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XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language
Version 1.4
January 1, 1985
by
David Betz
114 Davenport Ave.
Manchester, NH 03103
(603) 625-4691 (home)
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.0 A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.0 XLISP COMMAND LOOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.0 BREAK COMMAND LOOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5.0 DATA TYPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6.0 THE EVALUATOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
7.0 LEXICAL CONVENTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
8.0 OBJECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
9.0 SYMBOLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
10.0 EVALUATION FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
11.0 SYMBOL FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
12.0 PROPERTY LIST FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
13.0 LIST FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
14.0 DESTRUCTIVE LIST FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
15.0 PREDICATE FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
16.0 CONTROL FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
17.0 LOOPING FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
18.0 THE PROGRAM FEATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
19.0 DEBUGGING AND ERROR HANDLING . . . . . . . . . . . 27
20.0 ARITHMETIC FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
21.0 BITWISE LOGICAL FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
22.0 RELATIONAL FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
23.0 STRING FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
24.0 INPUT/OUTPUT FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
25.0 FILE I/O FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
26.0 SYSTEM FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 3
INTRODUCTION
1.0 INTRODUCTION
XLISP is an experimental programming language combining some
of the features of LISP with an object oriented extension
capability. It was implemented to allow experimentation
with object oriented programming on small computers. There
are currently implementations running on the PDP-11 under
UNIX V7, on the VAX-11 under VAX/VMS and Berkeley VAX/UNIX,
and on the 8088/8086 under CP/M-86 or MS-DOS. A version is
currently being developed for the 68000 under CP/M-68K and
for the Apple Macintosh. It is completely written in the
programming language 'C' and is easily extended with user
written built-in functions and classes. It is available in
source form free of charge to non-commercial users.
Prospective commercial users should contact the author for
permission to use XLISP.
Many traditional LISP functions are built into XLISP. In
addition, XLISP defines the objects 'Object' and 'Class' as
primitives. 'Object' is the only class that has no
superclass and hence is the root of the class heirarchy
tree. 'Class' is the class of which all classes are
instances (it is the only object that is an instance of
itself).
This document is intended to be a brief description of
XLISP. It assumes some knowledge of LISP and some
understanding of the concepts of object oriented
programming.
Version 1.2 of XLISP differs from version 1.1 in several
ways. It supports many more Lisp functions. Also, many
version 1.1 functions have been renamed and/or changed
slightly to follow traditional Lisp usage. One of the most
frequently reported problems in version 1.1 resulted from
many functions being named after their equivilent functions
in the C language. This turned out to be confusing for
people who were trying to learn XLISP using traditional LISP
texts as references. Version 1.2 renames these functions to
be compatible with more traditional dialects of LISP.
Version 1.3 introduces many new LISP functions and moves
closer to the goal of being compatible with the Common Lisp
standard. Version 1.4 introduces user error handling and
breakpoint support as well as more Common Lisp compatible
functions.
A recommended text for learning LISP programming is the book
"LISP" by Winston and Horn and published by Addison Wesley.
The first edition of this book is based on MacLisp and the
second edition is based on Common Lisp. Future versions of
XLISP will continue to migrate towards compatibility with
Common Lisp.
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 4
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
2.0 A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
If you have any problems with XLISP, feel free to contact me
for help or advice. Please remember that since XLISP is
available in source form in a high level language, many
users have been making versions available on a variety of
machines. If you call to report a problem with a specific
version, I may not be able to help you if that version runs
on a machine to which I don't have access. Please have the
version number of the version that you are running readily
accessible before calling me.
If you find a bug in XLISP, first try to fix the bug
yourself using the source code provided. If you are
successful in fixing the bug, send the bug report along with
the fix to me. If you don't have access to a C compiler or
are unable to fix a bug, please send the bug report to me
and I'll try to fix it.
Any suggestions for improvements will be welcomed. Feel
free to extend the language in whatever way suits your
needs. However, PLEASE DO NOT RELEASE ENHANCED VERSIONS
WITHOUT CHECKING WITH ME FIRST!! I would like to be the
clearing house for new features added to XLISP. If you want
to add features for your own personal use, go ahead. But,
if you want to distribute your enhanced version, contact me
first. Please remember that the goal of XLISP is to provide
a language to learn and experiment with LISP and object
oriented programming on small computers.
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 5
XLISP COMMAND LOOP
3.0 XLISP COMMAND LOOP
When XLISP is started, it first tries to load "init.lsp"
from the default directory. It then loads any files named
as parameters on the command line (after appending ".lsp" to
their names). It then issues the following prompt:
>
This indicates that XLISP is waiting for an expression to be
typed. When an incomplete expression has been typed (one
where the left and right parens don't match) XLISP changes
its prompt to:
n>
where n is an integer indicating how many levels of left
parens remain unclosed.
When a complete expression has been entered, XLISP attempts
to evaluate that expression. If the expression evaluates
successfully, XLISP prints the result of the evaluation and
then returns to the initial prompt waiting for another
expression to be typed.
Input can be aborted at any time by typing the CONTROL-G key
(it may be necessary to follow CONTROL-G by RETURN).
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 6
BREAK COMMAND LOOP
4.0 BREAK COMMAND LOOP
When XLISP encounters an error while evaluating an
expression, it attempts to handle the error in the following
way:
If the symbol '*breakenable*' is true, the message
corresponding to the error is printed. If the error is
correctable, the correction message is printed. If the
symbol '*tracenable*' is true, a trace back is printed. The
number of entries printed depends on the value of the symbol
'*tracelimit*'. If this symbol is set to something other
than a number, the entire trace back stack is printed.
XLISP then enters a read/eval/print loop to allow the user
to examine the state of the interpreter in the context of
the error. This loop differs from the normal top-leval
read/eval/print loop in that if the user types the symbol
'continue' XLISP will continue from a correctable error. If
the user types the symbol 'quit' XLISP will abort the break
loop and return to the top level or the next lower numbered
break loop. When in a break loop, XLISP prefixes the break
level to the normal prompt.
If the symbol '*breakenable*' is nil, XLISP looks for a
surrounding errset function. If one is found, XLISP
examines the value of the print flag. If this flag is true,
the error message is printed. In any case, XLISP causes the
errset function call to return nil.
If there is no surrounding errset function, XLISP prints the
error message and returns to the top level.
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 7
DATA TYPES
5.0 DATA TYPES
There are several different data types available to XLISP
programmers.
o lists
o symbols
o strings
o integers
o objects
o file pointers
o subrs/fsubrs (built-in functions)
Another data type is the stream. A stream is a list node
whose car points to the head of a list of integers and whose
cdr points to the last list node of the list. An empty
stream is a list node whose car and cdr are nil. Each of
the integers in the list represents a character in the
stream. When a character is read from a stream, the first
integer from the head of the list is removed and returned.
When a character is written to a stream, the integer
representing the character code of the character is appended
to the end of the list. When a function indicates that it
takes an input source as a parameter, this parameter can
either be an input file pointer or a stream. Similarly,
when a function indicates that it takes an output sink as a
parameter, this parameter can either be an output file
pointer or a stream.
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 8
THE EVALUATOR
6.0 THE EVALUATOR
The process of evaluation in XLISP:
o Integers, strings, objects, file pointers, and
subrs evaluate to themselves
o Symbols evaluate to the value associated with their
current binding
o Lists are evaluated by evaluating the first element
of the list
o If it evaluates to a subr, the remaining list
elements are evaluated and the subr is called
with these evaluated expressions as arguments.
o If it evaluates to an fsubr, the fsubr is
called using the remaining list elements as
arguments (they are evaluated by the subr
itself if necessary)
o If it evaluates to a list and the car of the
list is 'lambda', the remaining list elements
are evaluated and the resulting expressions are
bound to the formal arguments of the lambda
expression. The body of the function is
executed within this new binding environment.
o If it evaluates to a list and the car of the
list is 'macro', the remaining list elements
are bound to the formal arguments of the macro
expression. The body of the function is
executed within this new binding environment.
The result of this evaluation is considered the
macro expansion. This result is then evaluated
in place of the original expression.
o If it evaluates to an object, the second list
element is evaluated and used as a message
selector. The message formed by combining the
selector with the values of the remaining list
elements is sent to the object.
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 9
LEXICAL CONVENTIONS
7.0 LEXICAL CONVENTIONS
The following conventions are followed when entering XLISP
programs:
Comments in XLISP code begin with a semi-colon character and
continue to the end of the line.
Symbol names in XLISP can consist of any sequence of
non-blank printable characters except the following:
( ) ' ` , " ;
Upper and lower case characters are distinct. The symbols
'CAR' and 'car' are not the same. The names of all built-in
functions are in lower case. The names of all built-in
objects are lower case with an initial capital. Symbol
names must not begin with a digit.
Integer literals consist of a sequence of digits optionally
beginning with a '+' or '-'. The range of values an integer
can represent is limited by the size of a C 'int' on the
machine that XLISP is running on.
Literal strings are sequences of characters surrounded by
double quotes. Within quoted strings the '\' character is
used to allow non-printable characters to be included. The
codes recognized are:
\\ means the character '\'
\n means newline
\t means tab
\r means return
\e means escape
\nnn means the character whose octal code is nnn
XLISP defines several useful read macros:
'<expr> == (quote <expr>)
#'<expr> == (function <expr>)
`<expr> == (backquote <expr>)
,<expr> == (comma <expr>)
,@<expr> == (comma-at <expr>)
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 10
OBJECTS
8.0 OBJECTS
Definitions:
o selector - a symbol used to select an appropriate
method
o message - a selector and a list of actual arguments
o method - the code that implements a message
Since XLISP was created to provide a simple basis for
experimenting with object oriented programming, one of the
primitive data types included was 'object'. In XLISP, an
object consists of a data structure containing a pointer to
the object's class as well as a list containing the values
of the object's instance variables.
Officially, there is no way to see inside an object (look at
the values of its instance variables). The only way to
communicate with an object is by sending it a message. When
the XLISP evaluator evaluates a list the value of whose
first element is an object, it interprets the value of the
second element of the list (which must be a symbol) as the
message selector. The evaluator determines the class of the
receiving object and attempts to find a method corresponding
to the message selector in the set of messages defined for
that class. If the message is not found in the object's
class and the class has a super-class, the search continues
by looking at the messages defined for the super-class.
This process continues from one super-class to the next
until a method for the message is found. If no method is
found, an error occurs.
When a method is found, the evaluator binds the receiving
object to the symbol 'self', binds the class in which the
method was found to the symbol 'msgclass', and evaluates the
method using the remaining elements of the original list as
arguments to the method. These arguments are always
evaluated prior to being bound to their corresponding formal
arguments. The result of evaluating the method becomes the
result of the expression.
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 11
OBJECTS
Classes:
Object THE TOP OF THE CLASS HEIRARCHY
Messages:
show SHOW AN OBJECT'S INSTANCE VARIABLES
returns the object
class RETURN THE CLASS OF AN OBJECT
returns the class of the object
isnew THE DEFAULT OBJECT INITIALIZATION ROUTINE
returns the object
sendsuper <sel> [<args>...] SEND SUPERCLASS A MESSAGE
<sel> the message selector
<args> the message arguments
returns the result of sending the message
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 12
OBJECTS
Class THE CLASS OF ALL OBJECT CLASSES (including itself)
Messages:
new CREATE A NEW INSTANCE OF A CLASS
returns the new class object
isnew [<scls>] INITIALIZE A NEW CLASS
<scls> the superclass
returns the new class object
answer <msg> <fargs> <code> ADD A MESSAGE TO A CLASS
<msg> the message symbol
<fargs> the formal argument list
this list is of the form:
(<farg>...
[&optional <oarg>...]
[&rest <rarg>]
[&aux <aux>...])
where
<farg> a formal argument
<oarg> an optional argument (default is nil)
<rarg> bound to the rest of the arguments
<aux> a auxiliary variable (set to nil)
<code> a list of executable expressions
returns the object
ivars <vars> DEFINE THE LIST OF INSTANCE VARIABLES
<vars> the list of instance variable symbols
returns the object
cvars <vars> DEFINE THE LIST OF CLASS VARIABLES
<vars> the list of class variable symbols
returns the object
When a new instance of a class is created by sending the
message 'new' to an existing class, the message 'isnew'
followed by whatever parameters were passed to the 'new'
message is sent to the newly created object.
When a new class is created by sending the 'new' message to
the object 'Class', an optional parameter may be specified
indicating the superclass of the new class. If this
parameter is omitted, the new class will be a subclass of
'Object'. A class inherits all instance variables, class
variables, and methods from its super-class.
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 13
SYMBOLS
9.0 SYMBOLS
o self - the current object (within a message
context)
o msgclass - the class in which the current method
was found
o *oblist* - the object list
o *keylist* - the keyword list
o *standard-input* - the standard input file
o *standard-output* - the standard output file
o *breakenable* - flag controlling entering the break
loop on errors
o *tracenable* - flag controlling trace back printout
on errors and breaks
o *tracelimit* - maximum number of levels of trace
back information printed on errors and breaks
o *evalhook* - user substitute for the evaluator
function
o *applyhook* - (not yet implemented)
o *unbound* - indicator for unbound symbols
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 14
EVALUATION FUNCTIONS
10.0 EVALUATION FUNCTIONS
(eval <expr>) EVALUATE AN XLISP EXPRESSION
<expr> the expression to be evaluated
returns the result of evaluating the expression
(apply <fun> <args>) APPLY A FUNCTION TO A LIST OF ARGUMENTS
<fun> the function to apply (or function symbol)
<args> the argument list
returns the result of applying the function to the argument list
(funcall <fun> <arg>...) CALL A FUNCTION WITH ARGUMENTS
<fun> the function to call (or function symbol)
<arg> arguments to pass to the function
returns the result of calling the function with the arguments
(quote <expr>) RETURN AN EXPRESSION UNEVALUATED
<expr> the expression to be quoted (quoted)
returns <expr> unevaluated
(function <expr>) QUOTE A FUNCTION (THIS IS THE SAME AS QUOTE)
<expr> the function to be quoted (quoted)
returns <expr> unevaluated
(backquote <expr>) FILL IN A TEMPLATE
<expr> the template
returns a copy of the template with comma and comma-at expressions
expanded (see the Common Lisp reference manual)
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 15
SYMBOL FUNCTIONS
11.0 SYMBOL FUNCTIONS
(set <sym> <expr>) SET THE VALUE OF A SYMBOL
<sym> the symbol being set
<expr> the new value
returns the new value
(setq [<sym> <expr>]...) SET THE VALUE OF A SYMBOL
<sym> the symbol being set (quoted)
<expr> the new value
returns the new value
(setf [<place> <expr>]...) SET THE VALUE OF A FIELD
<place> the field specifier (quoted):
<sym> set the value of a symbol
(car <expr>) set the car of a list node
(cdr <expr>) set the cdr of a list node
(get <sym> <prop>) set the value of a property
(symbol-value <sym>) set the value of a symbol
(symbol-plist <sym>) set the property list of a symbol
<value> the new value
returns the new value
(defun <sym> <fargs> <expr>...) DEFINE A FUNCTION
(defmacro <sym> <fargs> <expr>...) DEFINE A MACRO
<sym> symbol being defined (quoted)
<fargs> list of formal arguments (quoted)
this list is of the form:
(<farg>...
[&optional <oarg>...]
[&rest <rarg>]
[&aux <aux>...])
where
<farg> is a formal argument
<oarg> is an optional argument (default is nil)
<rarg> bound to the rest of the arguments
<aux> is an auxiliary variable (set to nil)
<expr> expressions constituting the body of the
function (quoted)
returns the function symbol
(gensym [<tag>]) GENERATE A SYMBOL
<tag> string or number
returns the new symbol
(intern <pname>) MAKE AN INTERNED SYMBOL
<pname> the symbol's print name string
returns the new symbol
(make-symbol <pname>) MAKE AN UNINTERNED SYMBOL
<pname> the symbol's print name string
returns the new symbol
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 16
SYMBOL FUNCTIONS
(symbol-name <sym>) GET THE PRINT NAME OF A SYMBOL
<sym> the symbol
returns the symbol's print name
(symbol-value <sym>) GET THE VALUE OF A SYMBOL
<sym> the symbol
returns the symbol's value
(symbol-plist <sym>) GET THE PROPERTY LIST OF A SYMBOL
<sym> the symbol
returns the symbol's property list
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 17
PROPERTY LIST FUNCTIONS
12.0 PROPERTY LIST FUNCTIONS
(get <sym> <prop>) GET THE VALUE OF A PROPERTY
<sym> the symbol
<prop> the property symbol
returns the property value or nil
(remprop <prop> <sym>) REMOVE A PROPERTY
<sym> the symbol
<prop> the property symbol
returns nil
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 18
LIST FUNCTIONS
13.0 LIST FUNCTIONS
(car <expr>) RETURN THE CAR OF A LIST NODE
<expr> the list node
returns the car of the list node
(cdr <expr>) RETURN THE CDR OF A LIST NODE
<expr> the list node
returns the cdr of the list node
(caar <expr>) == (car (car <expr>))
(cadr <expr>) == (car (cdr <expr>))
(cdar <expr>) == (cdr (car <expr>))
(cddr <expr>) == (cdr (cdr <expr>))
(cons <expr1> <expr2>) CONSTRUCT A NEW LIST NODE
<expr1> the car of the new list node
<expr2> the cdr of the new list node
returns the new list node
(list <expr>...) CREATE A LIST OF VALUES
<expr> expressions to be combined into a list
returns the new list
(append <expr>...) APPEND LISTS
<expr> lists whose elements are to be appended
returns the new list
(reverse <expr>) REVERSE A LIST
<expr> the list to reverse
returns a new list in the reverse order
(last <list>) RETURN THE LAST LIST NODE OF A LIST
<list> the list
returns the last list node in the list
(member <expr> <list> [<key> <test>]) FIND AN EXPRESSION IN A LIST
<expr> the expression to find
<list> the list to search
<key> the keyword :test or :test-not
<test> the test function (defaults to eql)
returns the remainder of the list starting with the expression
(assoc <expr> <alist> [<key> <test>]) FIND AN EXPRESSION IN AN A-LIST
<expr> the expression to find
<alist> the association list
<key> the keyword :test or :test-not
<test> the test function (defaults to eql)
returns the alist entry or nil
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 19
LIST FUNCTIONS
(remove <expr> <list> [<key> <test>]) REMOVE AN EXPRESSION FROM A LIST
<expr> the expression to delete
<list> the list
<key> the keyword :test or :test-not
<test> the test function (defaults to eql)
returns the list with the matching expressions deleted
(length <expr>) FIND THE LENGTH OF A LIST
<expr> the list
returns the length of the list
(nth <n> <list>) RETURN THE NTH ELEMENT OF A LIST
<n> the number of the element to return (zero origin)
<list> the list
returns the nth element or nil if the list isn't that long
(nthcdr <n> <list>) RETURN THE NTH CDR OF A LIST
<n> the number of the element to return (zero origin)
<list> the list
returns the nth cdr or nil if the list isn't that long
(mapc <fcn> <list1>...<listn>) APPLY FUNCTION TO SUCCESSIVE CARS
<fcn> the function or function name
<list1..n> a list for each argument of the function
returns the first list of arguments
(mapcar <fcn> <list1>...<listn>) APPLY FUNCTION TO SUCCESSIVE CARS
<fcn> the function or function name
<list1..n> a list for each argument of the function
returns the list of values returned by each function invocation
(mapl <fcn> <list1>...<listn>) APPLY FUNCTION TO SUCCESSIVE CDRS
<fcn> the function or function name
<list1..n> a list for each argument of the function
returns the first list of arguments
(maplist <fcn> <list1>...<listn>) APPLY FUNCTION TO SUCCESSIVE CDRS
<fcn> the function or function name
<list1..n> a list for each argument of the function
returns the list of values returned by each function invocation
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 20
LIST FUNCTIONS
(subst <to> <from> <expr> [<key> <test>]) SUBSTITUTE EXPRESSIONS
<to> the new expression
<from> the old expression
<expr> the expression in which to do the substitutions
<key> the keyword :test or :test-not
<test> the test function (defaults to eql)
returns the expression with substitutions
(sublis <alist> <expr> [<key> <test>]) SUBSTITUTE USING AN A-LIST
<alist> the association list
<expr> the expression in which to do the substitutions
<key> the keyword :test or :test-not
<test> the test function (defaults to eql)
returns the expression with substitutions
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 21
DESTRUCTIVE LIST FUNCTIONS
14.0 DESTRUCTIVE LIST FUNCTIONS
(rplaca <list> <expr>) REPLACE THE CAR OF A LIST NODE
<list> the list node
<expr> the new value for the car of the list node
returns the list node after updating the car
(rplacd <list> <expr>) REPLACE THE CDR OF A LIST NODE
<list> the list node
<expr> the new value for the cdr of the list node
returns the list node after updating the cdr
(nconc <list>...) DESTRUCTIVELY CONCATENATE LISTS
<list> lists to concatenate
returns the result of concatenating the lists
(delete <expr> <list> [<key> <test>]) DELETE AN EXPRESSION FROM A LIST
<expr> the expression to delete
<list> the list
<key> the keyword :test or :test-not
<test> the test function (defaults to eql)
returns the list with the matching expressions deleted
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 22
PREDICATE FUNCTIONS
15.0 PREDICATE FUNCTIONS
(atom <expr>) IS THIS AN ATOM?
<expr> the expression to check
returns t if the value is an atom, nil otherwise
(symbolp <expr>) IS THIS A SYMBOL?
<expr> the expression to check
returns t if the expression is a symbol, nil otherwise
(numberp <expr>) IS THIS A NUMBER?
<expr> the expression to check
returns t if the expression is a symbol, nil otherwise
(null <expr>) IS THIS AN EMPTY LIST?
<expr> the list to check
returns t if the list is empty, nil otherwise
(not <expr>) IS THIS FALSE?
<expr> the expression to check
return t if the expression is nil, nil otherwise
(listp <expr>) IS THIS A LIST?
<expr> the expression to check
returns t if the value is a list node or nil, nil otherwise
(consp <expr>) IS THIS A NON-EMPTY LIST?
<expr> the expression to check
returns t if the value is a list node, nil otherwise
(boundp <sym>) IS THIS A BOUND SYMBOL?
<sym> the symbol
returns t if a value is bound to the symbol, nil otherwise
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 23
PREDICATE FUNCTIONS
(minusp <expr>) IS THIS NUMBER NEGATIVE?
<expr> the number to test
returns t if the number is negative, nil otherwise
(zerop <expr>) IS THIS NUMBER ZERO?
<expr> the number to test
returns t if the number is zero, nil otherwise
(plusp <expr>) IS THIS NUMBER POSITIVE?
<expr> the number to test
returns t if the number is positive, nil otherwise
(evenp <expr>) IS THIS NUMBER EVEN?
<expr> the number to test
returns t if the number is even, nil otherwise
(oddp <expr>) IS THIS NUMBER ODD?
<expr> the number to test
returns t if the number is odd, nil otherwise
(eq <expr1> <expr2>) ARE THE EXPRESSIONS IDENTICAL?
<expr1> the first expression
<expr2> the second expression
returns t if they are equal, nil otherwise
(eql <expr1> <expr2>) ARE THE EXPRESSIONS IDENTICAL?
(WORKS WITH NUMBERS AND STRINGS)
<expr1> the first expression
<expr2> the second expression
returns t if they are equal, nil otherwise
(equal <expr1> <expr2>) ARE THE EXPRESSIONS EQUAL?
<expr1> the first expression
<expr2> the second expression
returns t if they are equal, nil otherwise
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 24
CONTROL FUNCTIONS
16.0 CONTROL FUNCTIONS
(cond <pair>...) EVALUATE CONDITIONALLY
<pair> pair consisting of:
(<pred> <expr>...)
where
<pred> is a predicate expression
<expr> evaluated if the predicate
is not nil
returns the value of the first expression whose predicate
is not nil
(and <expr>...) THE LOGICAL AND OF A LIST OF EXPRESSIONS
<expr>... the expressions to be ANDed
returns nil if any expression evaluates to nil,
otherwise the value of the last expression
(evaluation of expressions stops after the first
expression that evaluates to nil)
(or <expr>...) THE LOGICAL OR OF A LIST OF EXPRESSIONS
<expr>... the expressions to be ORed
returns nil if all expressions evaluate to nil,
otherwise the value of the first non-nil expression
(evaluation of expressions stops after the first
expression that does not evaluate to nil)
(if <texpr> <expr1> [<expr2>]) EXECUTE EXPRESSIONS CONDITIONALLY
<texpr> the test expression
<expr1> the expression to be evaluated if texpr is non-nil
<expr2> the expression to be evaluated if texpr is nil
returns the value of the selected expression
(let (<binding>...) <expr>...) BIND SYMBOLS AND EVALUATE EXPRESSIONS
(let* (<binding>...) <expr>...) LET WITH SEQUENTIAL BINDING
<binding> the variable bindings each of which is either:
1) a symbol (which is initialized to nil)
2) a list whose car is a symbol and whose cadr
is an initialization expression
<expr>... the expressions to be evaluated
returns the value of the last expression
(catch <sym> [<expr>]...) EVALUATE EXPRESSIONS AND CATCH THROWS
<sym> the catch tag
<expr>... expressions to evaluate
returns the value of the last expression the throw expression
(throw <sym> [<expr>]) THROW TO A CATCH
<sym> the catch tag
<expr> the value for the catch to return (defaults to nil)
returns never returns
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 25
LOOPING FUNCTIONS
17.0 LOOPING FUNCTIONS
(do ([<binding>]...) (<texpr> [<rexpr>]...) [<expr>]...)
(do* ([<binding>]...) (<texpr> [<rexpr>]...) [<expr>]...)
<binding> the variable bindings each of which is either:
1) a symbol (which is initialized to nil)
2) a list of the form: (<sym> <init> [<step>])
where:
<sym> is the symbol to bind
<init> is the initial value of the symbol
<step> is a step expression
<texpr> the termination test expression
<rexpr>... result expressions (the default is nil)
<expr>... the body of the loop (treated like an implicit prog)
returns the value of the last result expression
(dolist (<sym> <expr> [<rexpr>]) [<expr>]...) LOOP THROUGH A LIST
<sym> the symbol to bind to each list element
<expr> the list expression
<rexpr> the result expression (the default is nil)
<expr>... the body of the loop (treated like an implicit prog)
(dotimes (<sym> <expr> [<rexpr>]) [<expr>]...) LOOP FROM ZERO TO N-1
<sym> the symbol to bind to each value from 0 to n-1
<expr> the number of times to loop
<rexpr> the result expression (the default is nil)
<expr>... the body of the loop (treated like an implicit prog)
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 26
THE PROGRAM FEATURE
18.0 THE PROGRAM FEATURE
(prog (<binding>...) [<expr>]...) THE PROGRAM FEATURE
(prog* (<binding>...) [<expr>]...) PROG WITH SEQUENTIAL BINDING
<binding> the variable bindings each of which is either:
1) a symbol (which is initialized to nil)
2) a list whose car is a symbol and whose cadr
is an initialization expression
<expr> expressions to evaluate or tags (symbols)
returns nil or the argument passed to the return function
(go <sym>) GO TO A TAG WITHIN A PROG CONSTRUCT
<sym> the tag (quoted)
returns never returns
(return [<expr>]) CAUSE A PROG CONSTRUCT TO RETURN A VALUE
<expr> the value (defaults to nil)
returns never returns
(prog1 <expr1> [<expr>]...) EXECUTE EXPRESSIONS SEQUENTIALLY
<expr1> the first expression to evaluate
<expr>... the remaining expressions to evaluate
returns the value of the first expression
(prog2 <expr1> <expr2> [<expr>]...) EXECUTE EXPRESSIONS SEQUENTIALLY
<expr1> the first expression to evaluate
<expr2> the second expression to evaluate
<expr>... the remaining expressions to evaluate
returns the value of the second expression
(progn [<expr>]...) EXECUTE EXPRESSIONS SEQUENTIALLY
<expr>... the expressions to evaluate
returns the value of the last expression (or nil)
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 27
DEBUGGING AND ERROR HANDLING
19.0 DEBUGGING AND ERROR HANDLING
(error <emsg> [<arg>]) SIGNAL A NON-CORRECTABLE ERROR
<emsg> the error message string
<arg> the argument expression (printed after the message)
returns never returns
(cerror <cmsg> <emsg> [<arg>]) SIGNAL A CORRECTABLE ERROR
<cmsg> the continue message string
<emsg> the error message string
<arg> the argument expression (printed after the message)
returns nil when continued from the break loop
(break [<bmsg> [<arg>]]) ENTER A BREAK LOOP
<bmsg> the break message string (defaults to "**BREAK**")
<arg> the argument expression (printed after the message)
returns nil when continued from the break loop
(errset <expr> [<pflag>]) TRAP ERRORS
<expr> the expression to execute
<pflag> flag to control printing of the error message
returns the value of the last expression consed with nil
or nil on error
(baktrace [<n>]) PRINT N LEVELS OF TRACE BACK INFORMATION
<n> the number of levels (defaults to all levels)
returns nil
(evalhook <expr> <ehook> <ahook>) EVALUATE AN EXPRESSION WITH HOOKS
<expr> the expression to evaluate
<ehook> the value for *evalhook*
<ahook> the value for *applyhook*
returns the result of evaluating the expression
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 28
ARITHMETIC FUNCTIONS
20.0 ARITHMETIC FUNCTIONS
(+ <expr>...) ADD A LIST OF NUMBERS
<expr>... the numbers
returns the result of the addition
(- <expr>...) SUBTRACT A LIST OF NUMBERS OR NEGATE A SINGLE NUMBER
<expr>... the numbers
returns the result of the subtraction
(* <expr>...) MULTIPLY A LIST OF NUMBERS
<expr>... the numbers
returns the result of the multiplication
(/ <expr>...) DIVIDE A LIST OF NUMBERS
<expr>... the numbers
returns the result of the division
(1+ <expr>) ADD ONE TO A NUMBER
<expr> the number
returns the number plus one
(1- <expr>) SUBTRACT ONE FROM A NUMBER
<expr> the number
returns the number minus one
(rem <expr>...) REMAINDER OF A LIST OF NUMBERS
<expr>... the numbers
returns the result of the remainder operation
(min <expr>...) THE SMALLEST OF A LIST OF NUMBERS
<expr>... the expressions to be checked
returns the smallest number in the list
(max <expr>...) THE LARGEST OF A LIST OF NUMBERS
<expr>... the expressions to be checked
returns the largest number in the list
(abs <expr>) THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF A NUMBER
<expr> the number
returns the absolute value of the number
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 29
BITWISE LOGICAL FUNCTIONS
21.0 BITWISE LOGICAL FUNCTIONS
(bit-and <expr>...) THE BITWISE AND OF A LIST OF NUMBERS
<expr> the numbers
returns the result of the and operation
(bit-ior <expr...) THE BITWISE INCLUSIVE OR OF A LIST OF NUMBERS
<expr> the numbers
returns the result of the inclusive or operation
(bit-xor <expr...) THE BITWISE EXCLUSIVE OR OF A LIST OF NUMBERS
<expr> the numbers
returns the result of the exclusive or operation
(bit-not <expr>) THE BITWISE NOT OF A NUMBER
<expr> the number
returns the bitwise inversion of number
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 30
RELATIONAL FUNCTIONS
22.0 RELATIONAL FUNCTIONS
The relational functions can be used to compare integers or
strings. The functions '=' and '/=' can also be used to
compare other types. The result of these comparisons is
computed the same way as for 'eq'.
(< <e1> <e2>) TEST FOR LESS THAN
<e1> the left operand of the comparison
<e2> the right operand of the comparison
returns the result of comparing <e1> with <e2>
(<= <e1> <e2>) TEST FOR LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO
<e1> the left operand of the comparison
<e2> the right operand of the comparison
returns the result of comparing <e1> with <e2>
(= <e1> <e2>) TEST FOR EQUAL TO
<e1> the left operand of the comparison
<e2> the right operand of the comparison
returns the result of comparing <e1> with <e2>
(/= <e1> <e2>) TEST FOR NOT EQUAL TO
<e1> the left operand of the comparison
<e2> the right operand of the comparison
returns the result of comparing <e1> with <e2>
(>= <e1> <e2>) TEST FOR GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO
<e1> the left operand of the comparison
<e2> the right operand of the comparison
returns the result of comparing <e1> with <e2>
(> <e1> <e2>) TEST FOR GREATER THAN
<e1> the left operand of the comparison
<e2> the right operand of the comparison
returns the result of comparing <e1> with <e2>
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 31
STRING FUNCTIONS
23.0 STRING FUNCTIONS
(strcat <expr>...) CONCATENATE STRINGS
<expr>... the strings to concatenate
returns the result of concatenating the strings
(strlen <expr>) COMPUTE THE LENGTH OF A STRING
<expr> the string
returns the length of the string
(substr <expr> <sexpr> [<lexpr>]) EXTRACT A SUBSTRING
<expr> the string
<sexpr> the starting position
<lexpr> the length (default is rest of string)
returns substring starting at <sexpr> for <lexpr>
(ascii <expr>) NUMERIC VALUE OF CHARACTER
<expr> the string
returns the ascii code of the first character
(chr <expr>) CHARACTER EQUIVALENT OF ASCII VALUE
<expr> the numeric expression
returns a one character string whose first character is <expr>
(atoi <expr>) CONVERT AN ASCII STRING TO AN INTEGER
<expr> the string
returns the integer value of the string expression
(itoa <expr>) CONVERT AN INTEGER TO AN ASCII STRING
<expr> the integer
returns the string representation of the integer value
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 32
INPUT/OUTPUT FUNCTIONS
24.0 INPUT/OUTPUT FUNCTIONS
(read [<source> [<eof>]]) READ AN XLISP EXPRESSION
<source> the input source (default is standard input)
<eof> the value to return on end of file (default is nil)
returns the expression read
(print <expr> [<sink>]) PRINT A LIST OF VALUES ON A NEW LINE
<expr> the expressions to be printed
<sink> the output sink (default is standard output)
returns nil
(prin1 <expr> [<sink>]) PRINT A LIST OF VALUES
<expr> the expressions to be printed
<sink> the output sink (default is standard output)
returns nil
(princ <expr> [<sink>]) PRINT A LIST OF VALUES WITHOUT QUOTING
<expr> the expressions to be printed
<sink> the output sink (default is standard output)
returns nil
(terpri [<sink>]) TERMINATE THE CURRENT PRINT LINE
<sink> the output sink (default is standard output)
returns nil
(flatsize <expr>) LENGTH OF PRINTED REPRESENTATION USING PRIN1
<expr> the expression
returns the length
(flatc <expr>) LENGTH OF PRINTED REPRESENTATION USING PRINC
<expr> the expression
returns the length
(explode <expr>) CHARACTERS IN PRINTED REPRESENTATION USING PRIN1
<expr> the expression
returns the list of characters
(explodec <expr>) CHARACTERS IN PRINTED REPRESENTATION USING PRINC
<expr> the expression
returns the list of characters
(maknam <list>) BUILD AN UNINTERNED SYMBOL FROM A LIST OF CHARACTERS
<list> list of characters in symbol name
returns the symbol
(implode <list>) BUILD AN INTERNED SYMBOL FROM A LIST OF CHARACTERS
<list> list of characters in symbol name
returns the symbol
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 33
FILE I/O FUNCTIONS
25.0 FILE I/O FUNCTIONS
(openi <fname>) OPEN AN INPUT FILE
<fname> the file name string
returns a file pointer
(openo <fname>) OPEN AN OUTPUT FILE
<fname> the file name string
returns a file pointer
(close <fp>) CLOSE A FILE
<fp> the file pointer
returns nil
(read-char [<source>]) READ A CHARACTER FROM A FILE OR STREAM
<source> the input source (default is standard input)
returns the character (integer)
(peek-char [<flag> [<source>]]) PEEK AT THE NEXT CHARACTER
<flag> flag for skipping white space (default is nil)
<source> the input source (default is standard input)
returns the character (integer)
(write-char <ch> [<sink>]) WRITE A CHARACTER TO A FILE OR STREAM
<ch> the character to put (integer)
<sink> the output sink (default is standard output)
returns the character (integer)
(readline [<source>]) READ A LINE FROM A FILE OR STREAM
<source> the input source (default is standard input)
returns the input string
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 34
SYSTEM FUNCTIONS
26.0 SYSTEM FUNCTIONS
(load <fname> [<vflag> [<pflag>]]) LOAD AN XLISP SOURCE FILE
<fname> the filename string (".lsp" is appended)
<vflag> the verbose flag (default is t)
<pflag> the print flag (default is nil)
returns the filename
(gc) FORCE GARBAGE COLLECTION
returns nil
(expand <num>) EXPAND MEMORY BY ADDING SEGMENTS
<num> the number of segments to add
returns the number of segments added
(alloc <num>) CHANGE NUMBER OF NODES TO ALLOCATE IN EACH SEGMENT
<num> the number of nodes to allocate
returns the old number of nodes to allocate
(mem) SHOW MEMORY ALLOCATION STATISTICS
returns nil
(type <expr>) RETURNS THE TYPE OF THE EXPRESSION
<expr> the expression to return the type of
returns nil if the value is nil otherwise one of the symbols:
SYM for symbols
OBJ for objects
LIST for list nodes
SUBR for subroutine nodes with evaluated arguments
FSUBR for subroutine nodes with unevaluated arguments
STR for string nodes
INT for integer nodes
FPTR for file pointer nodes
(exit) EXIT XLISP
returns never returns
