 - The GOOPS Manual (goops.texi) contains both tutorial-style and
3078 reference documentation for using GOOPS, Guile's Object Oriented
3081 - The Revised^5 Report on the Algorithmic Language Scheme
3084 See the README file in the `doc' directory for more details.
3086 ** There are a couple of examples in the examples/ directory now.
3088 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
3090 ** New command line option `--use-srfi'
3092 Using this option, SRFI modules can be loaded on startup and be
3093 available right from the beginning. This makes programming portable
3094 Scheme programs easier.
3096 The option `--use-srfi' expects a comma-separated list of numbers,
3097 each representing a SRFI number to be loaded into the interpreter
3098 before starting evaluating a script file or the REPL. Additionally,
3099 the feature identifier for the loaded SRFIs is recognized by
3100 `cond-expand' when using this option.
3103 $ guile --use-srfi=8,13
3104 guile> (receive (x z) (values 1 2) (+ 1 2))
3106 guile> (string-pad "bla" 20)
3109 ** Guile now always starts up in the `(guile-user)' module.
3111 Previously, scripts executed via the `-s' option would run in the
3112 `(guile)' module and the repl would run in the `(guile-user)' module.
3113 Now every user action takes place in the `(guile-user)' module by
3116 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
3118 ** Character classifiers work for non-ASCII characters.
3120 The predicates `char-alphabetic?', `char-numeric?',
3121 `char-whitespace?', `char-lower?', `char-upper?' and `char-is-both?'
3122 no longer check whether their arguments are ASCII characters.
3123 Previously, a character would only be considered alphabetic when it
3124 was also ASCII, for example.
3126 ** Previously deprecated Scheme functions have been removed:
3128 tag - no replacement.
3129 fseek - replaced by seek.
3130 list* - replaced by cons*.
3132 ** It's now possible to create modules with controlled environments
3136 (use-modules (ice-9 safe))
3137 (define m (make-safe-module))
3138 ;;; m will now be a module containing only a safe subset of R5RS
3139 (eval '(+ 1 2) m) --> 3
3140 (eval 'load m) --> ERROR: Unbound variable: load
3142 ** Evaluation of "()", the empty list, is now an error.
3144 Previously, the expression "()" evaluated to the empty list. This has
3145 been changed to signal a "missing expression" error. The correct way
3146 to write the empty list as a literal constant is to use quote: "'()".
3148 ** New concept of `Guile Extensions'.
3150 A Guile Extension is just a ordinary shared library that can be linked
3151 at run-time. We found it advantageous to give this simple concept a
3152 dedicated name to distinguish the issues related to shared libraries
3153 from the issues related to the module system.
3155 *** New function: load-extension
3157 Executing (load-extension lib init) is mostly equivalent to
3159 (dynamic-call init (dynamic-link lib))
3161 except when scm_register_extension has been called previously.
3162 Whenever appropriate, you should use `load-extension' instead of
3163 dynamic-link and dynamic-call.
3165 *** New C function: scm_c_register_extension
3167 This function registers a initialization function for use by
3168 `load-extension'. Use it when you don't want specific extensions to
3169 be loaded as shared libraries (for example on platforms that don't
3170 support dynamic linking).
3172 ** Auto-loading of compiled-code modules is deprecated.
3174 Guile used to be able to automatically find and link a shared
3175 library to satisfy requests for a module. For example, the module
3176 `(foo bar)' could be implemented by placing a shared library named
3177 "foo/libbar.so" (or with a different extension) in a directory on the
3180 This has been found to be too tricky, and is no longer supported. The
3181 shared libraries are now called "extensions". You should now write a
3182 small Scheme file that calls `load-extension' to load the shared
3183 library and initialize it explicitly.
3185 The shared libraries themselves should be installed in the usual
3186 places for shared libraries, with names like "libguile-foo-bar".
3188 For example, place this into a file "foo/bar.scm"
3190 (define-module (foo bar))
3192 (load-extension "libguile-foo-bar" "foobar_init")
3194 ** Backward incompatible change: eval EXP ENVIRONMENT-SPECIFIER
3196 `eval' is now R5RS, that is it takes two arguments.
3197 The second argument is an environment specifier, i.e. either
3199 (scheme-report-environment 5)
3200 (null-environment 5)
3201 (interaction-environment)
3207 ** The module system has been made more disciplined.
3209 The function `eval' will save and restore the current module around
3210 the evaluation of the specified expression. While this expression is
3211 evaluated, `(current-module)' will now return the right module, which
3212 is the module specified as the second argument to `eval'.
3214 A consequence of this change is that `eval' is not particularly
3215 useful when you want allow the evaluated code to change what module is
3216 designated as the current module and have this change persist from one
3217 call to `eval' to the next. The read-eval-print-loop is an example
3218 where `eval' is now inadequate. To compensate, there is a new
3219 function `primitive-eval' that does not take a module specifier and
3220 that does not save/restore the current module. You should use this
3221 function together with `set-current-module', `current-module', etc
3222 when you want to have more control over the state that is carried from
3223 one eval to the next.
3225 Additionally, it has been made sure that forms that are evaluated at
3226 the top level are always evaluated with respect to the current module.
3227 Previously, subforms of top-level forms such as `begin', `case',
3228 etc. did not respect changes to the current module although these
3229 subforms are at the top-level as well.
3231 To prevent strange behavior, the forms `define-module',
3232 `use-modules', `use-syntax', and `export' have been restricted to only
3233 work on the top level. The forms `define-public' and
3234 `defmacro-public' only export the new binding on the top level. They
3235 behave just like `define' and `defmacro', respectively, when they are
3236 used in a lexical environment.
3238 Also, `export' will no longer silently re-export bindings imported
3239 from a used module. It will emit a `deprecation' warning and will
3240 cease to perform any re-export in the next version. If you actually
3241 want to re-export bindings, use the new `re-export' in place of
3242 `export'. The new `re-export' will not make copies of variables when
3243 rexporting them, as `export' did wrongly.
3245 ** Module system now allows selection and renaming of imported bindings
3247 Previously, when using `use-modules' or the `#:use-module' clause in
3248 the `define-module' form, all the bindings (association of symbols to
3249 values) for imported modules were added to the "current module" on an
3250 as-is basis. This has been changed to allow finer control through two
3251 new facilities: selection and renaming.
3253 You can now select which of the imported module's bindings are to be
3254 visible in the current module by using the `:select' clause. This
3255 clause also can be used to rename individual bindings. For example:
3257 ;; import all bindings no questions asked
3258 (use-modules (ice-9 common-list))
3260 ;; import four bindings, renaming two of them;
3261 ;; the current module sees: every some zonk-y zonk-n
3262 (use-modules ((ice-9 common-list)
3264 (remove-if . zonk-y)
3265 (remove-if-not . zonk-n))))
3267 You can also programmatically rename all selected bindings using the
3268 `:renamer' clause, which specifies a proc that takes a symbol and
3269 returns another symbol. Because it is common practice to use a prefix,
3270 we now provide the convenience procedure `symbol-prefix-proc'. For
3273 ;; import four bindings, renaming two of them specifically,
3274 ;; and all four w/ prefix "CL:";
3275 ;; the current module sees: CL:every CL:some CL:zonk-y CL:zonk-n
3276 (use-modules ((ice-9 common-list)
3278 (remove-if . zonk-y)
3279 (remove-if-not . zonk-n))
3280 :renamer (symbol-prefix-proc 'CL:)))
3282 ;; import four bindings, renaming two of them specifically,
3283 ;; and all four by upcasing.
3284 ;; the current module sees: EVERY SOME ZONK-Y ZONK-N
3285 (define (upcase-symbol sym)
3286 (string->symbol (string-upcase (symbol->string sym))))
3288 (use-modules ((ice-9 common-list)
3290 (remove-if . zonk-y)
3291 (remove-if-not . zonk-n))
3292 :renamer upcase-symbol))
3294 Note that programmatic renaming is done *after* individual renaming.
3295 Also, the above examples show `use-modules', but the same facilities are
3296 available for the `#:use-module' clause of `define-module'.
3298 See manual for more info.
3300 ** The semantics of guardians have changed.
3302 The changes are for the most part compatible. An important criterion
3303 was to keep the typical usage of guardians as simple as before, but to
3304 make the semantics safer and (as a result) more useful.
3306 *** All objects returned from guardians are now properly alive.
3308 It is now guaranteed that any object referenced by an object returned
3309 from a guardian is alive. It's now impossible for a guardian to
3310 return a "contained" object before its "containing" object.
3312 One incompatible (but probably not very important) change resulting
3313 from this is that it is no longer possible to guard objects that
3314 indirectly reference themselves (i.e. are parts of cycles). If you do
3315 so accidentally, you'll get a warning.
3317 *** There are now two types of guardians: greedy and sharing.
3319 If you call (make-guardian #t) or just (make-guardian), you'll get a
3320 greedy guardian, and for (make-guardian #f) a sharing guardian.
3322 Greedy guardians are the default because they are more "defensive".
3323 You can only greedily guard an object once. If you guard an object
3324 more than once, once in a greedy guardian and the rest of times in
3325 sharing guardians, then it is guaranteed that the object won't be
3326 returned from sharing guardians as long as it is greedily guarded
3329 Guardians returned by calls to `make-guardian' can now take one more
3330 optional parameter, which says whether to throw an error in case an
3331 attempt is made to greedily guard an object that is already greedily
3332 guarded. The default is true, i.e. throw an error. If the parameter
3333 is false, the guardian invocation returns #t if guarding was
3334 successful and #f if it wasn't.
3336 Also, since greedy guarding is, in effect, a side-effecting operation
3337 on objects, a new function is introduced: `destroy-guardian!'.
3338 Invoking this function on a guardian renders it unoperative and, if
3339 the guardian is greedy, clears the "greedily guarded" property of the
3340 objects that were guarded by it, thus undoing the side effect.
3342 Note that all this hair is hardly very important, since guardian
3343 objects are usually permanent.
3345 ** Continuations created by call-with-current-continuation now accept
3346 any number of arguments, as required by R5RS.
3348 ** New function `issue-deprecation-warning'
3350 This function is used to display the deprecation messages that are
3351 controlled by GUILE_WARN_DEPRECATION as explained in the README.
3354 (issue-deprecation-warning "`id' is deprecated. Use `identity' instead.")
3358 ;; `id' is deprecated. Use `identity' instead.
3363 ** New syntax `begin-deprecated'
3365 When deprecated features are included (as determined by the configure
3366 option --enable-deprecated), `begin-deprecated' is identical to
3367 `begin'. When deprecated features are excluded, it always evaluates
3368 to `#f', ignoring the body forms.
3370 ** New function `make-object-property'
3372 This function returns a new `procedure with setter' P that can be used
3373 to attach a property to objects. When calling P as
3377 where `obj' is any kind of object, it attaches `val' to `obj' in such
3378 a way that it can be retrieved by calling P as
3382 This function will replace procedure properties, symbol properties and
3383 source properties eventually.
3385 ** Module (ice-9 optargs) now uses keywords instead of `#&'.
3387 Instead of #&optional, #&key, etc you should now use #:optional,
3388 #:key, etc. Since #:optional is a keyword, you can write it as just
3389 :optional when (read-set! keywords 'prefix) is active.
3391 The old reader syntax `#&' is still supported, but deprecated. It
3392 will be removed in the next release.
3394 ** New define-module option: pure
3396 Tells the module system not to include any bindings from the root
3401 (define-module (totally-empty-module)
3404 ** New define-module option: export NAME1 ...
3406 Export names NAME1 ...
3408 This option is required if you want to be able to export bindings from
3409 a module which doesn't import one of `define-public' or `export'.
3413 (define-module (foo)
3415 :use-module (ice-9 r5rs)
3418 ;;; Note that we're pure R5RS below this point!
3423 ** New function: object->string OBJ
3425 Return a Scheme string obtained by printing a given object.
3427 ** New function: port? X
3429 Returns a boolean indicating whether X is a port. Equivalent to
3430 `(or (input-port? X) (output-port? X))'.
3432 ** New function: file-port?
3434 Determines whether a given object is a port that is related to a file.
3436 ** New function: port-for-each proc
3438 Apply PROC to each port in the Guile port table in turn. The return
3439 value is unspecified. More specifically, PROC is applied exactly once
3440 to every port that exists in the system at the time PORT-FOR-EACH is
3441 invoked. Changes to the port table while PORT-FOR-EACH is running
3442 have no effect as far as PORT-FOR-EACH is concerned.
3444 ** New function: dup2 oldfd newfd
3446 A simple wrapper for the `dup2' system call. Copies the file
3447 descriptor OLDFD to descriptor number NEWFD, replacing the
3448 previous meaning of NEWFD. Both OLDFD and NEWFD must be integers.
3449 Unlike for dup->fdes or primitive-move->fdes, no attempt is made
3450 to move away ports which are using NEWFD. The return value is
3453 ** New function: close-fdes fd
3455 A simple wrapper for the `close' system call. Close file
3456 descriptor FD, which must be an integer. Unlike close (*note
3457 close: Ports and File Descriptors.), the file descriptor will be
3458 closed even if a port is using it. The return value is
3461 ** New function: crypt password salt
3463 Encrypts `password' using the standard unix password encryption
3466 ** New function: chroot path
3468 Change the root directory of the running process to `path'.
3470 ** New functions: getlogin, cuserid
3472 Return the login name or the user name of the current effective user
3475 ** New functions: getpriority which who, setpriority which who prio
3477 Get or set the priority of the running process.
3479 ** New function: getpass prompt
3481 Read a password from the terminal, first displaying `prompt' and
3484 ** New function: flock file operation
3486 Set/remove an advisory shared or exclusive lock on `file'.
3488 ** New functions: sethostname name, gethostname
3490 Set or get the hostname of the machine the current process is running
3493 ** New function: mkstemp! tmpl
3495 mkstemp creates a new unique file in the file system and returns a
3496 new buffered port open for reading and writing to the file. TMPL
3497 is a string specifying where the file should be created: it must
3498 end with `XXXXXX' and will be changed in place to return the name
3499 of the temporary file.
3501 ** New function: open-input-string string
3503 Return an input string port which delivers the characters from
3504 `string'. This procedure, together with `open-output-string' and
3505 `get-output-string' implements SRFI-6.
3507 ** New function: open-output-string
3509 Return an output string port which collects all data written to it.
3510 The data can then be retrieved by `get-output-string'.
3512 ** New function: get-output-string
3514 Return the contents of an output string port.
3516 ** New function: identity
3518 Return the argument.
3520 ** socket, connect, accept etc., now have support for IPv6. IPv6 addresses
3521 are represented in Scheme as integers with normal host byte ordering.
3523 ** New function: inet-pton family address
3525 Convert a printable string network address into an integer. Note that
3526 unlike the C version of this function, the result is an integer with
3527 normal host byte ordering. FAMILY can be `AF_INET' or `AF_INET6'.
3530 (inet-pton AF_INET "127.0.0.1") => 2130706433
3531 (inet-pton AF_INET6 "::1") => 1
3533 ** New function: inet-ntop family address
3535 Convert an integer network address into a printable string. Note that
3536 unlike the C version of this function, the input is an integer with
3537 normal host byte ordering. FAMILY can be `AF_INET' or `AF_INET6'.
3540 (inet-ntop AF_INET 2130706433) => "127.0.0.1"
3541 (inet-ntop AF_INET6 (- (expt 2 128) 1)) =>
3542 ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff
3546 Use `identity' instead.
3552 ** Deprecated: return-it
3556 ** Deprecated: string-character-length
3558 Use `string-length' instead.
3560 ** Deprecated: flags
3562 Use `logior' instead.
3564 ** Deprecated: close-all-ports-except.
3566 This was intended for closing ports in a child process after a fork,
3567 but it has the undesirable side effect of flushing buffers.
3568 port-for-each is more flexible.
3570 ** The (ice-9 popen) module now attempts to set up file descriptors in
3571 the child process from the current Scheme ports, instead of using the
3572 current values of file descriptors 0, 1, and 2 in the parent process.
3574 ** Removed function: builtin-weak-bindings
3576 There is no such concept as a weak binding any more.
3578 ** Removed constants: bignum-radix, scm-line-incrementors
3580 ** define-method: New syntax mandatory.
3582 The new method syntax is now mandatory:
3584 (define-method (NAME ARG-SPEC ...) BODY ...)
3585 (define-method (NAME ARG-SPEC ... . REST-ARG) BODY ...)
3587 ARG-SPEC ::= ARG-NAME | (ARG-NAME TYPE)
3588 REST-ARG ::= ARG-NAME
3590 If you have old code using the old syntax, import
3591 (oop goops old-define-method) before (oop goops) as in:
3593 (use-modules (oop goops old-define-method) (oop goops))
3595 ** Deprecated function: builtin-variable
3596 Removed function: builtin-bindings
3598 There is no longer a distinction between builtin or other variables.
3599 Use module system operations for all variables.
3601 ** Lazy-catch handlers are no longer allowed to return.
3603 That is, a call to `throw', `error', etc is now guaranteed to not
3606 ** Bugfixes for (ice-9 getopt-long)
3608 This module is now tested using test-suite/tests/getopt-long.test.
3609 The following bugs have been fixed:
3611 *** Parsing for options that are specified to have `optional' args now checks
3612 if the next element is an option instead of unconditionally taking it as the
3615 *** An error is now thrown for `--opt=val' when the option description
3616 does not specify `(value #t)' or `(value optional)'. This condition used to
3617 be accepted w/o error, contrary to the documentation.
3619 *** The error message for unrecognized options is now more informative.
3620 It used to be "not a record", an artifact of the implementation.
3622 *** The error message for `--opt' terminating the arg list (no value), when
3623 `(value #t)' is specified, is now more informative. It used to be "not enough
3626 *** "Clumped" single-char args now preserve trailing string, use it as arg.
3627 The expansion used to be like so:
3629 ("-abc5d" "--xyz") => ("-a" "-b" "-c" "--xyz")
3631 Note that the "5d" is dropped. Now it is like so:
3633 ("-abc5d" "--xyz") => ("-a" "-b" "-c" "5d" "--xyz")
3635 This enables single-char options to have adjoining arguments as long as their
3636 constituent characters are not potential single-char options.
3638 ** (ice-9 session) procedure `arity' now works with (ice-9 optargs) `lambda*'
3640 The `lambda*' and derivative forms in (ice-9 optargs) now set a procedure
3641 property `arglist', which can be retrieved by `arity'. The result is that
3642 `arity' can give more detailed information than before:
3646 guile> (use-modules (ice-9 optargs))
3647 guile> (define* (foo #:optional a b c) a)
3649 0 or more arguments in `lambda*:G0'.
3654 3 optional arguments: `a', `b' and `c'.
3655 guile> (define* (bar a b #:key c d #:allow-other-keys) a)
3657 2 required arguments: `a' and `b', 2 keyword arguments: `c'
3658 and `d', other keywords allowed.
3659 guile> (define* (baz a b #:optional c #:rest r) a)
3661 2 required arguments: `a' and `b', 1 optional argument: `c',
3664 * Changes to the C interface
3666 ** Types have been renamed from scm_*_t to scm_t_*.
3668 This has been done for POSIX sake. It reserves identifiers ending
3669 with "_t". What a concept.
3671 The old names are still available with status `deprecated'.
3673 ** scm_t_bits (former scm_bits_t) is now a unsigned type.
3675 ** Deprecated features have been removed.
3679 SCM_INPORTP, SCM_OUTPORTP SCM_ICHRP, SCM_ICHR, SCM_MAKICHR
3680 SCM_SETJMPBUF SCM_NSTRINGP SCM_NRWSTRINGP SCM_NVECTORP SCM_DOUBLE_CELLP
3682 *** C Functions removed
3684 scm_sysmissing scm_tag scm_tc16_flo scm_tc_flo
3685 scm_fseek - replaced by scm_seek.
3686 gc-thunk - replaced by after-gc-hook.
3687 gh_int2scmb - replaced by gh_bool2scm.
3688 scm_tc_dblr - replaced by scm_tc16_real.
3689 scm_tc_dblc - replaced by scm_tc16_complex.
3690 scm_list_star - replaced by scm_cons_star.
3692 ** Deprecated: scm_makfromstr
3694 Use scm_mem2string instead.
3696 ** Deprecated: scm_make_shared_substring
3698 Explicit shared substrings will disappear from Guile.
3700 Instead, "normal" strings will be implemented using sharing
3701 internally, combined with a copy-on-write strategy.
3703 ** Deprecated: scm_read_only_string_p
3705 The concept of read-only strings will disappear in next release of
3708 ** Deprecated: scm_sloppy_memq, scm_sloppy_memv, scm_sloppy_member
3710 Instead, use scm_c_memq or scm_memq, scm_memv, scm_member.
3712 ** New functions: scm_call_0, scm_call_1, scm_call_2, scm_call_3
3714 Call a procedure with the indicated number of arguments. See "Fly
3715 Evaluation" in the manual.
3717 ** New functions: scm_apply_0, scm_apply_1, scm_apply_2, scm_apply_3
3719 Call a procedure with the indicated number of arguments and a list of
3720 further arguments. See "Fly Evaluation" in the manual.
3722 ** New functions: scm_list_1, scm_list_2, scm_list_3, scm_list_4, scm_list_5
3724 Create a list of the given number of elements. See "List
3725 Constructors" in the manual.
3727 ** Renamed function: scm_listify has been replaced by scm_list_n.
3729 ** Deprecated macros: SCM_LIST0, SCM_LIST1, SCM_LIST2, SCM_LIST3, SCM_LIST4,
3730 SCM_LIST5, SCM_LIST6, SCM_LIST7, SCM_LIST8, SCM_LIST9.
3732 Use functions scm_list_N instead.
3734 ** New function: scm_c_read (SCM port, void *buffer, scm_sizet size)
3736 Used by an application to read arbitrary number of bytes from a port.
3737 Same semantics as libc read, except that scm_c_read only returns less
3738 than SIZE bytes if at end-of-file.
3740 Warning: Doesn't update port line and column counts!
3742 ** New function: scm_c_write (SCM port, const void *ptr, scm_sizet size)
3744 Used by an application to write arbitrary number of bytes to an SCM
3745 port. Similar semantics as libc write. However, unlike libc
3746 write, scm_c_write writes the requested number of bytes and has no
3749 Warning: Doesn't update port line and column counts!
3751 ** New function: scm_init_guile ()
3753 In contrast to scm_boot_guile, scm_init_guile will return normally
3754 after initializing Guile. It is not available on all systems, tho.
3756 ** New functions: scm_str2symbol, scm_mem2symbol
3758 The function scm_str2symbol takes a const char* pointing to a zero-terminated
3759 field of characters and creates a scheme symbol object from that C string.
3760 The function scm_mem2symbol takes a const char* and a number of characters and
3761 creates a symbol from the characters in that memory area.
3763 ** New functions: scm_primitive_make_property
3764 scm_primitive_property_ref
3765 scm_primitive_property_set_x
3766 scm_primitive_property_del_x
3768 These functions implement a new way to deal with object properties.
3769 See libguile/properties.c for their documentation.
3771 ** New function: scm_done_free (long size)
3773 This function is the inverse of scm_done_malloc. Use it to report the
3774 amount of smob memory you free. The previous method, which involved
3775 calling scm_done_malloc with negative argument, was somewhat
3776 unintuitive (and is still available, of course).
3778 ** New function: scm_c_memq (SCM obj, SCM list)
3780 This function provides a fast C level alternative for scm_memq for the case
3781 that the list parameter is known to be a proper list. The function is a
3782 replacement for scm_sloppy_memq, but is stricter in its requirements on its
3783 list input parameter, since for anything else but a proper list the function's
3784 behaviour is undefined - it may even crash or loop endlessly. Further, for
3785 the case that the object is not found in the list, scm_c_memq returns #f which
3786 is similar to scm_memq, but different from scm_sloppy_memq's behaviour.
3788 ** New functions: scm_remember_upto_here_1, scm_remember_upto_here_2,
3789 scm_remember_upto_here
3791 These functions replace the function scm_remember.
3793 ** Deprecated function: scm_remember
3795 Use one of the new functions scm_remember_upto_here_1,
3796 scm_remember_upto_here_2 or scm_remember_upto_here instead.
3798 ** New function: scm_allocate_string
3800 This function replaces the function scm_makstr.
3802 ** Deprecated function: scm_makstr
3804 Use the new function scm_allocate_string instead.
3806 ** New global variable scm_gc_running_p introduced.
3808 Use this variable to find out if garbage collection is being executed. Up to
3809 now applications have used scm_gc_heap_lock to test if garbage collection was
3810 running, which also works because of the fact that up to know only the garbage
3811 collector has set this variable. But, this is an implementation detail that
3812 may change. Further, scm_gc_heap_lock is not set throughout gc, thus the use
3813 of this variable is (and has been) not fully safe anyway.
3815 ** New macros: SCM_BITVECTOR_MAX_LENGTH, SCM_UVECTOR_MAX_LENGTH
3817 Use these instead of SCM_LENGTH_MAX.
3819 ** New macros: SCM_CONTINUATION_LENGTH, SCM_CCLO_LENGTH, SCM_STACK_LENGTH,
3820 SCM_STRING_LENGTH, SCM_SYMBOL_LENGTH, SCM_UVECTOR_LENGTH,
3821 SCM_BITVECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_VECTOR_LENGTH.
3823 Use these instead of SCM_LENGTH.
3825 ** New macros: SCM_SET_CONTINUATION_LENGTH, SCM_SET_STRING_LENGTH,
3826 SCM_SET_SYMBOL_LENGTH, SCM_SET_VECTOR_LENGTH, SCM_SET_UVECTOR_LENGTH,
3827 SCM_SET_BITVECTOR_LENGTH
3829 Use these instead of SCM_SETLENGTH
3831 ** New macros: SCM_STRING_CHARS, SCM_SYMBOL_CHARS, SCM_CCLO_BASE,
3832 SCM_VECTOR_BASE, SCM_UVECTOR_BASE, SCM_BITVECTOR_BASE, SCM_COMPLEX_MEM,
3835 Use these instead of SCM_CHARS, SCM_UCHARS, SCM_ROCHARS, SCM_ROUCHARS or
3838 ** New macros: SCM_SET_BIGNUM_BASE, SCM_SET_STRING_CHARS,
3839 SCM_SET_SYMBOL_CHARS, SCM_SET_UVECTOR_BASE, SCM_SET_BITVECTOR_BASE,
3842 Use these instead of SCM_SETCHARS.
3844 ** New macro: SCM_BITVECTOR_P
3846 ** New macro: SCM_STRING_COERCE_0TERMINATION_X
3848 Use instead of SCM_COERCE_SUBSTR.
3850 ** New macros: SCM_DIR_OPEN_P, SCM_DIR_FLAG_OPEN
3852 For directory objects, use these instead of SCM_OPDIRP and SCM_OPN.
3854 ** Deprecated macros: SCM_OUTOFRANGE, SCM_NALLOC, SCM_HUP_SIGNAL,
3855 SCM_INT_SIGNAL, SCM_FPE_SIGNAL, SCM_BUS_SIGNAL, SCM_SEGV_SIGNAL,
3856 SCM_ALRM_SIGNAL, SCM_GC_SIGNAL, SCM_TICK_SIGNAL, SCM_SIG_ORD,
3857 SCM_ORD_SIG, SCM_NUM_SIGS, SCM_SYMBOL_SLOTS, SCM_SLOTS, SCM_SLOPPY_STRINGP,
3858 SCM_VALIDATE_STRINGORSUBSTR, SCM_FREEP, SCM_NFREEP, SCM_CHARS, SCM_UCHARS,
3859 SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING, SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING_COPY,
3860 SCM_VALIDATE_NULLORROSTRING_COPY, SCM_ROLENGTH, SCM_LENGTH, SCM_HUGE_LENGTH,
3861 SCM_SUBSTRP, SCM_SUBSTR_STR, SCM_SUBSTR_OFFSET, SCM_COERCE_SUBSTR,
3862 SCM_ROSTRINGP, SCM_RWSTRINGP, SCM_VALIDATE_RWSTRING, SCM_ROCHARS,
3863 SCM_ROUCHARS, SCM_SETLENGTH, SCM_SETCHARS, SCM_LENGTH_MAX, SCM_GC8MARKP,
3864 SCM_SETGC8MARK, SCM_CLRGC8MARK, SCM_GCTYP16, SCM_GCCDR, SCM_SUBR_DOC,
3865 SCM_OPDIRP, SCM_VALIDATE_OPDIR, SCM_WTA, RETURN_SCM_WTA, SCM_CONST_LONG,
3866 SCM_WNA, SCM_FUNC_NAME, SCM_VALIDATE_NUMBER_COPY,
3867 SCM_VALIDATE_NUMBER_DEF_COPY, SCM_SLOPPY_CONSP, SCM_SLOPPY_NCONSP,
3868 SCM_SETAND_CDR, SCM_SETOR_CDR, SCM_SETAND_CAR, SCM_SETOR_CAR
3870 Use SCM_ASSERT_RANGE or SCM_VALIDATE_XXX_RANGE instead of SCM_OUTOFRANGE.
3871 Use scm_memory_error instead of SCM_NALLOC.
3872 Use SCM_STRINGP instead of SCM_SLOPPY_STRINGP.
3873 Use SCM_VALIDATE_STRING instead of SCM_VALIDATE_STRINGORSUBSTR.
3874 Use SCM_FREE_CELL_P instead of SCM_FREEP/SCM_NFREEP
3875 Use a type specific accessor macro instead of SCM_CHARS/SCM_UCHARS.
3876 Use a type specific accessor instead of SCM(_|_RO|_HUGE_)LENGTH.
3877 Use SCM_VALIDATE_(SYMBOL|STRING) instead of SCM_VALIDATE_ROSTRING.
3878 Use SCM_STRING_COERCE_0TERMINATION_X instead of SCM_COERCE_SUBSTR.
3879 Use SCM_STRINGP or SCM_SYMBOLP instead of SCM_ROSTRINGP.
3880 Use SCM_STRINGP instead of SCM_RWSTRINGP.
3881 Use SCM_VALIDATE_STRING instead of SCM_VALIDATE_RWSTRING.
3882 Use SCM_STRING_CHARS instead of SCM_ROCHARS.
3883 Use SCM_STRING_UCHARS instead of SCM_ROUCHARS.
3884 Use a type specific setter macro instead of SCM_SETLENGTH.
3885 Use a type specific setter macro instead of SCM_SETCHARS.
3886 Use a type specific length macro instead of SCM_LENGTH_MAX.
3887 Use SCM_GCMARKP instead of SCM_GC8MARKP.
3888 Use SCM_SETGCMARK instead of SCM_SETGC8MARK.
3889 Use SCM_CLRGCMARK instead of SCM_CLRGC8MARK.
3890 Use SCM_TYP16 instead of SCM_GCTYP16.
3891 Use SCM_CDR instead of SCM_GCCDR.
3892 Use SCM_DIR_OPEN_P instead of SCM_OPDIRP.
3893 Use SCM_MISC_ERROR or SCM_WRONG_TYPE_ARG instead of SCM_WTA.
3894 Use SCM_MISC_ERROR or SCM_WRONG_TYPE_ARG instead of RETURN_SCM_WTA.
3895 Use SCM_VCELL_INIT instead of SCM_CONST_LONG.
3896 Use SCM_WRONG_NUM_ARGS instead of SCM_WNA.
3897 Use SCM_CONSP instead of SCM_SLOPPY_CONSP.
3898 Use !SCM_CONSP instead of SCM_SLOPPY_NCONSP.
3900 ** Removed function: scm_struct_init
3902 ** Removed variable: scm_symhash_dim
3904 ** Renamed function: scm_make_cont has been replaced by
3905 scm_make_continuation, which has a different interface.
3907 ** Deprecated function: scm_call_catching_errors
3909 Use scm_catch or scm_lazy_catch from throw.[ch] instead.
3911 ** Deprecated function: scm_strhash
3913 Use scm_string_hash instead.
3915 ** Deprecated function: scm_vector_set_length_x
3917 Instead, create a fresh vector of the desired size and copy the contents.
3919 ** scm_gensym has changed prototype
3921 scm_gensym now only takes one argument.
3923 ** Deprecated type tags: scm_tc7_ssymbol, scm_tc7_msymbol, scm_tcs_symbols,
3926 There is now only a single symbol type scm_tc7_symbol.
3927 The tag scm_tc7_lvector was not used anyway.
3929 ** Deprecated function: scm_make_smob_type_mfpe, scm_set_smob_mfpe.
3931 Use scm_make_smob_type and scm_set_smob_XXX instead.
3933 ** New function scm_set_smob_apply.
3935 This can be used to set an apply function to a smob type.
3937 ** Deprecated function: scm_strprint_obj
3939 Use scm_object_to_string instead.
3941 ** Deprecated function: scm_wta
3943 Use scm_wrong_type_arg, or another appropriate error signalling function
3946 ** Explicit support for obarrays has been deprecated.
3948 Use `scm_str2symbol' and the generic hashtable functions instead.
3950 ** The concept of `vcells' has been deprecated.
3952 The data type `variable' is now used exclusively. `Vcells' have been
3953 a low-level concept so you are likely not affected by this change.
3955 *** Deprecated functions: scm_sym2vcell, scm_sysintern,
3956 scm_sysintern0, scm_symbol_value0, scm_intern, scm_intern0.
3958 Use scm_c_define or scm_c_lookup instead, as appropriate.
3960 *** New functions: scm_c_module_lookup, scm_c_lookup,
3961 scm_c_module_define, scm_c_define, scm_module_lookup, scm_lookup,
3962 scm_module_define, scm_define.
3964 These functions work with variables instead of with vcells.
3966 ** New functions for creating and defining `subr's and `gsubr's.
3968 The new functions more clearly distinguish between creating a subr (or
3969 gsubr) object and adding it to the current module.
3971 These new functions are available: scm_c_make_subr, scm_c_define_subr,
3972 scm_c_make_subr_with_generic, scm_c_define_subr_with_generic,
3973 scm_c_make_gsubr, scm_c_define_gsubr, scm_c_make_gsubr_with_generic,
3974 scm_c_define_gsubr_with_generic.
3976 ** Deprecated functions: scm_make_subr, scm_make_subr_opt,
3977 scm_make_subr_with_generic, scm_make_gsubr,
3978 scm_make_gsubr_with_generic.
3980 Use the new ones from above instead.
3982 ** C interface to the module system has changed.
3984 While we suggest that you avoid as many explicit module system
3985 operations from C as possible for the time being, the C interface has
3986 been made more similar to the high-level Scheme module system.
3988 *** New functions: scm_c_define_module, scm_c_use_module,
3989 scm_c_export, scm_c_resolve_module.
3991 They mostly work like their Scheme namesakes. scm_c_define_module
3992 takes a function that is called a context where the new module is
3995 *** Deprecated functions: scm_the_root_module, scm_make_module,
3996 scm_ensure_user_module, scm_load_scheme_module.
3998 Use the new functions instead.
4000 ** Renamed function: scm_internal_with_fluids becomes
4003 scm_internal_with_fluids is available as a deprecated function.
4005 ** New function: scm_c_with_fluid.
4007 Just like scm_c_with_fluids, but takes one fluid and one value instead
4010 ** Deprecated typedefs: long_long, ulong_long.
4012 They are of questionable utility and they pollute the global
4015 ** Deprecated typedef: scm_sizet
4017 It is of questionable utility now that Guile requires ANSI C, and is
4020 ** Deprecated typedefs: scm_port_rw_active, scm_port,
4021 scm_ptob_descriptor, scm_debug_info, scm_debug_frame, scm_fport,
4022 scm_option, scm_rstate, scm_rng, scm_array, scm_array_dim.
4024 Made more compliant with the naming policy by adding a _t at the end.
4026 ** Deprecated functions: scm_mkbig, scm_big2num, scm_adjbig,
4027 scm_normbig, scm_copybig, scm_2ulong2big, scm_dbl2big, scm_big2dbl
4029 With the exception of the mysterious scm_2ulong2big, they are still
4030 available under new names (scm_i_mkbig etc). These functions are not
4031 intended to be used in user code. You should avoid dealing with
4032 bignums directly, and should deal with numbers in general (which can
4035 ** Change in behavior: scm_num2long, scm_num2ulong
4037 The scm_num2[u]long functions don't any longer accept an inexact
4038 argument. This change in behavior is motivated by concordance with
4039 R5RS: It is more common that a primitive doesn't want to accept an
4040 inexact for an exact.
4042 ** New functions: scm_short2num, scm_ushort2num, scm_int2num,
4043 scm_uint2num, scm_size2num, scm_ptrdiff2num, scm_num2short,
4044 scm_num2ushort, scm_num2int, scm_num2uint, scm_num2ptrdiff,
4047 These are conversion functions between the various ANSI C integral
4048 types and Scheme numbers. NOTE: The scm_num2xxx functions don't
4049 accept an inexact argument.
4051 ** New functions: scm_float2num, scm_double2num,
4052 scm_num2float, scm_num2double.
4054 These are conversion functions between the two ANSI C float types and
4057 ** New number validation macros:
4058 SCM_NUM2{SIZE,PTRDIFF,SHORT,USHORT,INT,UINT}[_DEF]
4062 ** New functions: scm_gc_protect_object, scm_gc_unprotect_object
4064 These are just nicer-named old scm_protect_object and
4065 scm_unprotect_object.
4067 ** Deprecated functions: scm_protect_object, scm_unprotect_object
4069 ** New functions: scm_gc_[un]register_root, scm_gc_[un]register_roots
4071 These functions can be used to register pointers to locations that
4074 ** Deprecated function: scm_create_hook.
4076 Its sins are: misleading name, non-modularity and lack of general
4080 Changes since Guile 1.3.4:
4082 * Changes to the distribution
4084 ** Trees from nightly snapshots and CVS now require you to run autogen.sh.
4086 We've changed the way we handle generated files in the Guile source
4087 repository. As a result, the procedure for building trees obtained
4088 from the nightly FTP snapshots or via CVS has changed:
4089 - You must have appropriate versions of autoconf, automake, and
4090 libtool installed on your system. See README for info on how to
4091 obtain these programs.
4092 - Before configuring the tree, you must first run the script
4093 `autogen.sh' at the top of the source tree.
4095 The Guile repository used to contain not only source files, written by
4096 humans, but also some generated files, like configure scripts and
4097 Makefile.in files. Even though the contents of these files could be
4098 derived mechanically from other files present, we thought it would
4099 make the tree easier to build if we checked them into CVS.
4101 However, this approach means that minor differences between
4102 developer's installed tools and habits affected the whole team.
4103 So we have removed the generated files from the repository, and
4104 added the autogen.sh script, which will reconstruct them
4108 ** configure now has experimental options to remove support for certain
4111 --disable-arrays omit array and uniform array support
4112 --disable-posix omit posix interfaces
4113 --disable-networking omit networking interfaces
4114 --disable-regex omit regular expression interfaces
4116 These are likely to become separate modules some day.
4118 ** New configure option --enable-debug-freelist
4120 This enables a debugging version of SCM_NEWCELL(), and also registers
4121 an extra primitive, the setter `gc-set-debug-check-freelist!'.
4123 Configure with the --enable-debug-freelist option to enable
4124 the gc-set-debug-check-freelist! primitive, and then use:
4126 (gc-set-debug-check-freelist! #t) # turn on checking of the freelist
4127 (gc-set-debug-check-freelist! #f) # turn off checking
4129 Checking of the freelist forces a traversal of the freelist and
4130 a garbage collection before each allocation of a cell. This can
4131 slow down the interpreter dramatically, so the setter should be used to
4132 turn on this extra processing only when necessary.
4134 ** New configure option --enable-debug-malloc
4136 Include code for debugging of calls to scm_must_malloc/realloc/free.
4140 1. objects freed by scm_must_free has been mallocated by scm_must_malloc
4141 2. objects reallocated by scm_must_realloc has been allocated by
4143 3. reallocated objects are reallocated with the same what string
4145 But, most importantly, it records the number of allocated objects of
4146 each kind. This is useful when searching for memory leaks.
4148 A Guile compiled with this option provides the primitive
4149 `malloc-stats' which returns an alist with pairs of kind and the
4150 number of objects of that kind.
4152 ** All includes are now referenced relative to the root directory
4154 Since some users have had problems with mixups between Guile and
4155 system headers, we have decided to always refer to Guile headers via
4156 their parent directories. This essentially creates a "private name
4157 space" for Guile headers. This means that the compiler only is given
4158 -I options for the root build and root source directory.
4160 ** Header files kw.h and genio.h have been removed.
4162 ** The module (ice-9 getopt-gnu-style) has been removed.
4164 ** New module (ice-9 documentation)
4166 Implements the interface to documentation strings associated with
4169 ** New module (ice-9 time)
4171 Provides a macro `time', which displays execution time of a given form.
4173 ** New module (ice-9 history)
4175 Loading this module enables value history in the repl.
4177 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
4179 ** New command line option --debug
4181 Start Guile with debugging evaluator and backtraces enabled.
4183 This is useful when debugging your .guile init file or scripts.
4185 ** New help facility
4187 Usage: (help NAME) gives documentation about objects named NAME (a symbol)
4188 (help REGEXP) ditto for objects with names matching REGEXP (a string)
4189 (help 'NAME) gives documentation for NAME, even if it is not an object
4190 (help ,EXPR) gives documentation for object returned by EXPR
4191 (help (my module)) gives module commentary for `(my module)'
4192 (help) gives this text
4194 `help' searches among bindings exported from loaded modules, while
4195 `apropos' searches among bindings visible from the "current" module.
4197 Examples: (help help)
4199 (help "output-string")
4201 ** `help' and `apropos' now prints full module names
4203 ** Dynamic linking now uses libltdl from the libtool package.
4205 The old system dependent code for doing dynamic linking has been
4206 replaced with calls to the libltdl functions which do all the hairy
4209 The major improvement is that you can now directly pass libtool
4210 library names like "libfoo.la" to `dynamic-link' and `dynamic-link'
4211 will be able to do the best shared library job you can get, via
4214 The way dynamic libraries are found has changed and is not really
4215 portable across platforms, probably. It is therefore recommended to
4216 use absolute filenames when possible.
4218 If you pass a filename without an extension to `dynamic-link', it will
4219 try a few appropriate ones. Thus, the most platform ignorant way is
4220 to specify a name like "libfoo", without any directories and
4223 ** Guile COOP threads are now compatible with LinuxThreads
4225 Previously, COOP threading wasn't possible in applications linked with
4226 Linux POSIX threads due to their use of the stack pointer to find the
4227 thread context. This has now been fixed with a workaround which uses
4228 the pthreads to allocate the stack.
4230 ** New primitives: `pkgdata-dir', `site-dir', `library-dir'
4232 ** Positions of erring expression in scripts
4234 With version 1.3.4, the location of the erring expression in Guile
4235 scipts is no longer automatically reported. (This should have been
4236 documented before the 1.3.4 release.)
4238 You can get this information by enabling recording of positions of
4239 source expressions and running the debugging evaluator. Put this at
4240 the top of your script (or in your "site" file):
4242 (read-enable 'positions)
4243 (debug-enable 'debug)
4245 ** Backtraces in scripts
4247 It is now possible to get backtraces in scripts.
4251 (debug-enable 'debug 'backtrace)
4253 at the top of the script.
4255 (The first options enables the debugging evaluator.
4256 The second enables backtraces.)
4258 ** Part of module system symbol lookup now implemented in C
4260 The eval closure of most modules is now implemented in C. Since this
4261 was one of the bottlenecks for loading speed, Guile now loads code
4262 substantially faster than before.
4264 ** Attempting to get the value of an unbound variable now produces
4265 an exception with a key of 'unbound-variable instead of 'misc-error.
4267 ** The initial default output port is now unbuffered if it's using a
4268 tty device. Previously in this situation it was line-buffered.
4270 ** New hook: after-gc-hook
4272 after-gc-hook takes over the role of gc-thunk. This hook is run at
4273 the first SCM_TICK after a GC. (Thus, the code is run at the same
4274 point during evaluation as signal handlers.)
4276 Note that this hook should be used only for diagnostic and debugging
4277 purposes. It is not certain that it will continue to be well-defined
4278 when this hook is run in the future.
4280 C programmers: Note the new C level hooks scm_before_gc_c_hook,
4281 scm_before_sweep_c_hook, scm_after_gc_c_hook.
4283 ** Improvements to garbage collector
4285 Guile 1.4 has a new policy for triggering heap allocation and
4286 determining the sizes of heap segments. It fixes a number of problems
4289 1. The new policy can handle two separate pools of cells
4290 (2-word/4-word) better. (The old policy would run wild, allocating
4291 more and more memory for certain programs.)
4293 2. The old code would sometimes allocate far too much heap so that the
4294 Guile process became gigantic. The new code avoids this.
4296 3. The old code would sometimes allocate too little so that few cells
4297 were freed at GC so that, in turn, too much time was spent in GC.
4299 4. The old code would often trigger heap allocation several times in a
4300 row. (The new scheme predicts how large the segments needs to be
4301 in order not to need further allocation.)
4303 All in all, the new GC policy will make larger applications more
4306 The new GC scheme also is prepared for POSIX threading. Threads can
4307 allocate private pools of cells ("clusters") with just a single
4308 function call. Allocation of single cells from such a cluster can
4309 then proceed without any need of inter-thread synchronization.
4311 ** New environment variables controlling GC parameters
4313 GUILE_MAX_SEGMENT_SIZE Maximal segment size
4316 Allocation of 2-word cell heaps:
4318 GUILE_INIT_SEGMENT_SIZE_1 Size of initial heap segment in bytes
4321 GUILE_MIN_YIELD_1 Minimum number of freed cells at each
4322 GC in percent of total heap size
4325 Allocation of 4-word cell heaps
4326 (used for real numbers and misc other objects):
4328 GUILE_INIT_SEGMENT_SIZE_2, GUILE_MIN_YIELD_2
4330 (See entry "Way for application to customize GC parameters" under
4331 section "Changes to the scm_ interface" below.)
4333 ** Guile now implements reals using 4-word cells
4335 This speeds up computation with reals. (They were earlier allocated
4336 with `malloc'.) There is still some room for optimizations, however.
4338 ** Some further steps toward POSIX thread support have been taken
4340 *** Guile's critical sections (SCM_DEFER/ALLOW_INTS)
4341 don't have much effect any longer, and many of them will be removed in
4345 are only handled at the top of the evaluator loop, immediately after
4346 I/O, and in scm_equalp.
4348 *** The GC can allocate thread private pools of pairs.
4350 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
4352 ** close-input-port and close-output-port are now R5RS
4354 These procedures have been turned into primitives and have R5RS behaviour.
4356 ** New procedure: simple-format PORT MESSAGE ARG1 ...
4358 (ice-9 boot) makes `format' an alias for `simple-format' until possibly
4359 extended by the more sophisticated version in (ice-9 format)
4361 (simple-format port message . args)
4362 Write MESSAGE to DESTINATION, defaulting to `current-output-port'.
4363 MESSAGE can contain ~A (was %s) and ~S (was %S) escapes. When printed,
4364 the escapes are replaced with corresponding members of ARGS:
4365 ~A formats using `display' and ~S formats using `write'.
4366 If DESTINATION is #t, then use the `current-output-port',
4367 if DESTINATION is #f, then return a string containing the formatted text.
4368 Does not add a trailing newline."
4370 ** string-ref: the second argument is no longer optional.
4372 ** string, list->string: no longer accept strings in their arguments,
4373 only characters, for compatibility with R5RS.
4375 ** New procedure: port-closed? PORT
4376 Returns #t if PORT is closed or #f if it is open.
4378 ** Deprecated: list*
4380 The list* functionality is now provided by cons* (SRFI-1 compliant)
4382 ** New procedure: cons* ARG1 ARG2 ... ARGn
4384 Like `list', but the last arg provides the tail of the constructed list,
4385 returning (cons ARG1 (cons ARG2 (cons ... ARGn))).
4387 Requires at least one argument. If given one argument, that argument
4388 is returned as result.
4390 This function is called `list*' in some other Schemes and in Common LISP.
4392 ** Removed deprecated: serial-map, serial-array-copy!, serial-array-map!
4394 ** New procedure: object-documentation OBJECT
4396 Returns the documentation string associated with OBJECT. The
4397 procedure uses a caching mechanism so that subsequent lookups are
4400 Exported by (ice-9 documentation).
4402 ** module-name now returns full names of modules
4404 Previously, only the last part of the name was returned (`session' for
4405 `(ice-9 session)'). Ex: `(ice-9 session)'.
4407 * Changes to the gh_ interface
4409 ** Deprecated: gh_int2scmb
4411 Use gh_bool2scm instead.
4413 * Changes to the scm_ interface
4415 ** Guile primitives now carry docstrings!
4417 Thanks to Greg Badros!
4419 ** Guile primitives are defined in a new way: SCM_DEFINE/SCM_DEFINE1/SCM_PROC
4421 Now Guile primitives are defined using the SCM_DEFINE/SCM_DEFINE1/SCM_PROC
4422 macros and must contain a docstring that is extracted into foo.doc using a new
4423 guile-doc-snarf script (that uses guile-doc-snarf.awk).
4425 However, a major overhaul of these macros is scheduled for the next release of
4428 ** Guile primitives use a new technique for validation of arguments
4430 SCM_VALIDATE_* macros are defined to ease the redundancy and improve
4431 the readability of argument checking.
4433 ** All (nearly?) K&R prototypes for functions replaced with ANSI C equivalents.
4435 ** New macros: SCM_PACK, SCM_UNPACK
4437 Compose/decompose an SCM value.
4439 The SCM type is now treated as an abstract data type and may be defined as a
4440 long, a void* or as a struct, depending on the architecture and compile time
4441 options. This makes it easier to find several types of bugs, for example when
4442 SCM values are treated as integers without conversion. Values of the SCM type
4443 should be treated as "atomic" values. These macros are used when
4444 composing/decomposing an SCM value, either because you want to access
4445 individual bits, or because you want to treat it as an integer value.
4447 E.g., in order to set bit 7 in an SCM value x, use the expression
4449 SCM_PACK (SCM_UNPACK (x) | 0x80)
4451 ** The name property of hooks is deprecated.
4452 Thus, the use of SCM_HOOK_NAME and scm_make_hook_with_name is deprecated.
4454 You can emulate this feature by using object properties.
4456 ** Deprecated macros: SCM_INPORTP, SCM_OUTPORTP, SCM_CRDY, SCM_ICHRP,
4457 SCM_ICHR, SCM_MAKICHR, SCM_SETJMPBUF, SCM_NSTRINGP, SCM_NRWSTRINGP,
4460 These macros will be removed in a future release of Guile.
4462 ** The following types, functions and macros from numbers.h are deprecated:
4463 scm_dblproc, SCM_UNEGFIXABLE, SCM_FLOBUFLEN, SCM_INEXP, SCM_CPLXP, SCM_REAL,
4464 SCM_IMAG, SCM_REALPART, scm_makdbl, SCM_SINGP, SCM_NUM2DBL, SCM_NO_BIGDIG
4466 ** Port internals: the rw_random variable in the scm_port structure
4467 must be set to non-zero in any random access port. In recent Guile
4468 releases it was only set for bidirectional random-access ports.
4470 ** Port internals: the seek ptob procedure is now responsible for
4471 resetting the buffers if required. The change was made so that in the
4472 special case of reading the current position (i.e., seek p 0 SEEK_CUR)
4473 the fport and strport ptobs can avoid resetting the buffers,
4474 in particular to avoid discarding unread chars. An existing port
4475 type can be fixed by adding something like the following to the
4476 beginning of the ptob seek procedure:
4478 if (pt->rw_active == SCM_PORT_READ)
4479 scm_end_input (object);
4480 else if (pt->rw_active == SCM_PORT_WRITE)
4481 ptob->flush (object);
4483 although to actually avoid resetting the buffers and discard unread
4484 chars requires further hacking that depends on the characteristics
4487 ** Deprecated functions: scm_fseek, scm_tag
4489 These functions are no longer used and will be removed in a future version.
4491 ** The scm_sysmissing procedure is no longer used in libguile.
4492 Unless it turns out to be unexpectedly useful to somebody, it will be
4493 removed in a future version.
4495 ** The format of error message strings has changed
4497 The two C procedures: scm_display_error and scm_error, as well as the
4498 primitive `scm-error', now use scm_simple_format to do their work.
4499 This means that the message strings of all code must be updated to use
4500 ~A where %s was used before, and ~S where %S was used before.
4502 During the period when there still are a lot of old Guiles out there,
4503 you might want to support both old and new versions of Guile.
4505 There are basically two methods to achieve this. Both methods use
4508 AC_CHECK_FUNCS(scm_simple_format)
4510 in your configure.in.
4512 Method 1: Use the string concatenation features of ANSI C's
4517 #ifdef HAVE_SCM_SIMPLE_FORMAT
4523 Then represent each of your error messages using a preprocessor macro:
4525 #define E_SPIDER_ERROR "There's a spider in your " ## FMT_S ## "!!!"
4529 (define fmt-s (if (defined? 'simple-format) "~S" "%S"))
4530 (define make-message string-append)
4532 (define e-spider-error (make-message "There's a spider in your " fmt-s "!!!"))
4534 Method 2: Use the oldfmt function found in doc/oldfmt.c.
4538 scm_misc_error ("picnic", scm_c_oldfmt0 ("There's a spider in your ~S!!!"),
4543 (scm-error 'misc-error "picnic" (oldfmt "There's a spider in your ~S!!!")
4547 ** Deprecated: coop_mutex_init, coop_condition_variable_init
4549 Don't use the functions coop_mutex_init and
4550 coop_condition_variable_init. They will change.
4552 Use scm_mutex_init and scm_cond_init instead.
4554 ** New function: int scm_cond_timedwait (scm_cond_t *COND, scm_mutex_t *MUTEX, const struct timespec *ABSTIME)
4555 `scm_cond_timedwait' atomically unlocks MUTEX and waits on
4556 COND, as `scm_cond_wait' does, but it also bounds the duration
4557 of the wait. If COND has not been signaled before time ABSTIME,
4558 the mutex MUTEX is re-acquired and `scm_cond_timedwait'
4559 returns the error code `ETIMEDOUT'.
4561 The ABSTIME parameter specifies an absolute time, with the same
4562 origin as `time' and `gettimeofday': an ABSTIME of 0 corresponds
4563 to 00:00:00 GMT, January 1, 1970.
4565 ** New function: scm_cond_broadcast (scm_cond_t *COND)
4566 `scm_cond_broadcast' restarts all the threads that are waiting
4567 on the condition variable COND. Nothing happens if no threads are
4570 ** New function: scm_key_create (scm_key_t *KEY, void (*destr_function) (void *))
4571 `scm_key_create' allocates a new TSD key. The key is stored in
4572 the location pointed to by KEY. There is no limit on the number
4573 of keys allocated at a given time. The value initially associated
4574 with the returned key is `NULL' in all currently executing threads.
4576 The DESTR_FUNCTION argument, if not `NULL', specifies a destructor
4577 function associated with the key. When a thread terminates,
4578 DESTR_FUNCTION is called on the value associated with the key in
4579 that thread. The DESTR_FUNCTION is not called if a key is deleted
4580 with `scm_key_delete' or a value is changed with
4581 `scm_setspecific'. The order in which destructor functions are
4582 called at thread termination time is unspecified.
4584 Destructors are not yet implemented.
4586 ** New function: scm_setspecific (scm_key_t KEY, const void *POINTER)
4587 `scm_setspecific' changes the value associated with KEY in the
4588 calling thread, storing the given POINTER instead.
4590 ** New function: scm_getspecific (scm_key_t KEY)
4591 `scm_getspecific' returns the value currently associated with
4592 KEY in the calling thread.
4594 ** New function: scm_key_delete (scm_key_t KEY)
4595 `scm_key_delete' deallocates a TSD key. It does not check
4596 whether non-`NULL' values are associated with that key in the
4597 currently executing threads, nor call the destructor function
4598 associated with the key.
4600 ** New function: scm_c_hook_init (scm_c_hook_t *HOOK, void *HOOK_DATA, scm_c_hook_type_t TYPE)
4602 Initialize a C level hook HOOK with associated HOOK_DATA and type
4603 TYPE. (See scm_c_hook_run ().)
4605 ** New function: scm_c_hook_add (scm_c_hook_t *HOOK, scm_c_hook_function_t FUNC, void *FUNC_DATA, int APPENDP)
4607 Add hook function FUNC with associated FUNC_DATA to HOOK. If APPENDP
4608 is true, add it last, otherwise first. The same FUNC can be added
4609 multiple times if FUNC_DATA differ and vice versa.
4611 ** New function: scm_c_hook_remove (scm_c_hook_t *HOOK, scm_c_hook_function_t FUNC, void *FUNC_DATA)
4613 Remove hook function FUNC with associated FUNC_DATA from HOOK. A
4614 function is only removed if both FUNC and FUNC_DATA matches.
4616 ** New function: void *scm_c_hook_run (scm_c_hook_t *HOOK, void *DATA)
4618 Run hook HOOK passing DATA to the hook functions.
4620 If TYPE is SCM_C_HOOK_NORMAL, all hook functions are run. The value
4621 returned is undefined.
4623 If TYPE is SCM_C_HOOK_OR, hook functions are run until a function
4624 returns a non-NULL value. This value is returned as the result of
4625 scm_c_hook_run. If all functions return NULL, NULL is returned.
4627 If TYPE is SCM_C_HOOK_AND, hook functions are run until a function
4628 returns a NULL value, and NULL is returned. If all functions returns
4629 a non-NULL value, the last value is returned.
4631 ** New C level GC hooks
4633 Five new C level hooks has been added to the garbage collector.
4635 scm_before_gc_c_hook
4638 are run before locking and after unlocking the heap. The system is
4639 thus in a mode where evaluation can take place. (Except that
4640 scm_before_gc_c_hook must not allocate new cells.)
4642 scm_before_mark_c_hook
4643 scm_before_sweep_c_hook
4644 scm_after_sweep_c_hook
4646 are run when the heap is locked. These are intended for extension of
4647 the GC in a modular fashion. Examples are the weaks and guardians
4650 ** Way for application to customize GC parameters
4652 The application can set up other default values for the GC heap
4653 allocation parameters
4655 GUILE_INIT_HEAP_SIZE_1, GUILE_MIN_YIELD_1,
4656 GUILE_INIT_HEAP_SIZE_2, GUILE_MIN_YIELD_2,
4657 GUILE_MAX_SEGMENT_SIZE,
4661 scm_default_init_heap_size_1, scm_default_min_yield_1,
4662 scm_default_init_heap_size_2, scm_default_min_yield_2,
4663 scm_default_max_segment_size
4665 respectively before callong scm_boot_guile.
4667 (See entry "New environment variables ..." in section
4668 "Changes to the stand-alone interpreter" above.)
4670 ** scm_protect_object/scm_unprotect_object now nest
4672 This means that you can call scm_protect_object multiple times on an
4673 object and count on the object being protected until
4674 scm_unprotect_object has been call the same number of times.
4676 The functions also have better time complexity.
4678 Still, it is usually possible to structure the application in a way
4679 that you don't need to use these functions. For example, if you use a
4680 protected standard Guile list to keep track of live objects rather
4681 than some custom data type, objects will die a natural death when they
4682 are no longer needed.
4684 ** Deprecated type tags: scm_tc16_flo, scm_tc_flo, scm_tc_dblr, scm_tc_dblc
4686 Guile does not provide the float representation for inexact real numbers any
4687 more. Now, only doubles are used to represent inexact real numbers. Further,
4688 the tag names scm_tc_dblr and scm_tc_dblc have been changed to scm_tc16_real
4689 and scm_tc16_complex, respectively.
4691 ** Removed deprecated type scm_smobfuns
4693 ** Removed deprecated function scm_newsmob
4695 ** Warning: scm_make_smob_type_mfpe might become deprecated in a future release
4697 There is an ongoing discussion among the developers whether to
4698 deprecate `scm_make_smob_type_mfpe' or not. Please use the current
4699 standard interface (scm_make_smob_type, scm_set_smob_XXX) in new code
4700 until this issue has been settled.
4702 ** Removed deprecated type tag scm_tc16_kw
4704 ** Added type tag scm_tc16_keyword
4706 (This was introduced already in release 1.3.4 but was not documented
4709 ** gdb_print now prints "*** Guile not initialized ***" until Guile initialized
4711 * Changes to system call interfaces:
4713 ** The "select" procedure now tests port buffers for the ability to
4714 provide input or accept output. Previously only the underlying file
4715 descriptors were checked.
4717 ** New variable PIPE_BUF: the maximum number of bytes that can be
4718 atomically written to a pipe.
4720 ** If a facility is not available on the system when Guile is
4721 compiled, the corresponding primitive procedure will not be defined.
4722 Previously it would have been defined but would throw a system-error
4723 exception if called. Exception handlers which catch this case may
4724 need minor modification: an error will be thrown with key
4725 'unbound-variable instead of 'system-error. Alternatively it's
4726 now possible to use `defined?' to check whether the facility is
4729 ** Procedures which depend on the timezone should now give the correct
4730 result on systems which cache the TZ environment variable, even if TZ
4731 is changed without calling tzset.
4733 * Changes to the networking interfaces:
4735 ** New functions: htons, ntohs, htonl, ntohl: for converting short and
4736 long integers between network and host format. For now, it's not
4737 particularly convenient to do this kind of thing, but consider:
4739 (define write-network-long
4740 (lambda (value port)
4741 (let ((v (make-uniform-vector 1 1 0)))
4742 (uniform-vector-set! v 0 (htonl value))
4743 (uniform-vector-write v port))))
4745 (define read-network-long
4747 (let ((v (make-uniform-vector 1 1 0)))
4748 (uniform-vector-read! v port)
4749 (ntohl (uniform-vector-ref v 0)))))
4751 ** If inet-aton fails, it now throws an error with key 'misc-error
4752 instead of 'system-error, since errno is not relevant.
4754 ** Certain gethostbyname/gethostbyaddr failures now throw errors with
4755 specific keys instead of 'system-error. The latter is inappropriate
4756 since errno will not have been set. The keys are:
4757 'host-not-found, 'try-again, 'no-recovery and 'no-data.
4759 ** sethostent, setnetent, setprotoent, setservent: now take an
4760 optional argument STAYOPEN, which specifies whether the database
4761 remains open after a database entry is accessed randomly (e.g., using
4762 gethostbyname for the hosts database.) The default is #f. Previously
4766 Changes since Guile 1.3.2:
4768 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
4772 An initial version of the Guile debugger written by Chris Hanson has
4773 been added. The debugger is still under development but is included
4774 in the distribution anyway since it is already quite useful.
4780 after an error to enter the debugger. Type `help' inside the debugger
4781 for a description of available commands.
4783 If you prefer to have stack frames numbered and printed in
4784 anti-chronological order and prefer up in the stack to be down on the
4785 screen as is the case in gdb, you can put
4787 (debug-enable 'backwards)
4789 in your .guile startup file. (However, this means that Guile can't
4790 use indentation to indicate stack level.)
4792 The debugger is autoloaded into Guile at the first use.
4794 ** Further enhancements to backtraces
4796 There is a new debug option `width' which controls the maximum width
4797 on the screen of printed stack frames. Fancy printing parameters
4798 ("level" and "length" as in Common LISP) are adaptively adjusted for
4799 each stack frame to give maximum information while still fitting
4800 within the bounds. If the stack frame can't be made to fit by
4801 adjusting parameters, it is simply cut off at the end. This is marked
4804 ** Some modules are now only loaded when the repl is started
4806 The modules (ice-9 debug), (ice-9 session), (ice-9 threads) and (ice-9
4807 regex) are now loaded into (guile-user) only if the repl has been
4808 started. The effect is that the startup time for scripts has been
4809 reduced to 30% of what it was previously.
4811 Correctly written scripts load the modules they require at the top of
4812 the file and should not be affected by this change.
4814 ** Hooks are now represented as smobs
4816 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
4818 ** Readline support has changed again.
4820 The old (readline-activator) module is gone. Use (ice-9 readline)
4821 instead, which now contains all readline functionality. So the code
4822 to activate readline is now
4824 (use-modules (ice-9 readline))
4827 This should work at any time, including from the guile prompt.
4829 To avoid confusion about the terms of Guile's license, please only
4830 enable readline for your personal use; please don't make it the
4831 default for others. Here is why we make this rather odd-sounding
4834 Guile is normally licensed under a weakened form of the GNU General
4835 Public License, which allows you to link code with Guile without
4836 placing that code under the GPL. This exception is important to some
4839 However, since readline is distributed under the GNU General Public
4840 License, when you link Guile with readline, either statically or
4841 dynamically, you effectively change Guile's license to the strict GPL.
4842 Whenever you link any strictly GPL'd code into Guile, uses of Guile
4843 which are normally permitted become forbidden. This is a rather
4844 non-obvious consequence of the licensing terms.
4846 So, to make sure things remain clear, please let people choose for
4847 themselves whether to link GPL'd libraries like readline with Guile.
4849 ** regexp-substitute/global has changed slightly, but incompatibly.
4851 If you include a function in the item list, the string of the match
4852 object it receives is the same string passed to
4853 regexp-substitute/global, not some suffix of that string.
4854 Correspondingly, the match's positions are relative to the entire
4855 string, not the suffix.
4857 If the regexp can match the empty string, the way matches are chosen
4858 from the string has changed. regexp-substitute/global recognizes the
4859 same set of matches that list-matches does; see below.
4861 ** New function: list-matches REGEXP STRING [FLAGS]
4863 Return a list of match objects, one for every non-overlapping, maximal
4864 match of REGEXP in STRING. The matches appear in left-to-right order.
4865 list-matches only reports matches of the empty string if there are no
4866 other matches which begin on, end at, or include the empty match's
4869 If present, FLAGS is passed as the FLAGS argument to regexp-exec.
4871 ** New function: fold-matches REGEXP STRING INIT PROC [FLAGS]
4873 For each match of REGEXP in STRING, apply PROC to the match object,
4874 and the last value PROC returned, or INIT for the first call. Return
4875 the last value returned by PROC. We apply PROC to the matches as they
4876 appear from left to right.
4878 This function recognizes matches according to the same criteria as
4881 Thus, you could define list-matches like this:
4883 (define (list-matches regexp string . flags)
4884 (reverse! (apply fold-matches regexp string '() cons flags)))
4886 If present, FLAGS is passed as the FLAGS argument to regexp-exec.
4890 *** New function: hook? OBJ
4892 Return #t if OBJ is a hook, otherwise #f.
4894 *** New function: make-hook-with-name NAME [ARITY]
4896 Return a hook with name NAME and arity ARITY. The default value for
4897 ARITY is 0. The only effect of NAME is that it will appear when the
4898 hook object is printed to ease debugging.
4900 *** New function: hook-empty? HOOK
4902 Return #t if HOOK doesn't contain any procedures, otherwise #f.
4904 *** New function: hook->list HOOK
4906 Return a list of the procedures that are called when run-hook is
4909 ** `map' signals an error if its argument lists are not all the same length.
4911 This is the behavior required by R5RS, so this change is really a bug
4912 fix. But it seems to affect a lot of people's code, so we're
4913 mentioning it here anyway.
4915 ** Print-state handling has been made more transparent
4917 Under certain circumstances, ports are represented as a port with an
4918 associated print state. Earlier, this pair was represented as a pair
4919 (see "Some magic has been added to the printer" below). It is now
4920 indistinguishable (almost; see `get-print-state') from a port on the
4923 *** New function: port-with-print-state OUTPUT-PORT PRINT-STATE
4925 Return a new port with the associated print state PRINT-STATE.
4927 *** New function: get-print-state OUTPUT-PORT
4929 Return the print state associated with this port if it exists,
4930 otherwise return #f.
4932 *** New function: directory-stream? OBJECT
4934 Returns true iff OBJECT is a directory stream --- the sort of object
4935 returned by `opendir'.
4937 ** New function: using-readline?
4939 Return #t if readline is in use in the current repl.
4941 ** structs will be removed in 1.4
4943 Structs will be replaced in Guile 1.4. We will merge GOOPS into Guile
4944 and use GOOPS objects as the fundamental record type.
4946 * Changes to the scm_ interface
4948 ** structs will be removed in 1.4
4950 The entire current struct interface (struct.c, struct.h) will be
4951 replaced in Guile 1.4. We will merge GOOPS into libguile and use
4952 GOOPS objects as the fundamental record type.
4954 ** The internal representation of subr's has changed
4956 Instead of giving a hint to the subr name, the CAR field of the subr
4957 now contains an index to a subr entry in scm_subr_table.
4959 *** New variable: scm_subr_table
4961 An array of subr entries. A subr entry contains the name, properties
4962 and documentation associated with the subr. The properties and
4963 documentation slots are not yet used.
4965 ** A new scheme for "forwarding" calls to a builtin to a generic function
4967 It is now possible to extend the functionality of some Guile
4968 primitives by letting them defer a call to a GOOPS generic function on
4969 argument mismatch. This means that there is no loss of efficiency in
4974 (use-modules (oop goops)) ; Must be GOOPS version 0.2.
4975 (define-method + ((x <string>) (y <string>))
4976 (string-append x y))
4978 + will still be as efficient as usual in numerical calculations, but
4979 can also be used for concatenating strings.
4981 Who will be the first one to extend Guile's numerical tower to
4982 rationals? :) [OK, there a few other things to fix before this can
4983 be made in a clean way.]
4985 *** New snarf macros for defining primitives: SCM_GPROC, SCM_GPROC1
4987 New macro: SCM_GPROC (CNAME, SNAME, REQ, OPT, VAR, CFUNC, GENERIC)
4989 New macro: SCM_GPROC1 (CNAME, SNAME, TYPE, CFUNC, GENERIC)
4991 These do the same job as SCM_PROC and SCM_PROC1, but they also define
4992 a variable GENERIC which can be used by the dispatch macros below.
4994 [This is experimental code which may change soon.]
4996 *** New macros for forwarding control to a generic on arg type error
4998 New macro: SCM_WTA_DISPATCH_1 (GENERIC, ARG1, POS, SUBR)
5000 New macro: SCM_WTA_DISPATCH_2 (GENERIC, ARG1, ARG2, POS, SUBR)
5002 These correspond to the scm_wta function call, and have the same
5003 behaviour until the user has called the GOOPS primitive
5004 `enable-primitive-generic!'. After that, these macros will apply the
5005 generic function GENERIC to the argument(s) instead of calling
5008 [This is experimental code which may change soon.]
5010 *** New macros for argument testing with generic dispatch
5012 New macro: SCM_GASSERT1 (COND, GENERIC, ARG1, POS, SUBR)
5014 New macro: SCM_GASSERT2 (COND, GENERIC, ARG1, ARG2, POS, SUBR)
5016 These correspond to the SCM_ASSERT macro, but will defer control to
5017 GENERIC on error after `enable-primitive-generic!' has been called.
5019 [This is experimental code which may change soon.]
5021 ** New function: SCM scm_eval_body (SCM body, SCM env)
5023 Evaluates the body of a special form.
5025 ** The internal representation of struct's has changed
5027 Previously, four slots were allocated for the procedure(s) of entities
5028 and operators. The motivation for this representation had to do with
5029 the structure of the evaluator, the wish to support tail-recursive
5030 generic functions, and efficiency. Since the generic function
5031 dispatch mechanism has changed, there is no longer a need for such an
5032 expensive representation, and the representation has been simplified.
5034 This should not make any difference for most users.
5036 ** GOOPS support has been cleaned up.
5038 Some code has been moved from eval.c to objects.c and code in both of
5039 these compilation units has been cleaned up and better structured.
5041 *** New functions for applying generic functions
5043 New function: SCM scm_apply_generic (GENERIC, ARGS)
5044 New function: SCM scm_call_generic_0 (GENERIC)
5045 New function: SCM scm_call_generic_1 (GENERIC, ARG1)
5046 New function: SCM scm_call_generic_2 (GENERIC, ARG1, ARG2)
5047 New function: SCM scm_call_generic_3 (GENERIC, ARG1, ARG2, ARG3)
5049 ** Deprecated function: scm_make_named_hook
5051 It is now replaced by:
5053 ** New function: SCM scm_create_hook (const char *name, int arity)
5055 Creates a hook in the same way as make-hook above but also
5056 binds a variable named NAME to it.
5058 This is the typical way of creating a hook from C code.
5060 Currently, the variable is created in the "current" module.
5061 This might change when we get the new module system.
5063 [The behaviour is identical to scm_make_named_hook.]
5067 Changes since Guile 1.3:
5069 * Changes to mailing lists
5071 ** Some of the Guile mailing lists have moved to sourceware.cygnus.com.
5073 See the README file to find current addresses for all the Guile
5076 * Changes to the distribution
5078 ** Readline support is no longer included with Guile by default.
5080 Based on the different license terms of Guile and Readline, we
5081 concluded that Guile should not *by default* cause the linking of
5082 Readline into an application program. Readline support is now offered
5083 as a separate module, which is linked into an application only when
5084 you explicitly specify it.
5086 Although Guile is GNU software, its distribution terms add a special
5087 exception to the usual GNU General Public License (GPL). Guile's
5088 license includes a clause that allows you to link Guile with non-free
5089 programs. We add this exception so as not to put Guile at a
5090 disadvantage vis-a-vis other extensibility packages that support other
5093 In contrast, the GNU Readline library is distributed under the GNU
5094 General Public License pure and simple. This means that you may not
5095 link Readline, even dynamically, into an application unless it is
5096 distributed under a free software license that is compatible the GPL.
5098 Because of this difference in distribution terms, an application that
5099 can use Guile may not be able to use Readline. Now users will be
5100 explicitly offered two independent decisions about the use of these
5103 You can activate the readline support by issuing
5105 (use-modules (readline-activator))
5108 from your ".guile" file, for example.
5110 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
5112 ** All builtins now print as primitives.
5113 Previously builtin procedures not belonging to the fundamental subr
5114 types printed as #<compiled closure #<primitive-procedure gsubr-apply>>.
5115 Now, they print as #<primitive-procedure NAME>.
5117 ** Backtraces slightly more intelligible.
5118 gsubr-apply and macro transformer application frames no longer appear
5121 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
5123 ** Guile now correctly handles internal defines by rewriting them into
5124 their equivalent letrec. Previously, internal defines would
5125 incrementally add to the innermost environment, without checking
5126 whether the restrictions specified in RnRS were met. This lead to the
5127 correct behaviour when these restriction actually were met, but didn't
5128 catch all illegal uses. Such an illegal use could lead to crashes of
5129 the Guile interpreter or or other unwanted results. An example of
5130 incorrect internal defines that made Guile behave erratically:
5142 The problem with this example is that the definition of `c' uses the
5143 value of `b' directly. This confuses the meoization machine of Guile
5144 so that the second call of `b' (this time in a larger environment that
5145 also contains bindings for `c' and `d') refers to the binding of `c'
5146 instead of `a'. You could also make Guile crash with a variation on
5151 (define (b flag) (if flag a 1))
5152 (define c (1+ (b flag)))
5160 From now on, Guile will issue an `Unbound variable: b' error message
5165 A hook contains a list of functions which should be called on
5166 particular occasions in an existing program. Hooks are used for
5169 A window manager might have a hook before-window-map-hook. The window
5170 manager uses the function run-hooks to call all functions stored in
5171 before-window-map-hook each time a window is mapped. The user can
5172 store functions in the hook using add-hook!.
5174 In Guile, hooks are first class objects.
5176 *** New function: make-hook [N_ARGS]
5178 Return a hook for hook functions which can take N_ARGS arguments.
5179 The default value for N_ARGS is 0.
5181 (See also scm_make_named_hook below.)
5183 *** New function: add-hook! HOOK PROC [APPEND_P]
5185 Put PROC at the beginning of the list of functions stored in HOOK.
5186 If APPEND_P is supplied, and non-false, put PROC at the end instead.
5188 PROC must be able to take the number of arguments specified when the
5191 If PROC already exists in HOOK, then remove it first.
5193 *** New function: remove-hook! HOOK PROC
5195 Remove PROC from the list of functions in HOOK.
5197 *** New function: reset-hook! HOOK
5199 Clear the list of hook functions stored in HOOK.
5201 *** New function: run-hook HOOK ARG1 ...
5203 Run all hook functions stored in HOOK with arguments ARG1 ... .
5204 The number of arguments supplied must correspond to the number given
5205 when the hook was created.
5207 ** The function `dynamic-link' now takes optional keyword arguments.
5208 The only keyword argument that is currently defined is `:global
5209 BOOL'. With it, you can control whether the shared library will be
5210 linked in global mode or not. In global mode, the symbols from the
5211 linked library can be used to resolve references from other
5212 dynamically linked libraries. In non-global mode, the linked
5213 library is essentially invisible and can only be accessed via
5214 `dynamic-func', etc. The default is now to link in global mode.
5215 Previously, the default has been non-global mode.
5217 The `#:global' keyword is only effective on platforms that support
5218 the dlopen family of functions.
5220 ** New function `provided?'
5222 - Function: provided? FEATURE
5223 Return true iff FEATURE is supported by this installation of
5224 Guile. FEATURE must be a symbol naming a feature; the global
5225 variable `*features*' is a list of available features.
5227 ** Changes to the module (ice-9 expect):
5229 *** The expect-strings macro now matches `$' in a regular expression
5230 only at a line-break or end-of-file by default. Previously it would
5231 match the end of the string accumulated so far. The old behaviour
5232 can be obtained by setting the variable `expect-strings-exec-flags'
5235 *** The expect-strings macro now uses a variable `expect-strings-exec-flags'
5236 for the regexp-exec flags. If `regexp/noteol' is included, then `$'
5237 in a regular expression will still match before a line-break or
5238 end-of-file. The default is `regexp/noteol'.
5240 *** The expect-strings macro now uses a variable
5241 `expect-strings-compile-flags' for the flags to be supplied to
5242 `make-regexp'. The default is `regexp/newline', which was previously
5245 *** The expect macro now supplies two arguments to a match procedure:
5246 the current accumulated string and a flag to indicate whether
5247 end-of-file has been reached. Previously only the string was supplied.
5248 If end-of-file is reached, the match procedure will be called an
5249 additional time with the same accumulated string as the previous call
5250 but with the flag set.
5252 ** New module (ice-9 format), implementing the Common Lisp `format' function.
5254 This code, and the documentation for it that appears here, was
5255 borrowed from SLIB, with minor adaptations for Guile.
5257 - Function: format DESTINATION FORMAT-STRING . ARGUMENTS
5258 An almost complete implementation of Common LISP format description
5259 according to the CL reference book `Common LISP' from Guy L.
5260 Steele, Digital Press. Backward compatible to most of the
5261 available Scheme format implementations.
5263 Returns `#t', `#f' or a string; has side effect of printing
5264 according to FORMAT-STRING. If DESTINATION is `#t', the output is
5265 to the current output port and `#t' is returned. If DESTINATION
5266 is `#f', a formatted string is returned as the result of the call.
5267 NEW: If DESTINATION is a string, DESTINATION is regarded as the
5268 format string; FORMAT-STRING is then the first argument and the
5269 output is returned as a string. If DESTINATION is a number, the
5270 output is to the current error port if available by the
5271 implementation. Otherwise DESTINATION must be an output port and
5274 FORMAT-STRING must be a string. In case of a formatting error
5275 format returns `#f' and prints a message on the current output or
5276 error port. Characters are output as if the string were output by
5277 the `display' function with the exception of those prefixed by a
5278 tilde (~). For a detailed description of the FORMAT-STRING syntax
5279 please consult a Common LISP format reference manual. For a test
5280 suite to verify this format implementation load `formatst.scm'.
5281 Please send bug reports to `lutzeb@cs.tu-berlin.de'.
5283 Note: `format' is not reentrant, i.e. only one `format'-call may
5284 be executed at a time.
5287 *** Format Specification (Format version 3.0)
5289 Please consult a Common LISP format reference manual for a detailed
5290 description of the format string syntax. For a demonstration of the
5291 implemented directives see `formatst.scm'.
5293 This implementation supports directive parameters and modifiers (`:'
5294 and `@' characters). Multiple parameters must be separated by a comma
5295 (`,'). Parameters can be numerical parameters (positive or negative),
5296 character parameters (prefixed by a quote character (`''), variable
5297 parameters (`v'), number of rest arguments parameter (`#'), empty and
5298 default parameters. Directive characters are case independent. The
5299 general form of a directive is:
5301 DIRECTIVE ::= ~{DIRECTIVE-PARAMETER,}[:][@]DIRECTIVE-CHARACTER
5303 DIRECTIVE-PARAMETER ::= [ [-|+]{0-9}+ | 'CHARACTER | v | # ]
5305 *** Implemented CL Format Control Directives
5307 Documentation syntax: Uppercase characters represent the
5308 corresponding control directive characters. Lowercase characters
5309 represent control directive parameter descriptions.
5312 Any (print as `display' does).
5316 `~MINCOL,COLINC,MINPAD,PADCHARA'
5320 S-expression (print as `write' does).
5324 `~MINCOL,COLINC,MINPAD,PADCHARS'
5330 print number sign always.
5333 print comma separated.
5335 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHARD'
5341 print number sign always.
5344 print comma separated.
5346 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHARX'
5352 print number sign always.
5355 print comma separated.
5357 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHARO'
5363 print number sign always.
5366 print comma separated.
5368 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHARB'
5373 `~N,MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHARR'
5377 print a number as a Roman numeral.
5380 print a number as an "old fashioned" Roman numeral.
5383 print a number as an ordinal English number.
5386 print a number as a cardinal English number.
5391 prints `y' and `ies'.
5394 as `~P but jumps 1 argument backward.'
5397 as `~@P but jumps 1 argument backward.'
5402 prints a character as the reader can understand it (i.e. `#\'
5406 prints a character as emacs does (eg. `^C' for ASCII 03).
5409 Fixed-format floating-point (prints a flonum like MMM.NNN).
5410 `~WIDTH,DIGITS,SCALE,OVERFLOWCHAR,PADCHARF'
5412 If the number is positive a plus sign is printed.
5415 Exponential floating-point (prints a flonum like MMM.NNN`E'EE).
5416 `~WIDTH,DIGITS,EXPONENTDIGITS,SCALE,OVERFLOWCHAR,PADCHAR,EXPONENTCHARE'
5418 If the number is positive a plus sign is printed.
5421 General floating-point (prints a flonum either fixed or
5423 `~WIDTH,DIGITS,EXPONENTDIGITS,SCALE,OVERFLOWCHAR,PADCHAR,EXPONENTCHARG'
5425 If the number is positive a plus sign is printed.
5428 Dollars floating-point (prints a flonum in fixed with signs
5430 `~DIGITS,SCALE,WIDTH,PADCHAR$'
5432 If the number is positive a plus sign is printed.
5435 A sign is always printed and appears before the padding.
5438 The sign appears before the padding.
5446 print newline if not at the beginning of the output line.
5448 prints `~&' and then N-1 newlines.
5453 print N page separators.
5463 newline is ignored, white space left.
5466 newline is left, white space ignored.
5471 relative tabulation.
5477 Indirection (expects indirect arguments as a list).
5479 extracts indirect arguments from format arguments.
5482 Case conversion (converts by `string-downcase').
5484 converts by `string-capitalize'.
5487 converts by `string-capitalize-first'.
5490 converts by `string-upcase'.
5493 Argument Jumping (jumps 1 argument forward).
5495 jumps N arguments forward.
5498 jumps 1 argument backward.
5501 jumps N arguments backward.
5504 jumps to the 0th argument.
5507 jumps to the Nth argument (beginning from 0)
5509 `~[STR0~;STR1~;...~;STRN~]'
5510 Conditional Expression (numerical clause conditional).
5512 take argument from N.
5515 true test conditional.
5518 if-else-then conditional.
5524 default clause follows.
5527 Iteration (args come from the next argument (a list)).
5529 at most N iterations.
5532 args from next arg (a list of lists).
5535 args from the rest of arguments.
5538 args from the rest args (lists).
5549 aborts if N <= M <= K
5551 *** Not Implemented CL Format Control Directives
5554 print `#f' as an empty list (see below).
5557 print `#f' as an empty list (see below).
5563 (sorry I don't understand its semantics completely)
5565 *** Extended, Replaced and Additional Control Directives
5567 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHAR,COMMAWIDTHD'
5568 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHAR,COMMAWIDTHX'
5569 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHAR,COMMAWIDTHO'
5570 `~MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHAR,COMMAWIDTHB'
5571 `~N,MINCOL,PADCHAR,COMMACHAR,COMMAWIDTHR'
5572 COMMAWIDTH is the number of characters between two comma
5576 print a R4RS complex number as `~F~@Fi' with passed parameters for
5580 Pretty print formatting of an argument for scheme code lists.
5586 Flushes the output if format DESTINATION is a port.
5589 Print a `#\space' character
5591 print N `#\space' characters.
5594 Print a `#\tab' character
5596 print N `#\tab' characters.
5599 Takes N as an integer representation for a character. No arguments
5600 are consumed. N is converted to a character by `integer->char'. N
5601 must be a positive decimal number.
5604 Print out readproof. Prints out internal objects represented as
5605 `#<...>' as strings `"#<...>"' so that the format output can always
5606 be processed by `read'.
5609 Print out readproof. Prints out internal objects represented as
5610 `#<...>' as strings `"#<...>"' so that the format output can always
5611 be processed by `read'.
5614 Prints information and a copyright notice on the format
5617 prints format version.
5620 may also print number strings, i.e. passing a number as a string
5621 and format it accordingly.
5623 *** Configuration Variables
5625 The format module exports some configuration variables to suit the
5626 systems and users needs. There should be no modification necessary for
5627 the configuration that comes with Guile. Format detects automatically
5628 if the running scheme system implements floating point numbers and
5631 format:symbol-case-conv
5632 Symbols are converted by `symbol->string' so the case type of the
5633 printed symbols is implementation dependent.
5634 `format:symbol-case-conv' is a one arg closure which is either
5635 `#f' (no conversion), `string-upcase', `string-downcase' or
5636 `string-capitalize'. (default `#f')
5638 format:iobj-case-conv
5639 As FORMAT:SYMBOL-CASE-CONV but applies for the representation of
5640 implementation internal objects. (default `#f')
5643 The character prefixing the exponent value in `~E' printing.
5646 *** Compatibility With Other Format Implementations
5652 Downward compatible except for padding support and `~A', `~S',
5653 `~P', `~X' uppercase printing. SLIB format 1.4 uses C-style
5654 `printf' padding support which is completely replaced by the CL
5655 `format' padding style.
5658 Downward compatible except for `~', which is not documented
5659 (ignores all characters inside the format string up to a newline
5660 character). (7.1 implements `~a', `~s', ~NEWLINE, `~~', `~%',
5661 numerical and variable parameters and `:/@' modifiers in the CL
5665 Downward compatible except for `~A' and `~S' which print in
5666 uppercase. (Elk implements `~a', `~s', `~~', and `~%' (no
5667 directive parameters or modifiers)).
5670 Downward compatible except for an optional destination parameter:
5671 S2C accepts a format call without a destination which returns a
5672 formatted string. This is equivalent to a #f destination in S2C.
5673 (S2C implements `~a', `~s', `~c', `~%', and `~~' (no directive
5674 parameters or modifiers)).
5677 ** Changes to string-handling functions.
5679 These functions were added to support the (ice-9 format) module, above.
5681 *** New function: string-upcase STRING
5682 *** New function: string-downcase STRING
5684 These are non-destructive versions of the existing string-upcase! and
5685 string-downcase! functions.
5687 *** New function: string-capitalize! STRING
5688 *** New function: string-capitalize STRING
5690 These functions convert the first letter of each word in the string to
5693 (string-capitalize "howdy there")
5696 As with the other functions, string-capitalize! modifies the string in
5697 place, while string-capitalize returns a modified copy of its argument.
5699 *** New function: string-ci->symbol STRING
5701 Return a symbol whose name is STRING, but having the same case as if
5702 the symbol had be read by `read'.
5704 Guile can be configured to be sensitive or insensitive to case
5705 differences in Scheme identifiers. If Guile is case-insensitive, all
5706 symbols are converted to lower case on input. The `string-ci->symbol'
5707 function returns a symbol whose name in STRING, transformed as Guile
5708 would if STRING were input.
5710 *** New function: substring-move! STRING1 START END STRING2 START
5712 Copy the substring of STRING1 from START (inclusive) to END
5713 (exclusive) to STRING2 at START. STRING1 and STRING2 may be the same
5714 string, and the source and destination areas may overlap; in all
5715 cases, the function behaves as if all the characters were copied
5718 *** Extended functions: substring-move-left! substring-move-right!
5720 These functions now correctly copy arbitrarily overlapping substrings;
5721 they are both synonyms for substring-move!.
5724 ** New module (ice-9 getopt-long), with the function `getopt-long'.
5726 getopt-long is a function for parsing command-line arguments in a
5727 manner consistent with other GNU programs.
5729 (getopt-long ARGS GRAMMAR)
5730 Parse the arguments ARGS according to the argument list grammar GRAMMAR.
5732 ARGS should be a list of strings. Its first element should be the
5733 name of the program; subsequent elements should be the arguments
5734 that were passed to the program on the command line. The
5735 `program-arguments' procedure returns a list of this form.
5737 GRAMMAR is a list of the form:
5738 ((OPTION (PROPERTY VALUE) ...) ...)
5740 Each OPTION should be a symbol. `getopt-long' will accept a
5741 command-line option named `--OPTION'.
5742 Each option can have the following (PROPERTY VALUE) pairs:
5744 (single-char CHAR) --- Accept `-CHAR' as a single-character
5745 equivalent to `--OPTION'. This is how to specify traditional
5747 (required? BOOL) --- If BOOL is true, the option is required.
5748 getopt-long will raise an error if it is not found in ARGS.
5749 (value BOOL) --- If BOOL is #t, the option accepts a value; if
5750 it is #f, it does not; and if it is the symbol
5751 `optional', the option may appear in ARGS with or
5753 (predicate FUNC) --- If the option accepts a value (i.e. you
5754 specified `(value #t)' for this option), then getopt
5755 will apply FUNC to the value, and throw an exception
5756 if it returns #f. FUNC should be a procedure which
5757 accepts a string and returns a boolean value; you may
5758 need to use quasiquotes to get it into GRAMMAR.
5760 The (PROPERTY VALUE) pairs may occur in any order, but each
5761 property may occur only once. By default, options do not have
5762 single-character equivalents, are not required, and do not take
5765 In ARGS, single-character options may be combined, in the usual
5766 Unix fashion: ("-x" "-y") is equivalent to ("-xy"). If an option
5767 accepts values, then it must be the last option in the
5768 combination; the value is the next argument. So, for example, using
5769 the following grammar:
5770 ((apples (single-char #\a))
5771 (blimps (single-char #\b) (value #t))
5772 (catalexis (single-char #\c) (value #t)))
5773 the following argument lists would be acceptable:
5774 ("-a" "-b" "bang" "-c" "couth") ("bang" and "couth" are the values
5775 for "blimps" and "catalexis")
5776 ("-ab" "bang" "-c" "couth") (same)
5777 ("-ac" "couth" "-b" "bang") (same)
5778 ("-abc" "couth" "bang") (an error, since `-b' is not the
5779 last option in its combination)
5781 If an option's value is optional, then `getopt-long' decides
5782 whether it has a value by looking at what follows it in ARGS. If
5783 the next element is a string, and it does not appear to be an
5784 option itself, then that string is the option's value.
5786 The value of a long option can appear as the next element in ARGS,
5787 or it can follow the option name, separated by an `=' character.
5788 Thus, using the same grammar as above, the following argument lists
5790 ("--apples" "Braeburn" "--blimps" "Goodyear")
5791 ("--apples=Braeburn" "--blimps" "Goodyear")
5792 ("--blimps" "Goodyear" "--apples=Braeburn")
5794 If the option "--" appears in ARGS, argument parsing stops there;
5795 subsequent arguments are returned as ordinary arguments, even if
5796 they resemble options. So, in the argument list:
5797 ("--apples" "Granny Smith" "--" "--blimp" "Goodyear")
5798 `getopt-long' will recognize the `apples' option as having the
5799 value "Granny Smith", but it will not recognize the `blimp'
5800 option; it will return the strings "--blimp" and "Goodyear" as
5801 ordinary argument strings.
5803 The `getopt-long' function returns the parsed argument list as an
5804 assocation list, mapping option names --- the symbols from GRAMMAR
5805 --- onto their values, or #t if the option does not accept a value.
5806 Unused options do not appear in the alist.
5808 All arguments that are not the value of any option are returned
5809 as a list, associated with the empty list.
5811 `getopt-long' throws an exception if:
5812 - it finds an unrecognized option in ARGS
5813 - a required option is omitted
5814 - an option that requires an argument doesn't get one
5815 - an option that doesn't accept an argument does get one (this can
5816 only happen using the long option `--opt=value' syntax)
5817 - an option predicate fails
5822 `((lockfile-dir (required? #t)
5825 (predicate ,file-is-directory?))
5826 (verbose (required? #f)
5829 (x-includes (single-char #\x))
5830 (rnet-server (single-char #\y)
5831 (predicate ,string?))))
5833 (getopt-long '("my-prog" "-vk" "/tmp" "foo1" "--x-includes=/usr/include"
5834 "--rnet-server=lamprod" "--" "-fred" "foo2" "foo3")
5836 => ((() "foo1" "-fred" "foo2" "foo3")
5837 (rnet-server . "lamprod")
5838 (x-includes . "/usr/include")
5839 (lockfile-dir . "/tmp")
5842 ** The (ice-9 getopt-gnu-style) module is obsolete; use (ice-9 getopt-long).
5844 It will be removed in a few releases.
5846 ** New syntax: lambda*
5847 ** New syntax: define*
5848 ** New syntax: define*-public
5849 ** New syntax: defmacro*
5850 ** New syntax: defmacro*-public
5851 Guile now supports optional arguments.
5853 `lambda*', `define*', `define*-public', `defmacro*' and
5854 `defmacro*-public' are identical to the non-* versions except that
5855 they use an extended type of parameter list that has the following BNF
5856 syntax (parentheses are literal, square brackets indicate grouping,
5857 and `*', `+' and `?' have the usual meaning):
5859 ext-param-list ::= ( [identifier]* [#&optional [ext-var-decl]+]?
5860 [#&key [ext-var-decl]+ [#&allow-other-keys]?]?
5861 [[#&rest identifier]|[. identifier]]? ) | [identifier]
5863 ext-var-decl ::= identifier | ( identifier expression )
5865 The semantics are best illustrated with the following documentation
5866 and examples for `lambda*':
5869 lambda extended for optional and keyword arguments
5871 lambda* creates a procedure that takes optional arguments. These
5872 are specified by putting them inside brackets at the end of the
5873 paramater list, but before any dotted rest argument. For example,
5874 (lambda* (a b #&optional c d . e) '())
5875 creates a procedure with fixed arguments a and b, optional arguments c
5876 and d, and rest argument e. If the optional arguments are omitted
5877 in a call, the variables for them are unbound in the procedure. This
5878 can be checked with the bound? macro.
5880 lambda* can also take keyword arguments. For example, a procedure
5882 (lambda* (#&key xyzzy larch) '())
5883 can be called with any of the argument lists (#:xyzzy 11)
5884 (#:larch 13) (#:larch 42 #:xyzzy 19) (). Whichever arguments
5885 are given as keywords are bound to values.
5887 Optional and keyword arguments can also be given default values
5888 which they take on when they are not present in a call, by giving a
5889 two-item list in place of an optional argument, for example in:
5890 (lambda* (foo #&optional (bar 42) #&key (baz 73)) (list foo bar baz))
5891 foo is a fixed argument, bar is an optional argument with default
5892 value 42, and baz is a keyword argument with default value 73.
5893 Default value expressions are not evaluated unless they are needed
5894 and until the procedure is called.
5896 lambda* now supports two more special parameter list keywords.
5898 lambda*-defined procedures now throw an error by default if a
5899 keyword other than one of those specified is found in the actual
5900 passed arguments. However, specifying #&allow-other-keys
5901 immediately after the kyword argument declarations restores the
5902 previous behavior of ignoring unknown keywords. lambda* also now
5903 guarantees that if the same keyword is passed more than once, the
5904 last one passed is the one that takes effect. For example,
5905 ((lambda* (#&key (heads 0) (tails 0)) (display (list heads tails)))
5906 #:heads 37 #:tails 42 #:heads 99)
5907 would result in (99 47) being displayed.
5909 #&rest is also now provided as a synonym for the dotted syntax rest
5910 argument. The argument lists (a . b) and (a #&rest b) are equivalent in
5911 all respects to lambda*. This is provided for more similarity to DSSSL,
5912 MIT-Scheme and Kawa among others, as well as for refugees from other
5915 Further documentation may be found in the optargs.scm file itself.
5917 The optional argument module also exports the macros `let-optional',
5918 `let-optional*', `let-keywords', `let-keywords*' and `bound?'. These
5919 are not documented here because they may be removed in the future, but
5920 full documentation is still available in optargs.scm.
5922 ** New syntax: and-let*
5923 Guile now supports the `and-let*' form, described in the draft SRFI-2.
5925 Syntax: (land* (<clause> ...) <body> ...)
5926 Each <clause> should have one of the following forms:
5927 (<variable> <expression>)
5930 Each <variable> or <bound-variable> should be an identifier. Each
5931 <expression> should be a valid expression. The <body> should be a
5932 possibly empty sequence of expressions, like the <body> of a
5935 Semantics: A LAND* expression is evaluated by evaluating the
5936 <expression> or <bound-variable> of each of the <clause>s from
5937 left to right. The value of the first <expression> or
5938 <bound-variable> that evaluates to a false value is returned; the
5939 remaining <expression>s and <bound-variable>s are not evaluated.
5940 The <body> forms are evaluated iff all the <expression>s and
5941 <bound-variable>s evaluate to true values.
5943 The <expression>s and the <body> are evaluated in an environment
5944 binding each <variable> of the preceding (<variable> <expression>)
5945 clauses to the value of the <expression>. Later bindings
5946 shadow earlier bindings.
5948 Guile's and-let* macro was contributed by Michael Livshin.
5950 ** New sorting functions
5952 *** New function: sorted? SEQUENCE LESS?
5953 Returns `#t' when the sequence argument is in non-decreasing order
5954 according to LESS? (that is, there is no adjacent pair `... x y
5955 ...' for which `(less? y x)').
5957 Returns `#f' when the sequence contains at least one out-of-order
5958 pair. It is an error if the sequence is neither a list nor a
5961 *** New function: merge LIST1 LIST2 LESS?
5962 LIST1 and LIST2 are sorted lists.
5963 Returns the sorted list of all elements in LIST1 and LIST2.
5965 Assume that the elements a and b1 in LIST1 and b2 in LIST2 are "equal"
5966 in the sense that (LESS? x y) --> #f for x, y in {a, b1, b2},
5967 and that a < b1 in LIST1. Then a < b1 < b2 in the result.
5968 (Here "<" should read "comes before".)
5970 *** New procedure: merge! LIST1 LIST2 LESS?
5971 Merges two lists, re-using the pairs of LIST1 and LIST2 to build
5972 the result. If the code is compiled, and LESS? constructs no new
5973 pairs, no pairs at all will be allocated. The first pair of the
5974 result will be either the first pair of LIST1 or the first pair of
5977 *** New function: sort SEQUENCE LESS?
5978 Accepts either a list or a vector, and returns a new sequence
5979 which is sorted. The new sequence is the same type as the input.
5980 Always `(sorted? (sort sequence less?) less?)'. The original
5981 sequence is not altered in any way. The new sequence shares its
5982 elements with the old one; no elements are copied.
5984 *** New procedure: sort! SEQUENCE LESS
5985 Returns its sorted result in the original boxes. No new storage is
5986 allocated at all. Proper usage: (set! slist (sort! slist <))
5988 *** New function: stable-sort SEQUENCE LESS?
5989 Similar to `sort' but stable. That is, if "equal" elements are
5990 ordered a < b in the original sequence, they will have the same order
5993 *** New function: stable-sort! SEQUENCE LESS?
5994 Similar to `sort!' but stable.
5995 Uses temporary storage when sorting vectors.
5997 *** New functions: sort-list, sort-list!
5998 Added for compatibility with scsh.
6000 ** New built-in random number support
6002 *** New function: random N [STATE]
6003 Accepts a positive integer or real N and returns a number of the
6004 same type between zero (inclusive) and N (exclusive). The values
6005 returned have a uniform distribution.
6007 The optional argument STATE must be of the type produced by
6008 `copy-random-state' or `seed->random-state'. It defaults to the value
6009 of the variable `*random-state*'. This object is used to maintain the
6010 state of the pseudo-random-number generator and is altered as a side
6011 effect of the `random' operation.
6013 *** New variable: *random-state*
6014 Holds a data structure that encodes the internal state of the
6015 random-number generator that `random' uses by default. The nature
6016 of this data structure is implementation-dependent. It may be
6017 printed out and successfully read back in, but may or may not
6018 function correctly as a random-number state object in another
6021 *** New function: copy-random-state [STATE]
6022 Returns a new object of type suitable for use as the value of the
6023 variable `*random-state*' and as a second argument to `random'.
6024 If argument STATE is given, a copy of it is returned. Otherwise a
6025 copy of `*random-state*' is returned.
6027 *** New function: seed->random-state SEED
6028 Returns a new object of type suitable for use as the value of the
6029 variable `*random-state*' and as a second argument to `random'.
6030 SEED is a string or a number. A new state is generated and
6031 initialized using SEED.
6033 *** New function: random:uniform [STATE]
6034 Returns an uniformly distributed inexact real random number in the
6035 range between 0 and 1.
6037 *** New procedure: random:solid-sphere! VECT [STATE]
6038 Fills VECT with inexact real random numbers the sum of whose
6039 squares is less than 1.0. Thinking of VECT as coordinates in
6040 space of dimension N = `(vector-length VECT)', the coordinates are
6041 uniformly distributed within the unit N-shere. The sum of the
6042 squares of the numbers is returned. VECT can be either a vector
6043 or a uniform vector of doubles.
6045 *** New procedure: random:hollow-sphere! VECT [STATE]
6046 Fills VECT with inexact real random numbers the sum of whose squares
6047 is equal to 1.0. Thinking of VECT as coordinates in space of
6048 dimension n = `(vector-length VECT)', the coordinates are uniformly
6049 distributed over the surface of the unit n-shere. VECT can be either
6050 a vector or a uniform vector of doubles.
6052 *** New function: random:normal [STATE]
6053 Returns an inexact real in a normal distribution with mean 0 and
6054 standard deviation 1. For a normal distribution with mean M and
6055 standard deviation D use `(+ M (* D (random:normal)))'.
6057 *** New procedure: random:normal-vector! VECT [STATE]
6058 Fills VECT with inexact real random numbers which are independent and
6059 standard normally distributed (i.e., with mean 0 and variance 1).
6060 VECT can be either a vector or a uniform vector of doubles.
6062 *** New function: random:exp STATE
6063 Returns an inexact real in an exponential distribution with mean 1.
6064 For an exponential distribution with mean U use (* U (random:exp)).
6066 ** The range of logand, logior, logxor, logtest, and logbit? have changed.
6068 These functions now operate on numbers in the range of a C unsigned
6071 These functions used to operate on numbers in the range of a C signed
6072 long; however, this seems inappropriate, because Guile integers don't
6075 ** New function: make-guardian
6076 This is an implementation of guardians as described in
6077 R. Kent Dybvig, Carl Bruggeman, and David Eby (1993) "Guardians in a
6078 Generation-Based Garbage Collector" ACM SIGPLAN Conference on
6079 Programming Language Design and Implementation, June 1993
6080 ftp://ftp.cs.indiana.edu/pub/scheme-repository/doc/pubs/guardians.ps.gz
6082 ** New functions: delq1!, delv1!, delete1!
6083 These procedures behave similar to delq! and friends but delete only
6084 one object if at all.
6086 ** New function: unread-string STRING PORT
6087 Unread STRING to PORT, that is, push it back onto the port so that
6088 next read operation will work on the pushed back characters.
6090 ** unread-char can now be called multiple times
6091 If unread-char is called multiple times, the unread characters will be
6092 read again in last-in first-out order.
6094 ** the procedures uniform-array-read! and uniform-array-write! now
6095 work on any kind of port, not just ports which are open on a file.
6097 ** Now 'l' in a port mode requests line buffering.
6099 ** The procedure truncate-file now works on string ports as well
6100 as file ports. If the size argument is omitted, the current
6101 file position is used.
6103 ** new procedure: seek PORT/FDES OFFSET WHENCE
6104 The arguments are the same as for the old fseek procedure, but it
6105 works on string ports as well as random-access file ports.
6107 ** the fseek procedure now works on string ports, since it has been
6108 redefined using seek.
6110 ** the setvbuf procedure now uses a default size if mode is _IOFBF and
6111 size is not supplied.
6113 ** the newline procedure no longer flushes the port if it's not
6114 line-buffered: previously it did if it was the current output port.
6116 ** open-pipe and close-pipe are no longer primitive procedures, but
6117 an emulation can be obtained using `(use-modules (ice-9 popen))'.
6119 ** the freopen procedure has been removed.
6121 ** new procedure: drain-input PORT
6122 Drains PORT's read buffers (including any pushed-back characters)
6123 and returns the contents as a single string.
6125 ** New function: map-in-order PROC LIST1 LIST2 ...
6126 Version of `map' which guarantees that the procedure is applied to the
6127 lists in serial order.
6129 ** Renamed `serial-array-copy!' and `serial-array-map!' to
6130 `array-copy-in-order!' and `array-map-in-order!'. The old names are
6131 now obsolete and will go away in release 1.5.
6133 ** New syntax: collect BODY1 ...
6134 Version of `begin' which returns a list of the results of the body
6135 forms instead of the result of the last body form. In contrast to
6136 `begin', `collect' allows an empty body.
6138 ** New functions: read-history FILENAME, write-history FILENAME
6139 Read/write command line history from/to file. Returns #t on success
6140 and #f if an error occured.
6142 ** `ls' and `lls' in module (ice-9 ls) now handle no arguments.
6144 These procedures return a list of definitions available in the specified
6145 argument, a relative module reference. In the case of no argument,
6146 `(current-module)' is now consulted for definitions to return, instead
6147 of simply returning #f, the former behavior.
6149 ** The #/ syntax for lists is no longer supported.
6151 Earlier versions of Scheme accepted this syntax, but printed a
6154 ** Guile no longer consults the SCHEME_LOAD_PATH environment variable.
6156 Instead, you should set GUILE_LOAD_PATH to tell Guile where to find
6159 * Changes to the gh_ interface
6163 Now takes a second argument which is the result array. If this
6164 pointer is NULL, a new array is malloced (the old behaviour).
6166 ** gh_chars2byvect, gh_shorts2svect, gh_floats2fvect, gh_scm2chars,
6167 gh_scm2shorts, gh_scm2longs, gh_scm2floats
6171 * Changes to the scm_ interface
6173 ** Function: scm_make_named_hook (char* name, int n_args)
6175 Creates a hook in the same way as make-hook above but also
6176 binds a variable named NAME to it.
6178 This is the typical way of creating a hook from C code.
6180 Currently, the variable is created in the "current" module. This
6181 might change when we get the new module system.
6183 ** The smob interface
6185 The interface for creating smobs has changed. For documentation, see
6186 data-rep.info (made from guile-core/doc/data-rep.texi).
6188 *** Deprecated function: SCM scm_newsmob (scm_smobfuns *)
6190 >>> This function will be removed in 1.3.4. <<<
6194 *** Function: SCM scm_make_smob_type (const char *name, scm_sizet size)
6195 This function adds a new smob type, named NAME, with instance size
6196 SIZE to the system. The return value is a tag that is used in
6197 creating instances of the type. If SIZE is 0, then no memory will
6198 be allocated when instances of the smob are created, and nothing
6199 will be freed by the default free function.
6201 *** Function: void scm_set_smob_mark (long tc, SCM (*mark) (SCM))
6202 This function sets the smob marking procedure for the smob type
6203 specified by the tag TC. TC is the tag returned by
6204 `scm_make_smob_type'.
6206 *** Function: void scm_set_smob_free (long tc, SCM (*mark) (SCM))
6207 This function sets the smob freeing procedure for the smob type
6208 specified by the tag TC. TC is the tag returned by
6209 `scm_make_smob_type'.
6211 *** Function: void scm_set_smob_print (tc, print)
6213 - Function: void scm_set_smob_print (long tc,
6214 scm_sizet (*print) (SCM,
6218 This function sets the smob printing procedure for the smob type
6219 specified by the tag TC. TC is the tag returned by
6220 `scm_make_smob_type'.
6222 *** Function: void scm_set_smob_equalp (long tc, SCM (*equalp) (SCM, SCM))
6223 This function sets the smob equality-testing predicate for the
6224 smob type specified by the tag TC. TC is the tag returned by
6225 `scm_make_smob_type'.
6227 *** Macro: void SCM_NEWSMOB (SCM var, long tc, void *data)
6228 Make VALUE contain a smob instance of the type with type code TC and
6229 smob data DATA. VALUE must be previously declared as C type `SCM'.
6231 *** Macro: fn_returns SCM_RETURN_NEWSMOB (long tc, void *data)
6232 This macro expands to a block of code that creates a smob instance
6233 of the type with type code TC and smob data DATA, and returns that
6234 `SCM' value. It should be the last piece of code in a block.
6236 ** The interfaces for using I/O ports and implementing port types
6237 (ptobs) have changed significantly. The new interface is based on
6238 shared access to buffers and a new set of ptob procedures.
6240 *** scm_newptob has been removed
6244 *** Function: SCM scm_make_port_type (type_name, fill_buffer, write_flush)
6246 - Function: SCM scm_make_port_type (char *type_name,
6247 int (*fill_buffer) (SCM port),
6248 void (*write_flush) (SCM port));
6250 Similarly to the new smob interface, there is a set of function
6251 setters by which the user can customize the behaviour of his port
6252 type. See ports.h (scm_set_port_XXX).
6254 ** scm_strport_to_string: New function: creates a new string from
6255 a string port's buffer.
6257 ** Plug in interface for random number generators
6258 The variable `scm_the_rng' in random.c contains a value and three
6259 function pointers which together define the current random number
6260 generator being used by the Scheme level interface and the random
6261 number library functions.
6263 The user is free to replace the default generator with the generator
6266 *** Variable: size_t scm_the_rng.rstate_size
6267 The size of the random state type used by the current RNG
6270 *** Function: unsigned long scm_the_rng.random_bits (scm_rstate *STATE)
6271 Given the random STATE, return 32 random bits.
6273 *** Function: void scm_the_rng.init_rstate (scm_rstate *STATE, chars *S, int N)
6274 Seed random state STATE using string S of length N.
6276 *** Function: scm_rstate *scm_the_rng.copy_rstate (scm_rstate *STATE)
6277 Given random state STATE, return a malloced copy.
6280 The default RNG is the MWC (Multiply With Carry) random number
6281 generator described by George Marsaglia at the Department of
6282 Statistics and Supercomputer Computations Research Institute, The
6283 Florida State University (http://stat.fsu.edu/~geo).
6285 It uses 64 bits, has a period of 4578426017172946943 (4.6e18), and
6286 passes all tests in the DIEHARD test suite
6287 (http://stat.fsu.edu/~geo/diehard.html). The generation of 32 bits
6288 costs one multiply and one add on platforms which either supports long
6289 longs (gcc does this on most systems) or have 64 bit longs. The cost
6290 is four multiply on other systems but this can be optimized by writing
6291 scm_i_uniform32 in assembler.
6293 These functions are provided through the scm_the_rng interface for use
6294 by libguile and the application.
6296 *** Function: unsigned long scm_i_uniform32 (scm_i_rstate *STATE)
6297 Given the random STATE, return 32 random bits.
6298 Don't use this function directly. Instead go through the plugin
6299 interface (see "Plug in interface" above).
6301 *** Function: void scm_i_init_rstate (scm_i_rstate *STATE, char *SEED, int N)
6302 Initialize STATE using SEED of length N.
6304 *** Function: scm_i_rstate *scm_i_copy_rstate (scm_i_rstate *STATE)
6305 Return a malloc:ed copy of STATE. This function can easily be re-used
6306 in the interfaces to other RNGs.
6308 ** Random number library functions
6309 These functions use the current RNG through the scm_the_rng interface.
6310 It might be a good idea to use these functions from your C code so
6311 that only one random generator is used by all code in your program.
6313 The default random state is stored in:
6315 *** Variable: SCM scm_var_random_state
6316 Contains the vcell of the Scheme variable "*random-state*" which is
6317 used as default state by all random number functions in the Scheme
6322 double x = scm_c_uniform01 (SCM_RSTATE (SCM_CDR (scm_var_random_state)));
6324 *** Function: scm_rstate *scm_c_default_rstate (void)
6325 This is a convenience function which returns the value of
6326 scm_var_random_state. An error message is generated if this value
6327 isn't a random state.
6329 *** Function: scm_rstate *scm_c_make_rstate (char *SEED, int LENGTH)
6330 Make a new random state from the string SEED of length LENGTH.
6332 It is generally not a good idea to use multiple random states in a
6333 program. While subsequent random numbers generated from one random
6334 state are guaranteed to be reasonably independent, there is no such
6335 guarantee for numbers generated from different random states.
6337 *** Macro: unsigned long scm_c_uniform32 (scm_rstate *STATE)
6338 Return 32 random bits.
6340 *** Function: double scm_c_uniform01 (scm_rstate *STATE)
6341 Return a sample from the uniform(0,1) distribution.
6343 *** Function: double scm_c_normal01 (scm_rstate *STATE)
6344 Return a sample from the normal(0,1) distribution.
6346 *** Function: double scm_c_exp1 (scm_rstate *STATE)
6347 Return a sample from the exp(1) distribution.
6349 *** Function: unsigned long scm_c_random (scm_rstate *STATE, unsigned long M)
6350 Return a sample from the discrete uniform(0,M) distribution.
6352 *** Function: SCM scm_c_random_bignum (scm_rstate *STATE, SCM M)
6353 Return a sample from the discrete uniform(0,M) distribution.
6354 M must be a bignum object. The returned value may be an INUM.
6358 Changes in Guile 1.3 (released Monday, October 19, 1998):
6360 * Changes to the distribution
6362 ** We renamed the SCHEME_LOAD_PATH environment variable to GUILE_LOAD_PATH.
6363 To avoid conflicts, programs should name environment variables after
6364 themselves, except when there's a common practice establishing some
6367 For now, Guile supports both GUILE_LOAD_PATH and SCHEME_LOAD_PATH,
6368 giving the former precedence, and printing a warning message if the
6369 latter is set. Guile 1.4 will not recognize SCHEME_LOAD_PATH at all.
6371 ** The header files related to multi-byte characters have been removed.
6372 They were: libguile/extchrs.h and libguile/mbstrings.h. Any C code
6373 which referred to these explicitly will probably need to be rewritten,
6374 since the support for the variant string types has been removed; see
6377 ** The header files append.h and sequences.h have been removed. These
6378 files implemented non-R4RS operations which would encourage
6379 non-portable programming style and less easy-to-read code.
6381 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
6383 ** New procedures have been added to implement a "batch mode":
6385 *** Function: batch-mode?
6387 Returns a boolean indicating whether the interpreter is in batch
6390 *** Function: set-batch-mode?! ARG
6392 If ARG is true, switches the interpreter to batch mode. The `#f'
6393 case has not been implemented.
6395 ** Guile now provides full command-line editing, when run interactively.
6396 To use this feature, you must have the readline library installed.
6397 The Guile build process will notice it, and automatically include
6400 The readline library is available via anonymous FTP from any GNU
6401 mirror site; the canonical location is "ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu".
6403 ** the-last-stack is now a fluid.
6405 * Changes to the procedure for linking libguile with your programs
6407 ** You can now use the `guile-config' utility to build programs that use Guile.
6409 Guile now includes a command-line utility called `guile-config', which
6410 can provide information about how to compile and link programs that
6413 *** `guile-config compile' prints any C compiler flags needed to use Guile.
6414 You should include this command's output on the command line you use
6415 to compile C or C++ code that #includes the Guile header files. It's
6416 usually just a `-I' flag to help the compiler find the Guile headers.
6419 *** `guile-config link' prints any linker flags necessary to link with Guile.
6421 This command writes to its standard output a list of flags which you
6422 must pass to the linker to link your code against the Guile library.
6423 The flags include '-lguile' itself, any other libraries the Guile
6424 library depends upon, and any `-L' flags needed to help the linker
6425 find those libraries.
6427 For example, here is a Makefile rule that builds a program named 'foo'
6428 from the object files ${FOO_OBJECTS}, and links them against Guile:
6431 ${CC} ${CFLAGS} ${FOO_OBJECTS} `guile-config link` -o foo
6433 Previous Guile releases recommended that you use autoconf to detect
6434 which of a predefined set of libraries were present on your system.
6435 It is more robust to use `guile-config', since it records exactly which
6436 libraries the installed Guile library requires.
6438 This was originally called `build-guile', but was renamed to
6439 `guile-config' before Guile 1.3 was released, to be consistent with
6440 the analogous script for the GTK+ GUI toolkit, which is called
6444 ** Use the GUILE_FLAGS macro in your configure.in file to find Guile.
6446 If you are using the GNU autoconf package to configure your program,
6447 you can use the GUILE_FLAGS autoconf macro to call `guile-config'
6448 (described above) and gather the necessary values for use in your
6451 The GUILE_FLAGS macro expands to configure script code which runs the
6452 `guile-config' script, to find out where Guile's header files and
6453 libraries are installed. It sets two variables, marked for
6454 substitution, as by AC_SUBST.
6456 GUILE_CFLAGS --- flags to pass to a C or C++ compiler to build
6457 code that uses Guile header files. This is almost always just a
6460 GUILE_LDFLAGS --- flags to pass to the linker to link a
6461 program against Guile. This includes `-lguile' for the Guile
6462 library itself, any libraries that Guile itself requires (like
6463 -lqthreads), and so on. It may also include a -L flag to tell the
6464 compiler where to find the libraries.
6466 GUILE_FLAGS is defined in the file guile.m4, in the top-level
6467 directory of the Guile distribution. You can copy it into your
6468 package's aclocal.m4 file, and then use it in your configure.in file.
6470 If you are using the `aclocal' program, distributed with GNU automake,
6471 to maintain your aclocal.m4 file, the Guile installation process
6472 installs guile.m4 where aclocal will find it. All you need to do is
6473 use GUILE_FLAGS in your configure.in file, and then run `aclocal';
6474 this will copy the definition of GUILE_FLAGS into your aclocal.m4
6478 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
6480 ** Multi-byte strings have been removed, as have multi-byte and wide
6481 ports. We felt that these were the wrong approach to
6482 internationalization support.
6484 ** New function: readline [PROMPT]
6485 Read a line from the terminal, and allow the user to edit it,
6486 prompting with PROMPT. READLINE provides a large set of Emacs-like
6487 editing commands, lets the user recall previously typed lines, and
6488 works on almost every kind of terminal, including dumb terminals.
6490 READLINE assumes that the cursor is at the beginning of the line when
6491 it is invoked. Thus, you can't print a prompt yourself, and then call
6492 READLINE; you need to package up your prompt as a string, pass it to
6493 the function, and let READLINE print the prompt itself. This is
6494 because READLINE needs to know the prompt's screen width.
6496 For Guile to provide this function, you must have the readline
6497 library, version 2.1 or later, installed on your system. Readline is
6498 available via anonymous FTP from prep.ai.mit.edu in pub/gnu, or from
6499 any GNU mirror site.
6501 See also ADD-HISTORY function.
6503 ** New function: add-history STRING
6504 Add STRING as the most recent line in the history used by the READLINE
6505 command. READLINE does not add lines to the history itself; you must
6506 call ADD-HISTORY to make previous input available to the user.
6508 ** The behavior of the read-line function has changed.
6510 This function now uses standard C library functions to read the line,
6511 for speed. This means that it doesn not respect the value of
6512 scm-line-incrementors; it assumes that lines are delimited with
6515 (Note that this is read-line, the function that reads a line of text
6516 from a port, not readline, the function that reads a line from a
6517 terminal, providing full editing capabilities.)
6519 ** New module (ice-9 getopt-gnu-style): Parse command-line arguments.
6521 This module provides some simple argument parsing. It exports one
6524 Function: getopt-gnu-style ARG-LS
6525 Parse a list of program arguments into an alist of option
6528 Each item in the list of program arguments is examined to see if
6529 it meets the syntax of a GNU long-named option. An argument like
6530 `--MUMBLE' produces an element of the form (MUMBLE . #t) in the
6531 returned alist, where MUMBLE is a keyword object with the same
6532 name as the argument. An argument like `--MUMBLE=FROB' produces
6533 an element of the form (MUMBLE . FROB), where FROB is a string.
6535 As a special case, the returned alist also contains a pair whose
6536 car is the symbol `rest'. The cdr of this pair is a list
6537 containing all the items in the argument list that are not options
6538 of the form mentioned above.
6540 The argument `--' is treated specially: all items in the argument
6541 list appearing after such an argument are not examined, and are
6542 returned in the special `rest' list.
6544 This function does not parse normal single-character switches.
6545 You will need to parse them out of the `rest' list yourself.
6547 ** The read syntax for byte vectors and short vectors has changed.
6549 Instead of #bytes(...), write #y(...).
6551 Instead of #short(...), write #h(...).
6553 This may seem nutty, but, like the other uniform vectors, byte vectors
6554 and short vectors want to have the same print and read syntax (and,
6555 more basic, want to have read syntax!). Changing the read syntax to
6556 use multiple characters after the hash sign breaks with the
6557 conventions used in R5RS and the conventions used for the other
6558 uniform vectors. It also introduces complexity in the current reader,
6559 both on the C and Scheme levels. (The Right solution is probably to
6560 change the syntax and prototypes for uniform vectors entirely.)
6563 ** The new module (ice-9 session) provides useful interactive functions.
6565 *** New procedure: (apropos REGEXP OPTION ...)
6567 Display a list of top-level variables whose names match REGEXP, and
6568 the modules they are imported from. Each OPTION should be one of the
6571 value --- Show the value of each matching variable.
6572 shadow --- Show bindings shadowed by subsequently imported modules.
6573 full --- Same as both `shadow' and `value'.
6577 guile> (apropos "trace" 'full)
6578 debug: trace #<procedure trace args>
6579 debug: untrace #<procedure untrace args>
6580 the-scm-module: display-backtrace #<compiled-closure #<primitive-procedure gsubr-apply>>
6581 the-scm-module: before-backtrace-hook ()
6582 the-scm-module: backtrace #<primitive-procedure backtrace>
6583 the-scm-module: after-backtrace-hook ()
6584 the-scm-module: has-shown-backtrace-hint? #f
6587 ** There are new functions and syntax for working with macros.
6589 Guile implements macros as a special object type. Any variable whose
6590 top-level binding is a macro object acts as a macro. The macro object
6591 specifies how the expression should be transformed before evaluation.
6593 *** Macro objects now print in a reasonable way, resembling procedures.
6595 *** New function: (macro? OBJ)
6596 True iff OBJ is a macro object.
6598 *** New function: (primitive-macro? OBJ)
6599 Like (macro? OBJ), but true only if OBJ is one of the Guile primitive
6600 macro transformers, implemented in eval.c rather than Scheme code.
6602 Why do we have this function?
6603 - For symmetry with procedure? and primitive-procedure?,
6604 - to allow custom print procedures to tell whether a macro is
6605 primitive, and display it differently, and
6606 - to allow compilers and user-written evaluators to distinguish
6607 builtin special forms from user-defined ones, which could be
6610 *** New function: (macro-type OBJ)
6611 Return a value indicating what kind of macro OBJ is. Possible return
6614 The symbol `syntax' --- a macro created by procedure->syntax.
6615 The symbol `macro' --- a macro created by procedure->macro.
6616 The symbol `macro!' --- a macro created by procedure->memoizing-macro.
6617 The boolean #f --- if OBJ is not a macro object.
6619 *** New function: (macro-name MACRO)
6620 Return the name of the macro object MACRO's procedure, as returned by
6623 *** New function: (macro-transformer MACRO)
6624 Return the transformer procedure for MACRO.
6626 *** New syntax: (use-syntax MODULE ... TRANSFORMER)
6628 Specify a new macro expander to use in the current module. Each
6629 MODULE is a module name, with the same meaning as in the `use-modules'
6630 form; each named module's exported bindings are added to the current
6631 top-level environment. TRANSFORMER is an expression evaluated in the
6632 resulting environment which must yield a procedure to use as the
6633 module's eval transformer: every expression evaluated in this module
6634 is passed to this function, and the result passed to the Guile
6637 *** macro-eval! is removed. Use local-eval instead.
6639 ** Some magic has been added to the printer to better handle user
6640 written printing routines (like record printers, closure printers).
6642 The problem is that these user written routines must have access to
6643 the current `print-state' to be able to handle fancy things like
6644 detection of circular references. These print-states have to be
6645 passed to the builtin printing routines (display, write, etc) to
6646 properly continue the print chain.
6648 We didn't want to change all existing print code so that it
6649 explicitly passes thru a print state in addition to a port. Instead,
6650 we extented the possible values that the builtin printing routines
6651 accept as a `port'. In addition to a normal port, they now also take
6652 a pair of a normal port and a print-state. Printing will go to the
6653 port and the print-state will be used to control the detection of
6654 circular references, etc. If the builtin function does not care for a
6655 print-state, it is simply ignored.
6657 User written callbacks are now called with such a pair as their
6658 `port', but because every function now accepts this pair as a PORT
6659 argument, you don't have to worry about that. In fact, it is probably
6660 safest to not check for these pairs.
6662 However, it is sometimes necessary to continue a print chain on a
6663 different port, for example to get a intermediate string
6664 representation of the printed value, mangle that string somehow, and
6665 then to finally print the mangled string. Use the new function
6667 inherit-print-state OLD-PORT NEW-PORT
6669 for this. It constructs a new `port' that prints to NEW-PORT but
6670 inherits the print-state of OLD-PORT.
6672 ** struct-vtable-offset renamed to vtable-offset-user
6674 ** New constants: vtable-index-layout, vtable-index-vtable, vtable-index-printer
6676 ** There is now a third optional argument to make-vtable-vtable
6677 (and fourth to make-struct) when constructing new types (vtables).
6678 This argument initializes field vtable-index-printer of the vtable.
6680 ** The detection of circular references has been extended to structs.
6681 That is, a structure that -- in the process of being printed -- prints
6682 itself does not lead to infinite recursion.
6684 ** There is now some basic support for fluids. Please read
6685 "libguile/fluid.h" to find out more. It is accessible from Scheme with
6686 the following functions and macros:
6688 Function: make-fluid
6690 Create a new fluid object. Fluids are not special variables or
6691 some other extension to the semantics of Scheme, but rather
6692 ordinary Scheme objects. You can store them into variables (that
6693 are still lexically scoped, of course) or into any other place you
6694 like. Every fluid has a initial value of `#f'.
6696 Function: fluid? OBJ
6698 Test whether OBJ is a fluid.
6700 Function: fluid-ref FLUID
6701 Function: fluid-set! FLUID VAL
6703 Access/modify the fluid FLUID. Modifications are only visible
6704 within the current dynamic root (that includes threads).
6706 Function: with-fluids* FLUIDS VALUES THUNK
6708 FLUIDS is a list of fluids and VALUES a corresponding list of
6709 values for these fluids. Before THUNK gets called the values are
6710 installed in the fluids and the old values of the fluids are
6711 saved in the VALUES list. When the flow of control leaves THUNK
6712 or reenters it, the values get swapped again. You might think of
6713 this as a `safe-fluid-excursion'. Note that the VALUES list is
6714 modified by `with-fluids*'.
6716 Macro: with-fluids ((FLUID VALUE) ...) FORM ...
6718 The same as `with-fluids*' but with a different syntax. It looks
6719 just like `let', but both FLUID and VALUE are evaluated. Remember,
6720 fluids are not special variables but ordinary objects. FLUID
6721 should evaluate to a fluid.
6723 ** Changes to system call interfaces:
6725 *** close-port, close-input-port and close-output-port now return a
6726 boolean instead of an `unspecified' object. #t means that the port
6727 was successfully closed, while #f means it was already closed. It is
6728 also now possible for these procedures to raise an exception if an
6729 error occurs (some errors from write can be delayed until close.)
6731 *** the first argument to chmod, fcntl, ftell and fseek can now be a
6734 *** the third argument to fcntl is now optional.
6736 *** the first argument to chown can now be a file descriptor or a port.
6738 *** the argument to stat can now be a port.
6740 *** The following new procedures have been added (most use scsh
6743 *** procedure: close PORT/FD
6744 Similar to close-port (*note close-port: Closing Ports.), but also
6745 works on file descriptors. A side effect of closing a file
6746 descriptor is that any ports using that file descriptor are moved
6747 to a different file descriptor and have their revealed counts set
6750 *** procedure: port->fdes PORT
6751 Returns the integer file descriptor underlying PORT. As a side
6752 effect the revealed count of PORT is incremented.
6754 *** procedure: fdes->ports FDES
6755 Returns a list of existing ports which have FDES as an underlying
6756 file descriptor, without changing their revealed counts.
6758 *** procedure: fdes->inport FDES
6759 Returns an existing input port which has FDES as its underlying
6760 file descriptor, if one exists, and increments its revealed count.
6761 Otherwise, returns a new input port with a revealed count of 1.
6763 *** procedure: fdes->outport FDES
6764 Returns an existing output port which has FDES as its underlying
6765 file descriptor, if one exists, and increments its revealed count.
6766 Otherwise, returns a new output port with a revealed count of 1.
6768 The next group of procedures perform a `dup2' system call, if NEWFD
6769 (an integer) is supplied, otherwise a `dup'. The file descriptor to be
6770 duplicated can be supplied as an integer or contained in a port. The
6771 type of value returned varies depending on which procedure is used.
6773 All procedures also have the side effect when performing `dup2' that
6774 any ports using NEWFD are moved to a different file descriptor and have
6775 their revealed counts set to zero.
6777 *** procedure: dup->fdes PORT/FD [NEWFD]
6778 Returns an integer file descriptor.
6780 *** procedure: dup->inport PORT/FD [NEWFD]
6781 Returns a new input port using the new file descriptor.
6783 *** procedure: dup->outport PORT/FD [NEWFD]
6784 Returns a new output port using the new file descriptor.
6786 *** procedure: dup PORT/FD [NEWFD]
6787 Returns a new port if PORT/FD is a port, with the same mode as the
6788 supplied port, otherwise returns an integer file descriptor.
6790 *** procedure: dup->port PORT/FD MODE [NEWFD]
6791 Returns a new port using the new file descriptor. MODE supplies a
6792 mode string for the port (*note open-file: File Ports.).
6794 *** procedure: setenv NAME VALUE
6795 Modifies the environment of the current process, which is also the
6796 default environment inherited by child processes.
6798 If VALUE is `#f', then NAME is removed from the environment.
6799 Otherwise, the string NAME=VALUE is added to the environment,
6800 replacing any existing string with name matching NAME.
6802 The return value is unspecified.
6804 *** procedure: truncate-file OBJ SIZE
6805 Truncates the file referred to by OBJ to at most SIZE bytes. OBJ
6806 can be a string containing a file name or an integer file
6807 descriptor or port open for output on the file. The underlying
6808 system calls are `truncate' and `ftruncate'.
6810 The return value is unspecified.
6812 *** procedure: setvbuf PORT MODE [SIZE]
6813 Set the buffering mode for PORT. MODE can be:
6821 block buffered, using a newly allocated buffer of SIZE bytes.
6822 However if SIZE is zero or unspecified, the port will be made
6825 This procedure should not be used after I/O has been performed with
6828 Ports are usually block buffered by default, with a default buffer
6829 size. Procedures e.g., *Note open-file: File Ports, which accept a
6830 mode string allow `0' to be added to request an unbuffered port.
6832 *** procedure: fsync PORT/FD
6833 Copies any unwritten data for the specified output file descriptor
6834 to disk. If PORT/FD is a port, its buffer is flushed before the
6835 underlying file descriptor is fsync'd. The return value is
6838 *** procedure: open-fdes PATH FLAGS [MODES]
6839 Similar to `open' but returns a file descriptor instead of a port.
6841 *** procedure: execle PATH ENV [ARG] ...
6842 Similar to `execl', but the environment of the new process is
6843 specified by ENV, which must be a list of strings as returned by
6844 the `environ' procedure.
6846 This procedure is currently implemented using the `execve' system
6847 call, but we call it `execle' because of its Scheme calling
6850 *** procedure: strerror ERRNO
6851 Returns the Unix error message corresponding to ERRNO, an integer.
6853 *** procedure: primitive-exit [STATUS]
6854 Terminate the current process without unwinding the Scheme stack.
6855 This is would typically be useful after a fork. The exit status
6856 is STATUS if supplied, otherwise zero.
6858 *** procedure: times
6859 Returns an object with information about real and processor time.
6860 The following procedures accept such an object as an argument and
6861 return a selected component:
6864 The current real time, expressed as time units relative to an
6868 The CPU time units used by the calling process.
6871 The CPU time units used by the system on behalf of the
6875 The CPU time units used by terminated child processes of the
6876 calling process, whose status has been collected (e.g., using
6880 Similarly, the CPU times units used by the system on behalf of
6881 terminated child processes.
6883 ** Removed: list-length
6884 ** Removed: list-append, list-append!
6885 ** Removed: list-reverse, list-reverse!
6887 ** array-map renamed to array-map!
6889 ** serial-array-map renamed to serial-array-map!
6891 ** catch doesn't take #f as first argument any longer
6893 Previously, it was possible to pass #f instead of a key to `catch'.
6894 That would cause `catch' to pass a jump buffer object to the procedure
6895 passed as second argument. The procedure could then use this jump
6896 buffer objekt as an argument to throw.
6898 This mechanism has been removed since its utility doesn't motivate the
6899 extra complexity it introduces.
6901 ** The `#/' notation for lists now provokes a warning message from Guile.
6902 This syntax will be removed from Guile in the near future.
6904 To disable the warning message, set the GUILE_HUSH environment
6905 variable to any non-empty value.
6907 ** The newline character now prints as `#\newline', following the
6908 normal Scheme notation, not `#\nl'.
6910 * Changes to the gh_ interface
6912 ** The gh_enter function now takes care of loading the Guile startup files.
6913 gh_enter works by calling scm_boot_guile; see the remarks below.
6915 ** Function: void gh_write (SCM x)
6917 Write the printed representation of the scheme object x to the current
6918 output port. Corresponds to the scheme level `write'.
6920 ** gh_list_length renamed to gh_length.
6922 ** vector handling routines
6924 Several major changes. In particular, gh_vector() now resembles
6925 (vector ...) (with a caveat -- see manual), and gh_make_vector() now
6926 exists and behaves like (make-vector ...). gh_vset() and gh_vref()
6927 have been renamed gh_vector_set_x() and gh_vector_ref(). Some missing
6928 vector-related gh_ functions have been implemented.
6930 ** pair and list routines
6932 Implemented several of the R4RS pair and list functions that were
6935 ** gh_scm2doubles, gh_doubles2scm, gh_doubles2dvect
6937 New function. Converts double arrays back and forth between Scheme
6940 * Changes to the scm_ interface
6942 ** The function scm_boot_guile now takes care of loading the startup files.
6944 Guile's primary initialization function, scm_boot_guile, now takes
6945 care of loading `boot-9.scm', in the `ice-9' module, to initialize
6946 Guile, define the module system, and put together some standard
6947 bindings. It also loads `init.scm', which is intended to hold
6948 site-specific initialization code.
6950 Since Guile cannot operate properly until boot-9.scm is loaded, there
6951 is no reason to separate loading boot-9.scm from Guile's other
6952 initialization processes.
6954 This job used to be done by scm_compile_shell_switches, which didn't
6955 make much sense; in particular, it meant that people using Guile for
6956 non-shell-like applications had to jump through hoops to get Guile
6957 initialized properly.
6959 ** The function scm_compile_shell_switches no longer loads the startup files.
6960 Now, Guile always loads the startup files, whenever it is initialized;
6961 see the notes above for scm_boot_guile and scm_load_startup_files.
6963 ** Function: scm_load_startup_files
6964 This new function takes care of loading Guile's initialization file
6965 (`boot-9.scm'), and the site initialization file, `init.scm'. Since
6966 this is always called by the Guile initialization process, it's
6967 probably not too useful to call this yourself, but it's there anyway.
6969 ** The semantics of smob marking have changed slightly.
6971 The smob marking function (the `mark' member of the scm_smobfuns
6972 structure) is no longer responsible for setting the mark bit on the
6973 smob. The generic smob handling code in the garbage collector will
6974 set this bit. The mark function need only ensure that any other
6975 objects the smob refers to get marked.
6977 Note that this change means that the smob's GC8MARK bit is typically
6978 already set upon entry to the mark function. Thus, marking functions
6979 which look like this:
6982 if (SCM_GC8MARKP (ptr))
6984 SCM_SETGC8MARK (ptr);
6985 ... mark objects to which the smob refers ...
6988 are now incorrect, since they will return early, and fail to mark any
6989 other objects the smob refers to. Some code in the Guile library used
6992 ** The semantics of the I/O port functions in scm_ptobfuns have changed.
6994 If you have implemented your own I/O port type, by writing the
6995 functions required by the scm_ptobfuns and then calling scm_newptob,
6996 you will need to change your functions slightly.
6998 The functions in a scm_ptobfuns structure now expect the port itself
6999 as their argument; they used to expect the `stream' member of the
7000 port's scm_port_table structure. This allows functions in an
7001 scm_ptobfuns structure to easily access the port's cell (and any flags
7002 it its CAR), and the port's scm_port_table structure.
7004 Guile now passes the I/O port itself as the `port' argument in the
7005 following scm_ptobfuns functions:
7007 int (*free) (SCM port);
7008 int (*fputc) (int, SCM port);
7009 int (*fputs) (char *, SCM port);
7010 scm_sizet (*fwrite) SCM_P ((char *ptr,
7014 int (*fflush) (SCM port);
7015 int (*fgetc) (SCM port);
7016 int (*fclose) (SCM port);
7018 The interfaces to the `mark', `print', `equalp', and `fgets' methods
7021 If you have existing code which defines its own port types, it is easy
7022 to convert your code to the new interface; simply apply SCM_STREAM to
7023 the port argument to yield the value you code used to expect.
7025 Note that since both the port and the stream have the same type in the
7026 C code --- they are both SCM values --- the C compiler will not remind
7027 you if you forget to update your scm_ptobfuns functions.
7030 ** Function: int scm_internal_select (int fds,
7034 struct timeval *timeout);
7036 This is a replacement for the `select' function provided by the OS.
7037 It enables I/O blocking and sleeping to happen for one cooperative
7038 thread without blocking other threads. It also avoids busy-loops in
7039 these situations. It is intended that all I/O blocking and sleeping
7040 will finally go through this function. Currently, this function is
7041 only available on systems providing `gettimeofday' and `select'.
7043 ** Function: SCM scm_internal_stack_catch (SCM tag,
7044 scm_catch_body_t body,
7046 scm_catch_handler_t handler,
7049 A new sibling to the other two C level `catch' functions
7050 scm_internal_catch and scm_internal_lazy_catch. Use it if you want
7051 the stack to be saved automatically into the variable `the-last-stack'
7052 (scm_the_last_stack_var) on error. This is necessary if you want to
7053 use advanced error reporting, such as calling scm_display_error and
7054 scm_display_backtrace. (They both take a stack object as argument.)
7056 ** Function: SCM scm_spawn_thread (scm_catch_body_t body,
7058 scm_catch_handler_t handler,
7061 Spawns a new thread. It does a job similar to
7062 scm_call_with_new_thread but takes arguments more suitable when
7063 spawning threads from application C code.
7065 ** The hook scm_error_callback has been removed. It was originally
7066 intended as a way for the user to install his own error handler. But
7067 that method works badly since it intervenes between throw and catch,
7068 thereby changing the semantics of expressions like (catch #t ...).
7069 The correct way to do it is to use one of the C level catch functions
7070 in throw.c: scm_internal_catch/lazy_catch/stack_catch.
7072 ** Removed functions:
7074 scm_obj_length, scm_list_length, scm_list_append, scm_list_append_x,
7075 scm_list_reverse, scm_list_reverse_x
7077 ** New macros: SCM_LISTn where n is one of the integers 0-9.
7079 These can be used for pretty list creation from C. The idea is taken
7080 from Erick Gallesio's STk.
7082 ** scm_array_map renamed to scm_array_map_x
7084 ** mbstrings are now removed
7086 This means that the type codes scm_tc7_mb_string and
7087 scm_tc7_mb_substring has been removed.
7089 ** scm_gen_putc, scm_gen_puts, scm_gen_write, and scm_gen_getc have changed.
7091 Since we no longer support multi-byte strings, these I/O functions
7092 have been simplified, and renamed. Here are their old names, and
7093 their new names and arguments:
7095 scm_gen_putc -> void scm_putc (int c, SCM port);
7096 scm_gen_puts -> void scm_puts (char *s, SCM port);
7097 scm_gen_write -> void scm_lfwrite (char *ptr, scm_sizet size, SCM port);
7098 scm_gen_getc -> void scm_getc (SCM port);
7101 ** The macros SCM_TYP7D and SCM_TYP7SD has been removed.
7103 ** The macro SCM_TYP7S has taken the role of the old SCM_TYP7D
7105 SCM_TYP7S now masks away the bit which distinguishes substrings from
7108 ** scm_catch_body_t: Backward incompatible change!
7110 Body functions to scm_internal_catch and friends do not any longer
7111 take a second argument. This is because it is no longer possible to
7112 pass a #f arg to catch.
7114 ** Calls to scm_protect_object and scm_unprotect now nest properly.
7116 The function scm_protect_object protects its argument from being freed
7117 by the garbage collector. scm_unprotect_object removes that
7120 These functions now nest properly. That is, for every object O, there
7121 is a counter which scm_protect_object(O) increments and
7122 scm_unprotect_object(O) decrements, if the counter is greater than
7123 zero. Every object's counter is zero when it is first created. If an
7124 object's counter is greater than zero, the garbage collector will not
7125 reclaim its storage.
7127 This allows you to use scm_protect_object in your code without
7128 worrying that some other function you call will call
7129 scm_unprotect_object, and allow it to be freed. Assuming that the
7130 functions you call are well-behaved, and unprotect only those objects
7131 they protect, you can follow the same rule and have confidence that
7132 objects will be freed only at appropriate times.
7135 Changes in Guile 1.2 (released Tuesday, June 24 1997):
7137 * Changes to the distribution
7139 ** Nightly snapshots are now available from ftp.red-bean.com.
7140 The old server, ftp.cyclic.com, has been relinquished to its rightful
7143 Nightly snapshots of the Guile development sources are now available via
7144 anonymous FTP from ftp.red-bean.com, as /pub/guile/guile-snap.tar.gz.
7146 Via the web, that's: ftp://ftp.red-bean.com/pub/guile/guile-snap.tar.gz
7147 For getit, that's: ftp.red-bean.com:/pub/guile/guile-snap.tar.gz
7149 ** To run Guile without installing it, the procedure has changed a bit.
7151 If you used a separate build directory to compile Guile, you'll need
7152 to include the build directory in SCHEME_LOAD_PATH, as well as the
7153 source directory. See the `INSTALL' file for examples.
7155 * Changes to the procedure for linking libguile with your programs
7157 ** The standard Guile load path for Scheme code now includes
7158 $(datadir)/guile (usually /usr/local/share/guile). This means that
7159 you can install your own Scheme files there, and Guile will find them.
7160 (Previous versions of Guile only checked a directory whose name
7161 contained the Guile version number, so you had to re-install or move
7162 your Scheme sources each time you installed a fresh version of Guile.)
7164 The load path also includes $(datadir)/guile/site; we recommend
7165 putting individual Scheme files there. If you want to install a
7166 package with multiple source files, create a directory for them under
7169 ** Guile 1.2 will now use the Rx regular expression library, if it is
7170 installed on your system. When you are linking libguile into your own
7171 programs, this means you will have to link against -lguile, -lqt (if
7172 you configured Guile with thread support), and -lrx.
7174 If you are using autoconf to generate configuration scripts for your
7175 application, the following lines should suffice to add the appropriate
7176 libraries to your link command:
7178 ### Find Rx, quickthreads and libguile.
7179 AC_CHECK_LIB(rx, main)
7180 AC_CHECK_LIB(qt, main)
7181 AC_CHECK_LIB(guile, scm_shell)
7183 The Guile 1.2 distribution does not contain sources for the Rx
7184 library, as Guile 1.0 did. If you want to use Rx, you'll need to
7185 retrieve it from a GNU FTP site and install it separately.
7187 * Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
7189 ** The dynamic linking features of Guile are now enabled by default.
7190 You can disable them by giving the `--disable-dynamic-linking' option
7193 (dynamic-link FILENAME)
7195 Find the object file denoted by FILENAME (a string) and link it
7196 into the running Guile application. When everything works out,
7197 return a Scheme object suitable for representing the linked object
7198 file. Otherwise an error is thrown. How object files are
7199 searched is system dependent.
7201 (dynamic-object? VAL)
7203 Determine whether VAL represents a dynamically linked object file.
7205 (dynamic-unlink DYNOBJ)
7207 Unlink the indicated object file from the application. DYNOBJ
7208 should be one of the values returned by `dynamic-link'.
7210 (dynamic-func FUNCTION DYNOBJ)
7212 Search the C function indicated by FUNCTION (a string or symbol)
7213 in DYNOBJ and return some Scheme object that can later be used
7214 with `dynamic-call' to actually call this function. Right now,
7215 these Scheme objects are formed by casting the address of the
7216 function to `long' and converting this number to its Scheme
7219 (dynamic-call FUNCTION DYNOBJ)
7221 Call the C function indicated by FUNCTION and DYNOBJ. The
7222 function is passed no arguments and its return value is ignored.
7223 When FUNCTION is something returned by `dynamic-func', call that
7224 function and ignore DYNOBJ. When FUNCTION is a string (or symbol,
7225 etc.), look it up in DYNOBJ; this is equivalent to
7227 (dynamic-call (dynamic-func FUNCTION DYNOBJ) #f)
7229 Interrupts are deferred while the C function is executing (with
7230 SCM_DEFER_INTS/SCM_ALLOW_INTS).
7232 (dynamic-args-call FUNCTION DYNOBJ ARGS)
7234 Call the C function indicated by FUNCTION and DYNOBJ, but pass it
7235 some arguments and return its return value. The C function is
7236 expected to take two arguments and return an `int', just like
7239 int c_func (int argc, char **argv);
7241 ARGS must be a list of strings and is converted into an array of
7242 `char *'. The array is passed in ARGV and its size in ARGC. The
7243 return value is converted to a Scheme number and returned from the
7244 call to `dynamic-args-call'.
7246 When dynamic linking is disabled or not supported on your system,
7247 the above functions throw errors, but they are still available.
7249 Here is a small example that works on GNU/Linux:
7251 (define libc-obj (dynamic-link "libc.so"))
7252 (dynamic-args-call 'rand libc-obj '())
7254 See the file `libguile/DYNAMIC-LINKING' for additional comments.
7256 ** The #/ syntax for module names is depreciated, and will be removed
7257 in a future version of Guile. Instead of
7265 The latter syntax is more consistent with existing Lisp practice.
7267 ** Guile now does fancier printing of structures. Structures are the
7268 underlying implementation for records, which in turn are used to
7269 implement modules, so all of these object now print differently and in
7270 a more informative way.
7272 The Scheme printer will examine the builtin variable *struct-printer*
7273 whenever it needs to print a structure object. When this variable is
7274 not `#f' it is deemed to be a procedure and will be applied to the
7275 structure object and the output port. When *struct-printer* is `#f'
7276 or the procedure return `#f' the structure object will be printed in
7277 the boring #<struct 80458270> form.
7279 This hook is used by some routines in ice-9/boot-9.scm to implement
7280 type specific printing routines. Please read the comments there about
7283 One of the more specific uses of structs are records. The printing
7284 procedure that could be passed to MAKE-RECORD-TYPE is now actually
7285 called. It should behave like a *struct-printer* procedure (described
7288 ** Guile now supports a new R4RS-compliant syntax for keywords. A
7289 token of the form #:NAME, where NAME has the same syntax as a Scheme
7290 symbol, is the external representation of the keyword named NAME.
7291 Keyword objects print using this syntax as well, so values containing
7292 keyword objects can be read back into Guile. When used in an
7293 expression, keywords are self-quoting objects.
7295 Guile suports this read syntax, and uses this print syntax, regardless
7296 of the current setting of the `keyword' read option. The `keyword'
7297 read option only controls whether Guile recognizes the `:NAME' syntax,
7298 which is incompatible with R4RS. (R4RS says such token represent
7301 ** Guile has regular expression support again. Guile 1.0 included
7302 functions for matching regular expressions, based on the Rx library.
7303 In Guile 1.1, the Guile/Rx interface was removed to simplify the
7304 distribution, and thus Guile had no regular expression support. Guile
7305 1.2 again supports the most commonly used functions, and supports all
7306 of SCSH's regular expression functions.
7308 If your system does not include a POSIX regular expression library,
7309 and you have not linked Guile with a third-party regexp library such as
7310 Rx, these functions will not be available. You can tell whether your
7311 Guile installation includes regular expression support by checking
7312 whether the `*features*' list includes the `regex' symbol.
7314 *** regexp functions
7316 By default, Guile supports POSIX extended regular expressions. That
7317 means that the characters `(', `)', `+' and `?' are special, and must
7318 be escaped if you wish to match the literal characters.
7320 This regular expression interface was modeled after that implemented
7321 by SCSH, the Scheme Shell. It is intended to be upwardly compatible
7322 with SCSH regular expressions.
7324 **** Function: string-match PATTERN STR [START]
7325 Compile the string PATTERN into a regular expression and compare
7326 it with STR. The optional numeric argument START specifies the
7327 position of STR at which to begin matching.
7329 `string-match' returns a "match structure" which describes what,
7330 if anything, was matched by the regular expression. *Note Match
7331 Structures::. If STR does not match PATTERN at all,
7332 `string-match' returns `#f'.
7334 Each time `string-match' is called, it must compile its PATTERN
7335 argument into a regular expression structure. This operation is
7336 expensive, which makes `string-match' inefficient if the same regular
7337 expression is used several times (for example, in a loop). For better
7338 performance, you can compile a regular expression in advance and then
7339 match strings against the compiled regexp.
7341 **** Function: make-regexp STR [FLAGS]
7342 Compile the regular expression described by STR, and return the
7343 compiled regexp structure. If STR does not describe a legal
7344 regular expression, `make-regexp' throws a
7345 `regular-expression-syntax' error.
7347 FLAGS may be the bitwise-or of one or more of the following:
7349 **** Constant: regexp/extended
7350 Use POSIX Extended Regular Expression syntax when interpreting
7351 STR. If not set, POSIX Basic Regular Expression syntax is used.
7352 If the FLAGS argument is omitted, we assume regexp/extended.
7354 **** Constant: regexp/icase
7355 Do not differentiate case. Subsequent searches using the
7356 returned regular expression will be case insensitive.
7358 **** Constant: regexp/newline
7359 Match-any-character operators don't match a newline.
7361 A non-matching list ([^...]) not containing a newline matches a
7364 Match-beginning-of-line operator (^) matches the empty string
7365 immediately after a newline, regardless of whether the FLAGS
7366 passed to regexp-exec contain regexp/notbol.
7368 Match-end-of-line operator ($) matches the empty string
7369 immediately before a newline, regardless of whether the FLAGS
7370 passed to regexp-exec contain regexp/noteol.
7372 **** Function: regexp-exec REGEXP STR [START [FLAGS]]
7373 Match the compiled regular expression REGEXP against `str'. If
7374 the optional integer START argument is provided, begin matching
7375 from that position in the string. Return a match structure
7376 describing the results of the match, or `#f' if no match could be
7379 FLAGS may be the bitwise-or of one or more of the following:
7381 **** Constant: regexp/notbol
7382 The match-beginning-of-line operator always fails to match (but
7383 see the compilation flag regexp/newline above) This flag may be
7384 used when different portions of a string are passed to
7385 regexp-exec and the beginning of the string should not be
7386 interpreted as the beginning of the line.
7388 **** Constant: regexp/noteol
7389 The match-end-of-line operator always fails to match (but see the
7390 compilation flag regexp/newline above)
7392 **** Function: regexp? OBJ
7393 Return `#t' if OBJ is a compiled regular expression, or `#f'
7396 Regular expressions are commonly used to find patterns in one string
7397 and replace them with the contents of another string.
7399 **** Function: regexp-substitute PORT MATCH [ITEM...]
7400 Write to the output port PORT selected contents of the match
7401 structure MATCH. Each ITEM specifies what should be written, and
7402 may be one of the following arguments:
7404 * A string. String arguments are written out verbatim.
7406 * An integer. The submatch with that number is written.
7408 * The symbol `pre'. The portion of the matched string preceding
7409 the regexp match is written.
7411 * The symbol `post'. The portion of the matched string
7412 following the regexp match is written.
7414 PORT may be `#f', in which case nothing is written; instead,
7415 `regexp-substitute' constructs a string from the specified ITEMs
7418 **** Function: regexp-substitute/global PORT REGEXP TARGET [ITEM...]
7419 Similar to `regexp-substitute', but can be used to perform global
7420 substitutions on STR. Instead of taking a match structure as an
7421 argument, `regexp-substitute/global' takes two string arguments: a
7422 REGEXP string describing a regular expression, and a TARGET string
7423 which should be matched against this regular expression.
7425 Each ITEM behaves as in REGEXP-SUBSTITUTE, with the following
7428 * A function may be supplied. When this function is called, it
7429 will be passed one argument: a match structure for a given
7430 regular expression match. It should return a string to be
7431 written out to PORT.
7433 * The `post' symbol causes `regexp-substitute/global' to recurse
7434 on the unmatched portion of STR. This *must* be supplied in
7435 order to perform global search-and-replace on STR; if it is
7436 not present among the ITEMs, then `regexp-substitute/global'
7437 will return after processing a single match.
7439 *** Match Structures
7441 A "match structure" is the object returned by `string-match' and
7442 `regexp-exec'. It describes which portion of a string, if any, matched
7443 the given regular expression. Match structures include: a reference to
7444 the string that was checked for matches; the starting and ending
7445 positions of the regexp match; and, if the regexp included any
7446 parenthesized subexpressions, the starting and ending positions of each
7449 In each of the regexp match functions described below, the `match'
7450 argument must be a match structure returned by a previous call to
7451 `string-match' or `regexp-exec'. Most of these functions return some
7452 information about the original target string that was matched against a
7453 regular expression; we will call that string TARGET for easy reference.
7455 **** Function: regexp-match? OBJ
7456 Return `#t' if OBJ is a match structure returned by a previous
7457 call to `regexp-exec', or `#f' otherwise.
7459 **** Function: match:substring MATCH [N]
7460 Return the portion of TARGET matched by subexpression number N.
7461 Submatch 0 (the default) represents the entire regexp match. If
7462 the regular expression as a whole matched, but the subexpression
7463 number N did not match, return `#f'.
7465 **** Function: match:start MATCH [N]
7466 Return the starting position of submatch number N.
7468 **** Function: match:end MATCH [N]
7469 Return the ending position of submatch number N.
7471 **** Function: match:prefix MATCH
7472 Return the unmatched portion of TARGET preceding the regexp match.
7474 **** Function: match:suffix MATCH
7475 Return the unmatched portion of TARGET following the regexp match.
7477 **** Function: match:count MATCH
7478 Return the number of parenthesized subexpressions from MATCH.
7479 Note that the entire regular expression match itself counts as a
7480 subexpression, and failed submatches are included in the count.
7482 **** Function: match:string MATCH
7483 Return the original TARGET string.
7485 *** Backslash Escapes
7487 Sometimes you will want a regexp to match characters like `*' or `$'
7488 exactly. For example, to check whether a particular string represents
7489 a menu entry from an Info node, it would be useful to match it against
7490 a regexp like `^* [^:]*::'. However, this won't work; because the
7491 asterisk is a metacharacter, it won't match the `*' at the beginning of
7492 the string. In this case, we want to make the first asterisk un-magic.
7494 You can do this by preceding the metacharacter with a backslash
7495 character `\'. (This is also called "quoting" the metacharacter, and
7496 is known as a "backslash escape".) When Guile sees a backslash in a
7497 regular expression, it considers the following glyph to be an ordinary
7498 character, no matter what special meaning it would ordinarily have.
7499 Therefore, we can make the above example work by changing the regexp to
7500 `^\* [^:]*::'. The `\*' sequence tells the regular expression engine
7501 to match only a single asterisk in the target string.
7503 Since the backslash is itself a metacharacter, you may force a
7504 regexp to match a backslash in the target string by preceding the
7505 backslash with itself. For example, to find variable references in a
7506 TeX program, you might want to find occurrences of the string `\let\'
7507 followed by any number of alphabetic characters. The regular expression
7508 `\\let\\[A-Za-z]*' would do this: the double backslashes in the regexp
7509 each match a single backslash in the target string.
7511 **** Function: regexp-quote STR
7512 Quote each special character found in STR with a backslash, and
7513 return the resulting string.
7515 *Very important:* Using backslash escapes in Guile source code (as
7516 in Emacs Lisp or C) can be tricky, because the backslash character has
7517 special meaning for the Guile reader. For example, if Guile encounters
7518 the character sequence `\n' in the middle of a string while processing
7519 Scheme code, it replaces those characters with a newline character.
7520 Similarly, the character sequence `\t' is replaced by a horizontal tab.
7521 Several of these "escape sequences" are processed by the Guile reader
7522 before your code is executed. Unrecognized escape sequences are
7523 ignored: if the characters `\*' appear in a string, they will be
7524 translated to the single character `*'.
7526 This translation is obviously undesirable for regular expressions,
7527 since we want to be able to include backslashes in a string in order to
7528 escape regexp metacharacters. Therefore, to make sure that a backslash
7529 is preserved in a string in your Guile program, you must use *two*
7530 consecutive backslashes:
7532 (define Info-menu-entry-pattern (make-regexp "^\\* [^:]*"))
7534 The string in this example is preprocessed by the Guile reader before
7535 any code is executed. The resulting argument to `make-regexp' is the
7536 string `^\* [^:]*', which is what we really want.
7538 This also means that in order to write a regular expression that
7539 matches a single backslash character, the regular expression string in
7540 the source code must include *four* backslashes. Each consecutive pair
7541 of backslashes gets translated by the Guile reader to a single
7542 backslash, and the resulting double-backslash is interpreted by the
7543 regexp engine as matching a single backslash character. Hence:
7545 (define tex-variable-pattern (make-regexp "\\\\let\\\\=[A-Za-z]*"))
7547 The reason for the unwieldiness of this syntax is historical. Both
7548 regular expression pattern matchers and Unix string processing systems
7549 have traditionally used backslashes with the special meanings described
7550 above. The POSIX regular expression specification and ANSI C standard
7551 both require these semantics. Attempting to abandon either convention
7552 would cause other kinds of compatibility problems, possibly more severe
7553 ones. Therefore, without extending the Scheme reader to support
7554 strings with different quoting conventions (an ungainly and confusing
7555 extension when implemented in other languages), we must adhere to this
7556 cumbersome escape syntax.
7558 * Changes to the gh_ interface
7560 * Changes to the scm_ interface
7562 * Changes to system call interfaces:
7564 ** The value returned by `raise' is now unspecified. It throws an exception
7567 *** A new procedure `sigaction' can be used to install signal handlers
7569 (sigaction signum [action] [flags])
7571 signum is the signal number, which can be specified using the value
7574 If action is omitted, sigaction returns a pair: the CAR is the current
7575 signal hander, which will be either an integer with the value SIG_DFL
7576 (default action) or SIG_IGN (ignore), or the Scheme procedure which
7577 handles the signal, or #f if a non-Scheme procedure handles the
7578 signal. The CDR contains the current sigaction flags for the handler.
7580 If action is provided, it is installed as the new handler for signum.
7581 action can be a Scheme procedure taking one argument, or the value of
7582 SIG_DFL (default action) or SIG_IGN (ignore), or #f to restore
7583 whatever signal handler was installed before sigaction was first used.
7584 Flags can optionally be specified for the new handler (SA_RESTART is
7585 always used if the system provides it, so need not be specified.) The
7586 return value is a pair with information about the old handler as
7589 This interface does not provide access to the "signal blocking"
7590 facility. Maybe this is not needed, since the thread support may
7591 provide solutions to the problem of consistent access to data
7594 *** A new procedure `flush-all-ports' is equivalent to running
7595 `force-output' on every port open for output.
7597 ** Guile now provides information on how it was built, via the new
7598 global variable, %guile-build-info. This variable records the values
7599 of the standard GNU makefile directory variables as an assocation
7600 list, mapping variable names (symbols) onto directory paths (strings).
7601 For example, to find out where the Guile link libraries were
7602 installed, you can say:
7604 guile -c "(display (assq-ref %guile-build-info 'libdir)) (newline)"
7607 * Changes to the scm_ interface
7609 ** The new function scm_handle_by_message_noexit is just like the
7610 existing scm_handle_by_message function, except that it doesn't call
7611 exit to terminate the process. Instead, it prints a message and just
7612 returns #f. This might be a more appropriate catch-all handler for
7613 new dynamic roots and threads.
7616 Changes in Guile 1.1 (released Friday, May 16 1997):
7618 * Changes to the distribution.
7620 The Guile 1.0 distribution has been split up into several smaller
7622 guile-core --- the Guile interpreter itself.
7623 guile-tcltk --- the interface between the Guile interpreter and
7624 Tcl/Tk; Tcl is an interpreter for a stringy language, and Tk
7625 is a toolkit for building graphical user interfaces.
7626 guile-rgx-ctax --- the interface between Guile and the Rx regular
7627 expression matcher, and the translator for the Ctax
7628 programming language. These are packaged together because the
7629 Ctax translator uses Rx to parse Ctax source code.
7631 This NEWS file describes the changes made to guile-core since the 1.0
7634 We no longer distribute the documentation, since it was either out of
7635 date, or incomplete. As soon as we have current documentation, we
7640 * Changes to the stand-alone interpreter
7642 ** guile now accepts command-line arguments compatible with SCSH, Olin
7643 Shivers' Scheme Shell.
7645 In general, arguments are evaluated from left to right, but there are
7646 exceptions. The following switches stop argument processing, and
7647 stash all remaining command-line arguments as the value returned by
7648 the (command-line) function.
7649 -s SCRIPT load Scheme source code from FILE, and exit
7650 -c EXPR evalute Scheme expression EXPR, and exit
7651 -- stop scanning arguments; run interactively
7653 The switches below are processed as they are encountered.
7654 -l FILE load Scheme source code from FILE
7655 -e FUNCTION after reading script, apply FUNCTION to
7656 command line arguments
7657 -ds do -s script at this point
7658 --emacs enable Emacs protocol (experimental)
7659 -h, --help display this help and exit
7660 -v, --version display version information and exit
7661 \ read arguments from following script lines
7663 So, for example, here is a Guile script named `ekko' (thanks, Olin)
7664 which re-implements the traditional "echo" command:
7666 #!/usr/local/bin/guile -s
7669 (map (lambda (arg) (display arg) (display " "))
7673 (main (command-line))
7675 Suppose we invoke this script as follows:
7677 ekko a speckled gecko
7679 Through the magic of Unix script processing (triggered by the `#!'
7680 token at the top of the file), /usr/local/bin/guile receives the
7681 following list of command-line arguments:
7683 ("-s" "./ekko" "a" "speckled" "gecko")
7685 Unix inserts the name of the script after the argument specified on
7686 the first line of the file (in this case, "-s"), and then follows that
7687 with the arguments given to the script. Guile loads the script, which
7688 defines the `main' function, and then applies it to the list of
7689 remaining command-line arguments, ("a" "speckled" "gecko").
7691 In Unix, the first line of a script file must take the following form:
7693 #!INTERPRETER ARGUMENT
7695 where INTERPRETER is the absolute filename of the interpreter
7696 executable, and ARGUMENT is a single command-line argument to pass to
7699 You may only pass one argument to the interpreter, and its length is
7700 limited. These restrictions can be annoying to work around, so Guile
7701 provides a general mechanism (borrowed from, and compatible with,
7702 SCSH) for circumventing them.
7704 If the ARGUMENT in a Guile script is a single backslash character,
7705 `\', Guile will open the script file, parse arguments from its second
7706 and subsequent lines, and replace the `\' with them. So, for example,
7707 here is another implementation of the `ekko' script:
7709 #!/usr/local/bin/guile \
7713 (for-each (lambda (arg) (display arg) (display " "))
7717 If the user invokes this script as follows:
7719 ekko a speckled gecko
7721 Unix expands this into
7723 /usr/local/bin/guile \ ekko a speckled gecko
7725 When Guile sees the `\' argument, it replaces it with the arguments
7726 read from the second line of the script, producing:
7728 /usr/local/bin/guile -e main -s ekko a speckled gecko
7730 This tells Guile to load the `ekko' script, and apply the function
7731 `main' to the argument list ("a" "speckled" "gecko").
7733 Here is how Guile parses the command-line arguments:
7734 - Each space character terminates an argument. This means that two
7735 spaces in a row introduce an empty-string argument.
7736 - The tab character is not permitted (unless you quote it with the
7737 backslash character, as described below), to avoid confusion.
7738 - The newline character terminates the sequence of arguments, and will
7739 also terminate a final non-empty argument. (However, a newline
7740 following a space will not introduce a final empty-string argument;
7741 it only terminates the argument list.)
7742 - The backslash character is the escape character. It escapes
7743 backslash, space, tab, and newline. The ANSI C escape sequences
7744 like \n and \t are also supported. These produce argument
7745 constituents; the two-character combination \n doesn't act like a
7746 terminating newline. The escape sequence \NNN for exactly three
7747 octal digits reads as the character whose ASCII code is NNN. As
7748 above, characters produced this way are argument constituents.
7749 Backslash followed by other characters is not allowed.
7751 * Changes to the procedure for linking libguile with your programs
7753 ** Guile now builds and installs a shared guile library, if your
7754 system support shared libraries. (It still builds a static library on
7755 all systems.) Guile automatically detects whether your system
7756 supports shared libraries. To prevent Guile from buildisg shared
7757 libraries, pass the `--disable-shared' flag to the configure script.
7759 Guile takes longer to compile when it builds shared libraries, because
7760 it must compile every file twice --- once to produce position-
7761 independent object code, and once to produce normal object code.
7763 ** The libthreads library has been merged into libguile.
7765 To link a program against Guile, you now need only link against
7766 -lguile and -lqt; -lthreads is no longer needed. If you are using
7767 autoconf to generate configuration scripts for your application, the
7768 following lines should suffice to add the appropriate libraries to
7771 ### Find quickthreads and libguile.
7772 AC_CHECK_LIB(qt, main)
7773 AC_CHECK_LIB(guile, scm_shell)
7775 * Changes to Scheme functions
7777 ** Guile Scheme's special syntax for keyword objects is now optional,
7778 and disabled by default.
7780 The syntax variation from R4RS made it difficult to port some
7781 interesting packages to Guile. The routines which accepted keyword
7782 arguments (mostly in the module system) have been modified to also
7783 accept symbols whose names begin with `:'.
7785 To change the keyword syntax, you must first import the (ice-9 debug)
7787 (use-modules (ice-9 debug))
7789 Then you can enable the keyword syntax as follows:
7790 (read-set! keywords 'prefix)
7792 To disable keyword syntax, do this:
7793 (read-set! keywords #f)
7795 ** Many more primitive functions accept shared substrings as
7796 arguments. In the past, these functions required normal, mutable
7797 strings as arguments, although they never made use of this
7800 ** The uniform array functions now operate on byte vectors. These
7801 functions are `array-fill!', `serial-array-copy!', `array-copy!',
7802 `serial-array-map', `array-map', `array-for-each', and
7805 ** The new functions `trace' and `untrace' implement simple debugging
7806 support for Scheme functions.
7808 The `trace' function accepts any number of procedures as arguments,
7809 and tells the Guile interpreter to display each procedure's name and
7810 arguments each time the procedure is invoked. When invoked with no
7811 arguments, `trace' returns the list of procedures currently being
7814 The `untrace' function accepts any number of procedures as arguments,
7815 and tells the Guile interpreter not to trace them any more. When
7816 invoked with no arguments, `untrace' untraces all curretly traced
7819 The tracing in Guile has an advantage over most other systems: we
7820 don't create new procedure objects, but mark the procedure objects
7821 themselves. This means that anonymous and internal procedures can be
7824 ** The function `assert-repl-prompt' has been renamed to
7825 `set-repl-prompt!'. It takes one argument, PROMPT.
7826 - If PROMPT is #f, the Guile read-eval-print loop will not prompt.
7827 - If PROMPT is a string, we use it as a prompt.
7828 - If PROMPT is a procedure accepting no arguments, we call it, and
7829 display the result as a prompt.
7830 - Otherwise, we display "> ".
7832 ** The new function `eval-string' reads Scheme expressions from a
7833 string and evaluates them, returning the value of the last expression
7834 in the string. If the string contains no expressions, it returns an
7837 ** The new function `thunk?' returns true iff its argument is a
7838 procedure of zero arguments.
7840 ** `defined?' is now a builtin function, instead of syntax. This
7841 means that its argument should be quoted. It returns #t iff its
7842 argument is bound in the current module.
7844 ** The new syntax `use-modules' allows you to add new modules to your
7845 environment without re-typing a complete `define-module' form. It
7846 accepts any number of module names as arguments, and imports their
7847 public bindings into the current module.
7849 ** The new function (module-defined? NAME MODULE) returns true iff
7850 NAME, a symbol, is defined in MODULE, a module object.
7852 ** The new function `builtin-bindings' creates and returns a hash
7853 table containing copies of all the root module's bindings.
7855 ** The new function `builtin-weak-bindings' does the same as
7856 `builtin-bindings', but creates a doubly-weak hash table.
7858 ** The `equal?' function now considers variable objects to be
7859 equivalent if they have the same name and the same value.
7861 ** The new function `command-line' returns the command-line arguments
7862 given to Guile, as a list of strings.
7864 When using guile as a script interpreter, `command-line' returns the
7865 script's arguments; those processed by the interpreter (like `-s' or
7866 `-c') are omitted. (In other words, you get the normal, expected
7867 behavior.) Any application that uses scm_shell to process its
7868 command-line arguments gets this behavior as well.
7870 ** The new function `load-user-init' looks for a file called `.guile'
7871 in the user's home directory, and loads it if it exists. This is
7872 mostly for use by the code generated by scm_compile_shell_switches,
7873 but we thought it might also be useful in other circumstances.
7875 ** The new function `log10' returns the base-10 logarithm of its
7878 ** Changes to I/O functions
7880 *** The functions `read', `primitive-load', `read-and-eval!', and
7881 `primitive-load-path' no longer take optional arguments controlling
7882 case insensitivity and a `#' parser.
7884 Case sensitivity is now controlled by a read option called
7885 `case-insensitive'. The user can add new `#' syntaxes with the
7886 `read-hash-extend' function (see below).
7888 *** The new function `read-hash-extend' allows the user to change the
7889 syntax of Guile Scheme in a somewhat controlled way.
7891 (read-hash-extend CHAR PROC)
7892 When parsing S-expressions, if we read a `#' character followed by
7893 the character CHAR, use PROC to parse an object from the stream.
7894 If PROC is #f, remove any parsing procedure registered for CHAR.
7896 The reader applies PROC to two arguments: CHAR and an input port.
7898 *** The new functions read-delimited and read-delimited! provide a
7899 general mechanism for doing delimited input on streams.
7901 (read-delimited DELIMS [PORT HANDLE-DELIM])
7902 Read until we encounter one of the characters in DELIMS (a string),
7903 or end-of-file. PORT is the input port to read from; it defaults to
7904 the current input port. The HANDLE-DELIM parameter determines how
7905 the terminating character is handled; it should be one of the
7908 'trim omit delimiter from result
7909 'peek leave delimiter character in input stream
7910 'concat append delimiter character to returned value
7911 'split return a pair: (RESULT . TERMINATOR)
7913 HANDLE-DELIM defaults to 'peek.
7915 (read-delimited! DELIMS BUF [PORT HANDLE-DELIM START END])
7916 A side-effecting variant of `read-delimited'.
7918 The data is written into the string BUF at the indices in the
7919 half-open interval [START, END); the default interval is the whole
7920 string: START = 0 and END = (string-length BUF). The values of
7921 START and END must specify a well-defined interval in BUF, i.e.
7922 0 <= START <= END <= (string-length BUF).
7924 It returns NBYTES, the number of bytes read. If the buffer filled
7925 up without a delimiter character being found, it returns #f. If the
7926 port is at EOF when the read starts, it returns the EOF object.
7928 If an integer is returned (i.e., the read is successfully terminated
7929 by reading a delimiter character), then the HANDLE-DELIM parameter
7930 determines how to handle the terminating character. It is described
7931 above, and defaults to 'peek.
7933 (The descriptions of these functions were borrowed from the SCSH
7934 manual, by Olin Shivers and Brian Carlstrom.)
7936 *** The `%read-delimited!' function is the primitive used to implement
7937 `read-delimited' and `read-delimited!'.
7939 (%read-delimited! DELIMS BUF GOBBLE? [PORT START END])
7941 This returns a pair of values: (TERMINATOR . NUM-READ).
7942 - TERMINATOR describes why the read was terminated. If it is a
7943 character or the eof object, then that is the value that terminated
7944 the read. If it is #f, the function filled the buffer without finding
7945 a delimiting character.
7946 - NUM-READ is the number of characters read into BUF.
7948 If the read is successfully terminated by reading a delimiter
7949 character, then the gobble? parameter determines what to do with the
7950 terminating character. If true, the character is removed from the
7951 input stream; if false, the character is left in the input stream
7952 where a subsequent read operation will retrieve it. In either case,
7953 the character is also the first value returned by the procedure call.
7955 (The descriptions of this function was borrowed from the SCSH manual,
7956 by Olin Shivers and Brian Carlstrom.)
7958 *** The `read-line' and `read-line!' functions have changed; they now
7959 trim the terminator by default; previously they appended it to the
7960 returned string. For the old behavior, use (read-line PORT 'concat).
7962 *** The functions `uniform-array-read!' and `uniform-array-write!' now
7963 take new optional START and END arguments, specifying the region of
7964 the array to read and write.
7966 *** The `ungetc-char-ready?' function has been removed. We feel it's
7967 inappropriate for an interface to expose implementation details this
7970 ** Changes to the Unix library and system call interface
7972 *** The new fcntl function provides access to the Unix `fcntl' system
7975 (fcntl PORT COMMAND VALUE)
7976 Apply COMMAND to PORT's file descriptor, with VALUE as an argument.
7977 Values for COMMAND are:
7979 F_DUPFD duplicate a file descriptor
7980 F_GETFD read the descriptor's close-on-exec flag
7981 F_SETFD set the descriptor's close-on-exec flag to VALUE
7982 F_GETFL read the descriptor's flags, as set on open
7983 F_SETFL set the descriptor's flags, as set on open to VALUE
7984 F_GETOWN return the process ID of a socket's owner, for SIGIO
7985 F_SETOWN set the process that owns a socket to VALUE, for SIGIO
7986 FD_CLOEXEC not sure what this is
7988 For details, see the documentation for the fcntl system call.
7990 *** The arguments to `select' have changed, for compatibility with
7991 SCSH. The TIMEOUT parameter may now be non-integral, yielding the
7992 expected behavior. The MILLISECONDS parameter has been changed to
7993 MICROSECONDS, to more closely resemble the underlying system call.
7994 The RVEC, WVEC, and EVEC arguments can now be vectors; the type of the
7995 corresponding return set will be the same.
7997 *** The arguments to the `mknod' system call have changed. They are
8000 (mknod PATH TYPE PERMS DEV)
8001 Create a new file (`node') in the file system. PATH is the name of
8002 the file to create. TYPE is the kind of file to create; it should
8003 be 'fifo, 'block-special, or 'char-special. PERMS specifies the
8004 permission bits to give the newly created file. If TYPE is
8005 'block-special or 'char-special, DEV specifies which device the
8006 special file refers to; its interpretation depends on the kind of
8007 special file being created.
8009 *** The `fork' function has been renamed to `primitive-fork', to avoid
8010 clashing with various SCSH forks.
8012 *** The `recv' and `recvfrom' functions have been renamed to `recv!'
8013 and `recvfrom!'. They no longer accept a size for a second argument;
8014 you must pass a string to hold the received value. They no longer
8015 return the buffer. Instead, `recv' returns the length of the message
8016 received, and `recvfrom' returns a pair containing the packet's length
8017 and originating address.
8019 *** The file descriptor datatype has been removed, as have the
8020 `read-fd', `write-fd', `close', `lseek', and `dup' functions.
8021 We plan to replace these functions with a SCSH-compatible interface.
8023 *** The `create' function has been removed; it's just a special case
8026 *** There are new functions to break down process termination status
8027 values. In the descriptions below, STATUS is a value returned by
8030 (status:exit-val STATUS)
8031 If the child process exited normally, this function returns the exit
8032 code for the child process (i.e., the value passed to exit, or
8033 returned from main). If the child process did not exit normally,
8034 this function returns #f.
8036 (status:stop-sig STATUS)
8037 If the child process was suspended by a signal, this function
8038 returns the signal that suspended the child. Otherwise, it returns
8041 (status:term-sig STATUS)
8042 If the child process terminated abnormally, this function returns
8043 the signal that terminated the child. Otherwise, this function
8046 POSIX promises that exactly one of these functions will return true on
8047 a valid STATUS value.
8049 These functions are compatible with SCSH.
8051 *** There are new accessors and setters for the broken-out time vectors
8052 returned by `localtime', `gmtime', and that ilk. They are:
8054 Component Accessor Setter
8055 ========================= ============ ============
8056 seconds tm:sec set-tm:sec
8057 minutes tm:min set-tm:min
8058 hours tm:hour set-tm:hour
8059 day of the month tm:mday set-tm:mday
8060 month tm:mon set-tm:mon
8061 year tm:year set-tm:year
8062 day of the week tm:wday set-tm:wday
8063 day in the year tm:yday set-tm:yday
8064 daylight saving time tm:isdst set-tm:isdst
8065 GMT offset, seconds tm:gmtoff set-tm:gmtoff
8066 name of time zone tm:zone set-tm:zone
8068 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `uname',
8069 describing the host system:
8072 ============================================== ================
8073 name of the operating system implementation utsname:sysname
8074 network name of this machine utsname:nodename
8075 release level of the operating system utsname:release
8076 version level of the operating system utsname:version
8077 machine hardware platform utsname:machine
8079 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `getpw',
8080 `getpwnam', `getpwuid', and `getpwent', describing entries from the
8081 system's user database:
8084 ====================== =================
8085 user name passwd:name
8086 user password passwd:passwd
8089 real name passwd:gecos
8090 home directory passwd:dir
8091 shell program passwd:shell
8093 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `getgr',
8094 `getgrnam', `getgrgid', and `getgrent', describing entries from the
8095 system's group database:
8098 ======================= ============
8099 group name group:name
8100 group password group:passwd
8102 group members group:mem
8104 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `gethost',
8105 `gethostbyaddr', `gethostbyname', and `gethostent', describing
8109 ========================= ===============
8110 official name of host hostent:name
8111 alias list hostent:aliases
8112 host address type hostent:addrtype
8113 length of address hostent:length
8114 list of addresses hostent:addr-list
8116 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `getnet',
8117 `getnetbyaddr', `getnetbyname', and `getnetent', describing internet
8121 ========================= ===============
8122 official name of net netent:name
8123 alias list netent:aliases
8124 net number type netent:addrtype
8125 net number netent:net
8127 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `getproto',
8128 `getprotobyname', `getprotobynumber', and `getprotoent', describing
8132 ========================= ===============
8133 official protocol name protoent:name
8134 alias list protoent:aliases
8135 protocol number protoent:proto
8137 *** There are new accessors for the vectors returned by `getserv',
8138 `getservbyname', `getservbyport', and `getservent', describing
8142 ========================= ===============
8143 official service name servent:name
8144 alias list servent:aliases
8145 port number servent:port
8146 protocol to use servent:proto
8148 *** There are new accessors for the sockaddr structures returned by
8149 `accept', `getsockname', `getpeername', `recvfrom!':
8152 ======================================== ===============
8153 address format (`family') sockaddr:fam
8154 path, for file domain addresses sockaddr:path
8155 address, for internet domain addresses sockaddr:addr
8156 TCP or UDP port, for internet sockaddr:port
8158 *** The `getpwent', `getgrent', `gethostent', `getnetent',
8159 `getprotoent', and `getservent' functions now return #f at the end of
8160 the user database. (They used to throw an exception.)
8162 Note that calling MUMBLEent function is equivalent to calling the
8163 corresponding MUMBLE function with no arguments.
8165 *** The `setpwent', `setgrent', `sethostent', `setnetent',
8166 `setprotoent', and `setservent' routines now take no arguments.
8168 *** The `gethost', `getproto', `getnet', and `getserv' functions now
8169 provide more useful information when they throw an exception.
8171 *** The `lnaof' function has been renamed to `inet-lnaof'.
8173 *** Guile now claims to have the `current-time' feature.
8175 *** The `mktime' function now takes an optional second argument ZONE,
8176 giving the time zone to use for the conversion. ZONE should be a
8177 string, in the same format as expected for the "TZ" environment variable.
8179 *** The `strptime' function now returns a pair (TIME . COUNT), where
8180 TIME is the parsed time as a vector, and COUNT is the number of
8181 characters from the string left unparsed. This function used to
8182 return the remaining characters as a string.
8184 *** The `gettimeofday' function has replaced the old `time+ticks' function.
8185 The return value is now (SECONDS . MICROSECONDS); the fractional
8186 component is no longer expressed in "ticks".
8188 *** The `ticks/sec' constant has been removed, in light of the above change.
8190 * Changes to the gh_ interface
8192 ** gh_eval_str() now returns an SCM object which is the result of the
8195 ** gh_scm2str() now copies the Scheme data to a caller-provided C
8198 ** gh_scm2newstr() now makes a C array, copies the Scheme data to it,
8199 and returns the array
8201 ** gh_scm2str0() is gone: there is no need to distinguish
8202 null-terminated from non-null-terminated, since gh_scm2newstr() allows
8203 the user to interpret the data both ways.
8205 * Changes to the scm_ interface
8207 ** The new function scm_symbol_value0 provides an easy way to get a
8208 symbol's value from C code:
8210 SCM scm_symbol_value0 (char *NAME)
8211 Return the value of the symbol named by the null-terminated string
8212 NAME in the current module. If the symbol named NAME is unbound in
8213 the current module, return SCM_UNDEFINED.
8215 ** The new function scm_sysintern0 creates new top-level variables,
8216 without assigning them a value.
8218 SCM scm_sysintern0 (char *NAME)
8219 Create a new Scheme top-level variable named NAME. NAME is a
8220 null-terminated string. Return the variable's value cell.
8222 ** The function scm_internal_catch is the guts of catch. It handles
8223 all the mechanics of setting up a catch target, invoking the catch
8224 body, and perhaps invoking the handler if the body does a throw.
8226 The function is designed to be usable from C code, but is general
8227 enough to implement all the semantics Guile Scheme expects from throw.
8229 TAG is the catch tag. Typically, this is a symbol, but this function
8230 doesn't actually care about that.
8232 BODY is a pointer to a C function which runs the body of the catch;
8233 this is the code you can throw from. We call it like this:
8234 BODY (BODY_DATA, JMPBUF)
8236 BODY_DATA is just the BODY_DATA argument we received; we pass it
8237 through to BODY as its first argument. The caller can make
8238 BODY_DATA point to anything useful that BODY might need.
8239 JMPBUF is the Scheme jmpbuf object corresponding to this catch,
8240 which we have just created and initialized.
8242 HANDLER is a pointer to a C function to deal with a throw to TAG,
8243 should one occur. We call it like this:
8244 HANDLER (HANDLER_DATA, THROWN_TAG, THROW_ARGS)
8246 HANDLER_DATA is the HANDLER_DATA argument we recevied; it's the
8247 same idea as BODY_DATA above.
8248 THROWN_TAG is the tag that the user threw to; usually this is
8249 TAG, but it could be something else if TAG was #t (i.e., a
8250 catch-all), or the user threw to a jmpbuf.
8251 THROW_ARGS is the list of arguments the user passed to the THROW
8254 BODY_DATA is just a pointer we pass through to BODY. HANDLER_DATA
8255 is just a pointer we pass through to HANDLER. We don't actually
8256 use either of those pointers otherwise ourselves. The idea is
8257 that, if our caller wants to communicate something to BODY or
8258 HANDLER, it can pass a pointer to it as MUMBLE_DATA, which BODY and
8259 HANDLER can then use. Think of it as a way to make BODY and
8260 HANDLER closures, not just functions; MUMBLE_DATA points to the
8263 Of course, it's up to the caller to make sure that any data a
8264 MUMBLE_DATA needs is protected from GC. A common way to do this is
8265 to make MUMBLE_DATA a pointer to data stored in an automatic
8266 structure variable; since the collector must scan the stack for
8267 references anyway, this assures that any references in MUMBLE_DATA
8270 ** The new function scm_internal_lazy_catch is exactly like
8271 scm_internal_catch, except:
8273 - It does not unwind the stack (this is the major difference).
8274 - If handler returns, its value is returned from the throw.
8275 - BODY always receives #f as its JMPBUF argument (since there's no
8276 jmpbuf associated with a lazy catch, because we don't unwind the
8279 ** scm_body_thunk is a new body function you can pass to
8280 scm_internal_catch if you want the body to be like Scheme's `catch'
8281 --- a thunk, or a function of one argument if the tag is #f.
8283 BODY_DATA is a pointer to a scm_body_thunk_data structure, which
8284 contains the Scheme procedure to invoke as the body, and the tag
8285 we're catching. If the tag is #f, then we pass JMPBUF (created by
8286 scm_internal_catch) to the body procedure; otherwise, the body gets
8289 ** scm_handle_by_proc is a new handler function you can pass to
8290 scm_internal_catch if you want the handler to act like Scheme's catch
8291 --- call a procedure with the tag and the throw arguments.
8293 If the user does a throw to this catch, this function runs a handler
8294 procedure written in Scheme. HANDLER_DATA is a pointer to an SCM
8295 variable holding the Scheme procedure object to invoke. It ought to
8296 be a pointer to an automatic variable (i.e., one living on the stack),
8297 or the procedure object should be otherwise protected from GC.
8299 ** scm_handle_by_message is a new handler function to use with
8300 `scm_internal_catch' if you want Guile to print a message and die.
8301 It's useful for dealing with throws to uncaught keys at the top level.
8303 HANDLER_DATA, if non-zero, is assumed to be a char * pointing to a
8304 message header to print; if zero, we use "guile" instead. That
8305 text is followed by a colon, then the message described by ARGS.
8307 ** The return type of scm_boot_guile is now void; the function does
8308 not return a value, and indeed, never returns at all.
8310 ** The new function scm_shell makes it easy for user applications to
8311 process command-line arguments in a way that is compatible with the
8312 stand-alone guile interpreter (which is in turn compatible with SCSH,
8315 To use the scm_shell function, first initialize any guile modules
8316 linked into your application, and then call scm_shell with the values
8317 of ARGC and ARGV your `main' function received. scm_shell will add
8318 any SCSH-style meta-arguments from the top of the script file to the
8319 argument vector, and then process the command-line arguments. This
8320 generally means loading a script file or starting up an interactive
8321 command interpreter. For details, see "Changes to the stand-alone
8324 ** The new functions scm_get_meta_args and scm_count_argv help you
8325 implement the SCSH-style meta-argument, `\'.
8327 char **scm_get_meta_args (int ARGC, char **ARGV)
8328 If the second element of ARGV is a string consisting of a single
8329 backslash character (i.e. "\\" in Scheme notation), open the file
8330 named by the following argument, parse arguments from it, and return
8331 the spliced command line. The returned array is terminated by a
8334 For details of argument parsing, see above, under "guile now accepts
8335 command-line arguments compatible with SCSH..."
8337 int scm_count_argv (char **ARGV)
8338 Count the arguments in ARGV, assuming it is terminated by a null
8341 For an example of how these functions might be used, see the source
8342 code for the function scm_shell in libguile/script.c.
8344 You will usually want to use scm_shell instead of calling this
8347 ** The new function scm_compile_shell_switches turns an array of
8348 command-line arguments into Scheme code to carry out the actions they
8349 describe. Given ARGC and ARGV, it returns a Scheme expression to
8350 evaluate, and calls scm_set_program_arguments to make any remaining
8351 command-line arguments available to the Scheme code. For example,
8352 given the following arguments:
8354 -e main -s ekko a speckled gecko
8356 scm_set_program_arguments will return the following expression:
8358 (begin (load "ekko") (main (command-line)) (quit))
8360 You will usually want to use scm_shell instead of calling this
8363 ** The function scm_shell_usage prints a usage message appropriate for
8364 an interpreter that uses scm_compile_shell_switches to handle its
8365 command-line arguments.
8367 void scm_shell_usage (int FATAL, char *MESSAGE)
8368 Print a usage message to the standard error output. If MESSAGE is
8369 non-zero, write it before the usage message, followed by a newline.
8370 If FATAL is non-zero, exit the process, using FATAL as the
8371 termination status. (If you want to be compatible with Guile,
8372 always use 1 as the exit status when terminating due to command-line
8375 You will usually want to use scm_shell instead of calling this
8378 ** scm_eval_0str now returns SCM_UNSPECIFIED if the string contains no
8379 expressions. It used to return SCM_EOL. Earth-shattering.
8381 ** The macros for declaring scheme objects in C code have been
8382 rearranged slightly. They are now:
8384 SCM_SYMBOL (C_NAME, SCHEME_NAME)
8385 Declare a static SCM variable named C_NAME, and initialize it to
8386 point to the Scheme symbol whose name is SCHEME_NAME. C_NAME should
8387 be a C identifier, and SCHEME_NAME should be a C string.
8389 SCM_GLOBAL_SYMBOL (C_NAME, SCHEME_NAME)
8390 Just like SCM_SYMBOL, but make C_NAME globally visible.
8392 SCM_VCELL (C_NAME, SCHEME_NAME)
8393 Create a global variable at the Scheme level named SCHEME_NAME.
8394 Declare a static SCM variable named C_NAME, and initialize it to
8395 point to the Scheme variable's value cell.
8397 SCM_GLOBAL_VCELL (C_NAME, SCHEME_NAME)
8398 Just like SCM_VCELL, but make C_NAME globally visible.
8400 The `guile-snarf' script writes initialization code for these macros
8401 to its standard output, given C source code as input.
8403 The SCM_GLOBAL macro is gone.
8405 ** The scm_read_line and scm_read_line_x functions have been replaced
8406 by Scheme code based on the %read-delimited! procedure (known to C
8407 code as scm_read_delimited_x). See its description above for more
8410 ** The function scm_sys_open has been renamed to scm_open. It now
8411 returns a port instead of an FD object.
8413 * The dynamic linking support has changed. For more information, see
8414 libguile/DYNAMIC-LINKING.
8419 User-visible changes from Thursday, September 5, 1996 until Guile 1.0
8422 * Changes to the 'guile' program:
8424 ** Guile now loads some new files when it starts up. Guile first
8425 searches the load path for init.scm, and loads it if found. Then, if
8426 Guile is not being used to execute a script, and the user's home
8427 directory contains a file named `.guile', Guile loads that.
8429 ** You can now use Guile as a shell script interpreter.
8431 To paraphrase the SCSH manual:
8433 When Unix tries to execute an executable file whose first two
8434 characters are the `#!', it treats the file not as machine code to
8435 be directly executed by the native processor, but as source code
8436 to be executed by some interpreter. The interpreter to use is
8437 specified immediately after the #! sequence on the first line of
8438 the source file. The kernel reads in the name of the interpreter,
8439 and executes that instead. It passes the interpreter the source
8440 filename as its first argument, with the original arguments
8441 following. Consult the Unix man page for the `exec' system call
8442 for more information.
8444 Now you can use Guile as an interpreter, using a mechanism which is a
8445 compatible subset of that provided by SCSH.
8447 Guile now recognizes a '-s' command line switch, whose argument is the
8448 name of a file of Scheme code to load. It also treats the two
8449 characters `#!' as the start of a comment, terminated by `!#'. Thus,
8450 to make a file of Scheme code directly executable by Unix, insert the
8451 following two lines at the top of the file:
8453 #!/usr/local/bin/guile -s
8456 Guile treats the argument of the `-s' command-line switch as the name
8457 of a file of Scheme code to load, and treats the sequence `#!' as the
8458 start of a block comment, terminated by `!#'.
8460 For example, here's a version of 'echo' written in Scheme:
8462 #!/usr/local/bin/guile -s
8464 (let loop ((args (cdr (program-arguments))))
8467 (display (car args))
8468 (if (pair? (cdr args))
8470 (loop (cdr args)))))
8473 Why does `#!' start a block comment terminated by `!#', instead of the
8474 end of the line? That is the notation SCSH uses, and although we
8475 don't yet support the other SCSH features that motivate that choice,
8476 we would like to be backward-compatible with any existing Guile
8477 scripts once we do. Furthermore, if the path to Guile on your system
8478 is too long for your kernel, you can start the script with this
8482 exec /really/long/path/to/guile -s "$0" ${1+"$@"}
8485 Note that some very old Unix systems don't support the `#!' syntax.
8488 ** You can now run Guile without installing it.
8490 Previous versions of the interactive Guile interpreter (`guile')
8491 couldn't start up unless Guile's Scheme library had been installed;
8492 they used the value of the environment variable `SCHEME_LOAD_PATH'
8493 later on in the startup process, but not to find the startup code
8494 itself. Now Guile uses `SCHEME_LOAD_PATH' in all searches for Scheme
8497 To run Guile without installing it, build it in the normal way, and
8498 then set the environment variable `SCHEME_LOAD_PATH' to a
8499 colon-separated list of directories, including the top-level directory
8500 of the Guile sources. For example, if you unpacked Guile so that the
8501 full filename of this NEWS file is /home/jimb/guile-1.0b3/NEWS, then
8504 export SCHEME_LOAD_PATH=/home/jimb/my-scheme:/home/jimb/guile-1.0b3
8507 ** Guile's read-eval-print loop no longer prints #<unspecified>
8508 results. If the user wants to see this, she can evaluate the
8509 expression (assert-repl-print-unspecified #t), perhaps in her startup
8512 ** Guile no longer shows backtraces by default when an error occurs;
8513 however, it does display a message saying how to get one, and how to
8514 request that they be displayed by default. After an error, evaluate
8516 to see a backtrace, and
8517 (debug-enable 'backtrace)
8518 to see them by default.
8522 * Changes to Guile Scheme:
8524 ** Guile now distinguishes between #f and the empty list.
8526 This is for compatibility with the IEEE standard, the (possibly)
8527 upcoming Revised^5 Report on Scheme, and many extant Scheme
8530 Guile used to have #f and '() denote the same object, to make Scheme's
8531 type system more compatible with Emacs Lisp's. However, the change
8532 caused too much trouble for Scheme programmers, and we found another
8533 way to reconcile Emacs Lisp with Scheme that didn't require this.
8536 ** Guile's delq, delv, delete functions, and their destructive
8537 counterparts, delq!, delv!, and delete!, now remove all matching
8538 elements from the list, not just the first. This matches the behavior
8539 of the corresponding Emacs Lisp functions, and (I believe) the Maclisp
8540 functions which inspired them.
8542 I recognize that this change may break code in subtle ways, but it
8543 seems best to make the change before the FSF's first Guile release,
8547 ** The compiled-library-path function has been deleted from libguile.
8549 ** The facilities for loading Scheme source files have changed.
8551 *** The variable %load-path now tells Guile which directories to search
8552 for Scheme code. Its value is a list of strings, each of which names
8555 *** The variable %load-extensions now tells Guile which extensions to
8556 try appending to a filename when searching the load path. Its value
8557 is a list of strings. Its default value is ("" ".scm").
8559 *** (%search-load-path FILENAME) searches the directories listed in the
8560 value of the %load-path variable for a Scheme file named FILENAME,
8561 with all the extensions listed in %load-extensions. If it finds a
8562 match, then it returns its full filename. If FILENAME is absolute, it
8563 returns it unchanged. Otherwise, it returns #f.
8565 %search-load-path will not return matches that refer to directories.
8567 *** (primitive-load FILENAME :optional CASE-INSENSITIVE-P SHARP)
8568 uses %seach-load-path to find a file named FILENAME, and loads it if
8569 it finds it. If it can't read FILENAME for any reason, it throws an
8572 The arguments CASE-INSENSITIVE-P and SHARP are interpreted as by the
8575 *** load uses the same searching semantics as primitive-load.
8577 *** The functions %try-load, try-load-with-path, %load, load-with-path,
8578 basic-try-load-with-path, basic-load-with-path, try-load-module-with-
8579 path, and load-module-with-path have been deleted. The functions
8580 above should serve their purposes.
8582 *** If the value of the variable %load-hook is a procedure,
8583 `primitive-load' applies its value to the name of the file being
8584 loaded (without the load path directory name prepended). If its value
8585 is #f, it is ignored. Otherwise, an error occurs.
8587 This is mostly useful for printing load notification messages.
8590 ** The function `eval!' is no longer accessible from the scheme level.
8591 We can't allow operations which introduce glocs into the scheme level,
8592 because Guile's type system can't handle these as data. Use `eval' or
8593 `read-and-eval!' (see below) as replacement.
8595 ** The new function read-and-eval! reads an expression from PORT,
8596 evaluates it, and returns the result. This is more efficient than
8597 simply calling `read' and `eval', since it is not necessary to make a
8598 copy of the expression for the evaluator to munge.
8600 Its optional arguments CASE_INSENSITIVE_P and SHARP are interpreted as
8601 for the `read' function.
8604 ** The function `int?' has been removed; its definition was identical
8605 to that of `integer?'.
8607 ** The functions `<?', `<?', `<=?', `=?', `>?', and `>=?'. Code should
8608 use the R4RS names for these functions.
8610 ** The function object-properties no longer returns the hash handle;
8611 it simply returns the object's property list.
8613 ** Many functions have been changed to throw errors, instead of
8614 returning #f on failure. The point of providing exception handling in
8615 the language is to simplify the logic of user code, but this is less
8616 useful if Guile's primitives don't throw exceptions.
8618 ** The function `fileno' has been renamed from `%fileno'.
8620 ** The function primitive-mode->fdes returns #t or #f now, not 1 or 0.
8623 * Changes to Guile's C interface:
8625 ** The library's initialization procedure has been simplified.
8626 scm_boot_guile now has the prototype:
8628 void scm_boot_guile (int ARGC,
8630 void (*main_func) (),
8633 scm_boot_guile calls MAIN_FUNC, passing it CLOSURE, ARGC, and ARGV.
8634 MAIN_FUNC should do all the work of the program (initializing other
8635 packages, reading user input, etc.) before returning. When MAIN_FUNC
8636 returns, call exit (0); this function never returns. If you want some
8637 other exit value, MAIN_FUNC may call exit itself.
8639 scm_boot_guile arranges for program-arguments to return the strings
8640 given by ARGC and ARGV. If MAIN_FUNC modifies ARGC/ARGV, should call
8641 scm_set_program_arguments with the final list, so Scheme code will
8642 know which arguments have been processed.
8644 scm_boot_guile establishes a catch-all catch handler which prints an
8645 error message and exits the process. This means that Guile exits in a
8646 coherent way when system errors occur and the user isn't prepared to
8647 handle it. If the user doesn't like this behavior, they can establish
8648 their own universal catcher in MAIN_FUNC to shadow this one.
8650 Why must the caller do all the real work from MAIN_FUNC? The garbage
8651 collector assumes that all local variables of type SCM will be above
8652 scm_boot_guile's stack frame on the stack. If you try to manipulate
8653 SCM values after this function returns, it's the luck of the draw
8654 whether the GC will be able to find the objects you allocate. So,
8655 scm_boot_guile function exits, rather than returning, to discourage
8656 people from making that mistake.
8658 The IN, OUT, and ERR arguments were removed; there are other
8659 convenient ways to override these when desired.
8661 The RESULT argument was deleted; this function should never return.
8663 The BOOT_CMD argument was deleted; the MAIN_FUNC argument is more
8667 ** Guile's header files should no longer conflict with your system's
8670 In order to compile code which #included <libguile.h>, previous
8671 versions of Guile required you to add a directory containing all the
8672 Guile header files to your #include path. This was a problem, since
8673 Guile's header files have names which conflict with many systems'
8676 Now only <libguile.h> need appear in your #include path; you must
8677 refer to all Guile's other header files as <libguile/mumble.h>.
8678 Guile's installation procedure puts libguile.h in $(includedir), and
8679 the rest in $(includedir)/libguile.
8682 ** Two new C functions, scm_protect_object and scm_unprotect_object,
8683 have been added to the Guile library.
8685 scm_protect_object (OBJ) protects OBJ from the garbage collector.
8686 OBJ will not be freed, even if all other references are dropped,
8687 until someone does scm_unprotect_object (OBJ). Both functions
8690 Note that calls to scm_protect_object do not nest. You can call
8691 scm_protect_object any number of times on a given object, and the
8692 next call to scm_unprotect_object will unprotect it completely.
8694 Basically, scm_protect_object and scm_unprotect_object just
8695 maintain a list of references to things. Since the GC knows about
8696 this list, all objects it mentions stay alive. scm_protect_object
8697 adds its argument to the list; scm_unprotect_object remove its
8698 argument from the list.
8701 ** scm_eval_0str now returns the value of the last expression
8704 ** The new function scm_read_0str reads an s-expression from a
8705 null-terminated string, and returns it.
8707 ** The new function `scm_stdio_to_port' converts a STDIO file pointer
8708 to a Scheme port object.
8710 ** The new function `scm_set_program_arguments' allows C code to set
8711 the value returned by the Scheme `program-arguments' function.
8716 * Guile no longer includes sophisticated Tcl/Tk support.
8718 The old Tcl/Tk support was unsatisfying to us, because it required the
8719 user to link against the Tcl library, as well as Tk and Guile. The
8720 interface was also un-lispy, in that it preserved Tcl/Tk's practice of
8721 referring to widgets by names, rather than exporting widgets to Scheme
8722 code as a special datatype.
8724 In the Usenix Tk Developer's Workshop held in July 1996, the Tcl/Tk
8725 maintainers described some very interesting changes in progress to the
8726 Tcl/Tk internals, which would facilitate clean interfaces between lone
8727 Tk and other interpreters --- even for garbage-collected languages
8728 like Scheme. They expected the new Tk to be publicly available in the
8731 Since it seems that Guile might soon have a new, cleaner interface to
8732 lone Tk, and that the old Guile/Tk glue code would probably need to be
8733 completely rewritten, we (Jim Blandy and Richard Stallman) have
8734 decided not to support the old code. We'll spend the time instead on
8735 a good interface to the newer Tk, as soon as it is available.
8737 Until then, gtcltk-lib provides trivial, low-maintenance functionality.
8740 Copyright information:
8742 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
8744 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
8745 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
8746 copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved,
8747 thus giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
8749 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions
8750 of this document, or of portions of it,
8751 under the above conditions, provided also that they
8752 carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.
8757 paragraph-separate: "[
\f]*$"