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author | Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org> |
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date | Wed, 20 Mar 1996 14:51:42 +0000 |
parents | 586e3ea81792 |
children | 66d807bdc5b4 |
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@c -*-texinfo-*- @c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual. @c Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 Free Software Foundation, Inc. @c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions. @setfilename ../info/symbols @node Symbols, Evaluation, Sequences Arrays Vectors, Top @chapter Symbols @cindex symbol A @dfn{symbol} is an object with a unique name. This chapter describes symbols, their components, their property lists, and how they are created and interned. Separate chapters describe the use of symbols as variables and as function names; see @ref{Variables}, and @ref{Functions}. For the precise read syntax for symbols, see @ref{Symbol Type}. You can test whether an arbitrary Lisp object is a symbol with @code{symbolp}: @defun symbolp object This function returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a symbol, @code{nil} otherwise. @end defun @menu * Symbol Components:: Symbols have names, values, function definitions and property lists. * Definitions:: A definition says how a symbol will be used. * Creating Symbols:: How symbols are kept unique. * Property Lists:: Each symbol has a property list for recording miscellaneous information. @end menu @node Symbol Components, Definitions, Symbols, Symbols @section Symbol Components @cindex symbol components Each symbol has four components (or ``cells''), each of which references another object: @table @asis @item Print name @cindex print name cell The @dfn{print name cell} holds a string that names the symbol for reading and printing. See @code{symbol-name} in @ref{Creating Symbols}. @item Value @cindex value cell The @dfn{value cell} holds the current value of the symbol as a variable. When a symbol is used as a form, the value of the form is the contents of the symbol's value cell. See @code{symbol-value} in @ref{Accessing Variables}. @item Function @cindex function cell The @dfn{function cell} holds the function definition of the symbol. When a symbol is used as a function, its function definition is used in its place. This cell is also used to make a symbol stand for a keymap or a keyboard macro, for editor command execution. Because each symbol has separate value and function cells, variables and function names do not conflict. See @code{symbol-function} in @ref{Function Cells}. @item Property list @cindex property list cell The @dfn{property list cell} holds the property list of the symbol. See @code{symbol-plist} in @ref{Property Lists}. @end table The print name cell always holds a string, and cannot be changed. The other three cells can be set individually to any specified Lisp object. The print name cell holds the string that is the name of the symbol. Since symbols are represented textually by their names, it is important not to have two symbols with the same name. The Lisp reader ensures this: every time it reads a symbol, it looks for an existing symbol with the specified name before it creates a new one. (In GNU Emacs Lisp, this lookup uses a hashing algorithm and an obarray; see @ref{Creating Symbols}.) In normal usage, the function cell usually contains a function or macro, as that is what the Lisp interpreter expects to see there (@pxref{Evaluation}). Keyboard macros (@pxref{Keyboard Macros}), keymaps (@pxref{Keymaps}) and autoload objects (@pxref{Autoloading}) are also sometimes stored in the function cell of symbols. We often refer to ``the function @code{foo}'' when we really mean the function stored in the function cell of the symbol @code{foo}. We make the distinction only when necessary. The property list cell normally should hold a correctly formatted property list (@pxref{Property Lists}), as a number of functions expect to see a property list there. The function cell or the value cell may be @dfn{void}, which means that the cell does not reference any object. (This is not the same thing as holding the symbol @code{void}, nor the same as holding the symbol @code{nil}.) Examining a cell that is void results in an error, such as @samp{Symbol's value as variable is void}. The four functions @code{symbol-name}, @code{symbol-value}, @code{symbol-plist}, and @code{symbol-function} return the contents of the four cells of a symbol. Here as an example we show the contents of the four cells of the symbol @code{buffer-file-name}: @example (symbol-name 'buffer-file-name) @result{} "buffer-file-name" (symbol-value 'buffer-file-name) @result{} "/gnu/elisp/symbols.texi" (symbol-plist 'buffer-file-name) @result{} (variable-documentation 29529) (symbol-function 'buffer-file-name) @result{} #<subr buffer-file-name> @end example @noindent Because this symbol is the variable which holds the name of the file being visited in the current buffer, the value cell contents we see are the name of the source file of this chapter of the Emacs Lisp Manual. The property list cell contains the list @code{(variable-documentation 29529)} which tells the documentation functions where to find the documentation string for the variable @code{buffer-file-name} in the @file{DOC} file. (29529 is the offset from the beginning of the @file{DOC} file to where that documentation string begins.) The function cell contains the function for returning the name of the file. @code{buffer-file-name} names a primitive function, which has no read syntax and prints in hash notation (@pxref{Primitive Function Type}). A symbol naming a function written in Lisp would have a lambda expression (or a byte-code object) in this cell. @node Definitions, Creating Symbols, Symbol Components, Symbols @section Defining Symbols @cindex definition of a symbol A @dfn{definition} in Lisp is a special form that announces your intention to use a certain symbol in a particular way. In Emacs Lisp, you can define a symbol as a variable, or define it as a function (or macro), or both independently. A definition construct typically specifies a value or meaning for the symbol for one kind of use, plus documentation for its meaning when used in this way. Thus, when you define a symbol as a variable, you can supply an initial value for the variable, plus documentation for the variable. @code{defvar} and @code{defconst} are special forms that define a symbol as a global variable. They are documented in detail in @ref{Defining Variables}. @code{defun} defines a symbol as a function, creating a lambda expression and storing it in the function cell of the symbol. This lambda expression thus becomes the function definition of the symbol. (The term ``function definition'', meaning the contents of the function cell, is derived from the idea that @code{defun} gives the symbol its definition as a function.) @code{defsubst} and @code{defalias} are two other ways of defining a function. @xref{Functions}. @code{defmacro} defines a symbol as a macro. It creates a macro object and stores it in the function cell of the symbol. Note that a given symbol can be a macro or a function, but not both at once, because both macro and function definitions are kept in the function cell, and that cell can hold only one Lisp object at any given time. @xref{Macros}. In Emacs Lisp, a definition is not required in order to use a symbol as a variable or function. Thus, you can make a symbol a global variable with @code{setq}, whether you define it first or not. The real purpose of definitions is to guide programmers and programming tools. They inform programmers who read the code that certain symbols are @emph{intended} to be used as variables, or as functions. In addition, utilities such as @file{etags} and @file{make-docfile} recognize definitions, and add appropriate information to tag tables and the @file{emacs/etc/DOC-@var{version}} file. @xref{Accessing Documentation}. @node Creating Symbols, Property Lists, Definitions, Symbols @section Creating and Interning Symbols @cindex reading symbols To understand how symbols are created in GNU Emacs Lisp, you must know how Lisp reads them. Lisp must ensure that it finds the same symbol every time it reads the same set of characters. Failure to do so would cause complete confusion. @cindex symbol name hashing @cindex hashing @cindex obarray @cindex bucket (in obarray) When the Lisp reader encounters a symbol, it reads all the characters of the name. Then it ``hashes'' those characters to find an index in a table called an @dfn{obarray}. Hashing is an efficient method of looking something up. For example, instead of searching a telephone book cover to cover when looking up Jan Jones, you start with the J's and go from there. That is a simple version of hashing. Each element of the obarray is a @dfn{bucket} which holds all the symbols with a given hash code; to look for a given name, it is sufficient to look through all the symbols in the bucket for that name's hash code. @cindex interning If a symbol with the desired name is found, the reader uses that symbol. If the obarray does not contain a symbol with that name, the reader makes a new symbol and adds it to the obarray. Finding or adding a symbol with a certain name is called @dfn{interning} it, and the symbol is then called an @dfn{interned symbol}. Interning ensures that each obarray has just one symbol with any particular name. Other like-named symbols may exist, but not in the same obarray. Thus, the reader gets the same symbols for the same names, as long as you keep reading with the same obarray. @cindex symbol equality @cindex uninterned symbol No obarray contains all symbols; in fact, some symbols are not in any obarray. They are called @dfn{uninterned symbols}. An uninterned symbol has the same four cells as other symbols; however, the only way to gain access to it is by finding it in some other object or as the value of a variable. In Emacs Lisp, an obarray is actually a vector. Each element of the vector is a bucket; its value is either an interned symbol whose name hashes to that bucket, or 0 if the bucket is empty. Each interned symbol has an internal link (invisible to the user) to the next symbol in the bucket. Because these links are invisible, there is no way to find all the symbols in an obarray except using @code{mapatoms} (below). The order of symbols in a bucket is not significant. In an empty obarray, every element is 0, and you can create an obarray with @code{(make-vector @var{length} 0)}. @strong{This is the only valid way to create an obarray.} Prime numbers as lengths tend to result in good hashing; lengths one less than a power of two are also good. @strong{Do not try to put symbols in an obarray yourself.} This does not work---only @code{intern} can enter a symbol in an obarray properly. @strong{Do not try to intern one symbol in two obarrays.} This would garble both obarrays, because a symbol has just one slot to hold the following symbol in the obarray bucket. The results would be unpredictable. It is possible for two different symbols to have the same name in different obarrays; these symbols are not @code{eq} or @code{equal}. However, this normally happens only as part of the abbrev mechanism (@pxref{Abbrevs}). @cindex CL note---symbol in obarrays @quotation @b{Common Lisp note:} In Common Lisp, a single symbol may be interned in several obarrays. @end quotation Most of the functions below take a name and sometimes an obarray as arguments. A @code{wrong-type-argument} error is signaled if the name is not a string, or if the obarray is not a vector. @defun symbol-name symbol This function returns the string that is @var{symbol}'s name. For example: @example @group (symbol-name 'foo) @result{} "foo" @end group @end example Changing the string by substituting characters, etc, does change the name of the symbol, but fails to update the obarray, so don't do it! @end defun @defun make-symbol name This function returns a newly-allocated, uninterned symbol whose name is @var{name} (which must be a string). Its value and function definition are void, and its property list is @code{nil}. In the example below, the value of @code{sym} is not @code{eq} to @code{foo} because it is a distinct uninterned symbol whose name is also @samp{foo}. @example (setq sym (make-symbol "foo")) @result{} foo (eq sym 'foo) @result{} nil @end example @end defun @defun intern name &optional obarray This function returns the interned symbol whose name is @var{name}. If there is no such symbol in the obarray @var{obarray}, @code{intern} creates a new one, adds it to the obarray, and returns it. If @var{obarray} is omitted, the value of the global variable @code{obarray} is used. @example (setq sym (intern "foo")) @result{} foo (eq sym 'foo) @result{} t (setq sym1 (intern "foo" other-obarray)) @result{} foo (eq sym 'foo) @result{} nil @end example @end defun @defun intern-soft name &optional obarray This function returns the symbol in @var{obarray} whose name is @var{name}, or @code{nil} if @var{obarray} has no symbol with that name. Therefore, you can use @code{intern-soft} to test whether a symbol with a given name is already interned. If @var{obarray} is omitted, the value of the global variable @code{obarray} is used. @smallexample (intern-soft "frazzle") ; @r{No such symbol exists.} @result{} nil (make-symbol "frazzle") ; @r{Create an uninterned one.} @result{} frazzle @group (intern-soft "frazzle") ; @r{That one cannot be found.} @result{} nil @end group @group (setq sym (intern "frazzle")) ; @r{Create an interned one.} @result{} frazzle @end group @group (intern-soft "frazzle") ; @r{That one can be found!} @result{} frazzle @end group @group (eq sym 'frazzle) ; @r{And it is the same one.} @result{} t @end group @end smallexample @end defun @defvar obarray This variable is the standard obarray for use by @code{intern} and @code{read}. @end defvar @defun mapatoms function &optional obarray This function calls @var{function} for each symbol in the obarray @var{obarray}. It returns @code{nil}. If @var{obarray} is omitted, it defaults to the value of @code{obarray}, the standard obarray for ordinary symbols. @smallexample (setq count 0) @result{} 0 (defun count-syms (s) (setq count (1+ count))) @result{} count-syms (mapatoms 'count-syms) @result{} nil count @result{} 1871 @end smallexample See @code{documentation} in @ref{Accessing Documentation}, for another example using @code{mapatoms}. @end defun @defun unintern symbol &optional obarray This function deletes @var{symbol} from the obarray @var{obarray}. If @code{symbol} is not actually in the obarray, @code{unintern} does nothing. If @var{obarray} is @code{nil}, the current obarray is used. If you provide a string instead of a symbol as @var{symbol}, it stands for a symbol name. Then @code{unintern} deletes the symbol (if any) in the obarray which has that name. If there is no such symbol, @code{unintern} does nothing. If @code{unintern} does delete a symbol, it returns @code{t}. Otherwise it returns @code{nil}. @end defun @node Property Lists,, Creating Symbols, Symbols @section Property Lists @cindex property list @cindex plist A @dfn{property list} (@dfn{plist} for short) is a list of paired elements stored in the property list cell of a symbol. Each of the pairs associates a property name (usually a symbol) with a property or value. Property lists are generally used to record information about a symbol, such as its documentation as a variable, the name of the file where it was defined, or perhaps even the grammatical class of the symbol (representing a word) in a language-understanding system. Character positions in a string or buffer can also have property lists. @xref{Text Properties}. The property names and values in a property list can be any Lisp objects, but the names are usually symbols. They are compared using @code{eq}. Here is an example of a property list, found on the symbol @code{progn} when the compiler is loaded: @example (lisp-indent-function 0 byte-compile byte-compile-progn) @end example @noindent Here @code{lisp-indent-function} and @code{byte-compile} are property names, and the other two elements are the corresponding values. @menu * Plists and Alists:: Comparison of the advantages of property lists and association lists. * Symbol Plists:: Functions to access symbols' property lists. * Other Plists:: Accessing property lists stored elsewhere. @end menu @node Plists and Alists @subsection Property Lists and Association Lists @cindex property lists vs association lists Association lists (@pxref{Association Lists}) are very similar to property lists. In contrast to association lists, the order of the pairs in the property list is not significant since the property names must be distinct. Property lists are better than association lists for attaching information to various Lisp function names or variables. If all the associations are recorded in one association list, the program will need to search that entire list each time a function or variable is to be operated on. By contrast, if the information is recorded in the property lists of the function names or variables themselves, each search will scan only the length of one property list, which is usually short. This is why the documentation for a variable is recorded in a property named @code{variable-documentation}. The byte compiler likewise uses properties to record those functions needing special treatment. However, association lists have their own advantages. Depending on your application, it may be faster to add an association to the front of an association list than to update a property. All properties for a symbol are stored in the same property list, so there is a possibility of a conflict between different uses of a property name. (For this reason, it is a good idea to choose property names that are probably unique, such as by including the name of the library in the property name.) An association list may be used like a stack where associations are pushed on the front of the list and later discarded; this is not possible with a property list. @node Symbol Plists @subsection Property List Functions for Symbols @defun symbol-plist symbol This function returns the property list of @var{symbol}. @end defun @defun setplist symbol plist This function sets @var{symbol}'s property list to @var{plist}. Normally, @var{plist} should be a well-formed property list, but this is not enforced. @smallexample (setplist 'foo '(a 1 b (2 3) c nil)) @result{} (a 1 b (2 3) c nil) (symbol-plist 'foo) @result{} (a 1 b (2 3) c nil) @end smallexample For symbols in special obarrays, which are not used for ordinary purposes, it may make sense to use the property list cell in a nonstandard fashion; in fact, the abbrev mechanism does so (@pxref{Abbrevs}). @end defun @defun get symbol property This function finds the value of the property named @var{property} in @var{symbol}'s property list. If there is no such property, @code{nil} is returned. Thus, there is no distinction between a value of @code{nil} and the absence of the property. The name @var{property} is compared with the existing property names using @code{eq}, so any object is a legitimate property. See @code{put} for an example. @end defun @defun put symbol property value This function puts @var{value} onto @var{symbol}'s property list under the property name @var{property}, replacing any previous property value. The @code{put} function returns @var{value}. @smallexample (put 'fly 'verb 'transitive) @result{}'transitive (put 'fly 'noun '(a buzzing little bug)) @result{} (a buzzing little bug) (get 'fly 'verb) @result{} transitive (symbol-plist 'fly) @result{} (verb transitive noun (a buzzing little bug)) @end smallexample @end defun @node Other Plists @subsection Property Lists Outside Symbols These two functions are useful for manipulating property lists that are stored in places other than symbols: @defun plist-get plist property This returns the value of the @var{property} property stored in the property list @var{plist}. For example, @example (plist-get '(foo 4) 'foo) @result{} 4 @end example @end defun @defun plist-put plist property value This stores @var{value} as the value of the @var{property} property in the property list @var{plist}. It may modify @var{plist} destructively, or it may construct a new list structure without altering the old. The function returns the modified property list, so you can store that back in the place where you got @var{plist}. For example, @example (setq my-plist '(bar t foo 4)) @result{} (bar t foo 4) (setq my-plist (plist-put my-plist 'foo 69)) @result{} (bar t foo 69) (setq my-plist (plist-put my-plist 'quux '(a))) @result{} (quux (a) bar t foo 5) @end example @end defun