# HG changeset patch # User Chong Yidong # Date 1235336835 0 # Node ID 220614a1aa60bffe6cedcb4dfadfe54ca59bf0f8 # Parent 6529fbf22184ef5f38404e18ccecf8356b00664e (Sequences Arrays Vectors): Make introduction more concise. (Arrays): Mention char-tables and bool-vectors too. (Vectors): Don't repeat information given in Arrays node. Link to nodes that explain the vector usage examples. (Char-Tables): Note that char-table elements can have arbitrary type. Explain effect of omitted char-table-extra-slots property. diff -r 6529fbf22184 -r 220614a1aa60 doc/lispref/sequences.texi --- a/doc/lispref/sequences.texi Sun Feb 22 21:07:04 2009 +0000 +++ b/doc/lispref/sequences.texi Sun Feb 22 21:07:15 2009 +0000 @@ -13,10 +13,9 @@ any array is a sequence. The common property that all sequences have is that each is an ordered collection of elements. - An @dfn{array} is a single primitive object that has a slot for each -of its elements. All the elements are accessible in constant time, but -the length of an existing array cannot be changed. Strings, vectors, -char-tables and bool-vectors are the four types of arrays. + An @dfn{array} is a fixed-length object with a slot for each of its +elements. All the elements are accessible in constant time. The four +types of arrays are strings, vectors, char-tables and bool-vectors. A list is a sequence of elements, but it is not a single primitive object; it is made of cons cells, one cell per element. Finding the @@ -47,9 +46,6 @@ @end group @end example - The elements of vectors and lists may be any Lisp objects. The -elements of strings are all characters. - @menu * Sequence Functions:: Functions that accept any kind of sequence. * Arrays:: Characteristics of arrays in Emacs Lisp. @@ -223,17 +219,17 @@ @cindex array An @dfn{array} object has slots that hold a number of other Lisp -objects, called the elements of the array. Any element of an array may -be accessed in constant time. In contrast, an element of a list -requires access time that is proportional to the position of the element -in the list. +objects, called the elements of the array. Any element of an array +may be accessed in constant time. In contrast, the time to access an +element of a list is proportional to the position of that element in +the list. - Emacs defines four types of array, all one-dimensional: @dfn{strings}, -@dfn{vectors}, @dfn{bool-vectors} and @dfn{char-tables}. A vector is a -general array; its elements can be any Lisp objects. A string is a -specialized array; its elements must be characters. Each type of array -has its own read syntax. -@xref{String Type}, and @ref{Vector Type}. + Emacs defines four types of array, all one-dimensional: +@dfn{strings} (@pxref{String Type}), @dfn{vectors} (@pxref{Vector +Type}), @dfn{bool-vectors} (@pxref{Bool-Vector Type}), and +@dfn{char-tables} (@pxref{Char-Table Type}). Vectors and char-tables +can hold elements of any type, but strings can only hold characters, +and bool-vectors can only hold @code{t} and @code{nil}. All four kinds of array share these characteristics: @@ -390,14 +386,13 @@ @section Vectors @cindex vector (type) - Arrays in Lisp, like arrays in most languages, are blocks of memory -whose elements can be accessed in constant time. A @dfn{vector} is a -general-purpose array of specified length; its elements can be any Lisp -objects. (By contrast, a string can hold only characters as elements.) -Vectors in Emacs are used for obarrays (vectors of symbols), and as part -of keymaps (vectors of commands). They are also used internally as part -of the representation of a byte-compiled function; if you print such a -function, you will see a vector in it. + A @dfn{vector} is a general-purpose array whose elements can be any +Lisp objects. (By contrast, the elements of a string can only be +characters. @xref{Strings and Characters}.) Vectors are used in +Emacs for many purposes: as key sequences (@pxref{Key Sequences}), as +symbol-lookup tables (@pxref{Creating Symbols}), as part of the +representation of a byte-compiled function (@pxref{Byte Compilation}), +and more. In Emacs Lisp, the indices of the elements of a vector start from zero and count up from there. @@ -471,7 +466,7 @@ @defun vconcat &rest sequences @cindex copying vectors -This function returns a new vector containing all the elements of the +This function returns a new vector containing all the elements of @var{sequences}. The arguments @var{sequences} may be true lists, vectors, strings or bool-vectors. If no @var{sequences} are given, an empty vector is returned. @@ -525,18 +520,29 @@ used as an index in a char-table. You can access a char-table's elements with @code{aref} and @code{aset}, as with any array. In addition, a char-table can have @dfn{extra slots} to hold additional -data not associated with particular character codes. Char-tables are -constants when evaluated. +data not associated with particular character codes. Like vectors, +char-tables are constants when evaluated, and can hold elements of any +type. @cindex subtype of char-table - Each char-table has a @dfn{subtype} which is a symbol. The subtype -has two purposes: to distinguish char-tables meant for different uses, -and to control the number of extra slots. For example, display tables -are char-tables with @code{display-table} as the subtype, and syntax -tables are char-tables with @code{syntax-table} as the subtype. A valid -subtype must have a @code{char-table-extra-slots} property which is an -integer between 0 and 10. This integer specifies the number of -@dfn{extra slots} in the char-table. + Each char-table has a @dfn{subtype}, a symbol, which serves two +purposes: + +@itemize @bullet +@item +The subtype provides an easy way to tell what the char-table is for. +For instance, display tables are char-tables with @code{display-table} +as the subtype, and syntax tables are char-tables with +@code{syntax-table} as the subtype. The subtype can be queried using +the function @code{char-table-subtype}, described below. + +@item +The subtype controls the number of @dfn{extra slots} in the +char-table. This number is specified by the subtype's +@code{char-table-extra-slots} symbol property, which should be an +integer between 0 and 10. If the subtype has no such symbol property, +the char-table has no extra slots. +@end itemize @cindex parent of char-table A char-table can have a @dfn{parent}, which is another char-table. If @@ -552,18 +558,25 @@ whenever the char-table does not specify any other non-@code{nil} value. @defun make-char-table subtype &optional init -Return a newly created char-table, with subtype @var{subtype}. Each -element is initialized to @var{init}, which defaults to @code{nil}. You -cannot alter the subtype of a char-table after the char-table is -created. +Return a newly-created char-table, with subtype @var{subtype} (a +symbol). Each element is initialized to @var{init}, which defaults to +@code{nil}. You cannot alter the subtype of a char-table after the +char-table is created. There is no argument to specify the length of the char-table, because all char-tables have room for any valid character code as an index. + +If @var{subtype} has the @code{char-table-extra-slots} symbol +property, that specifies the number of extra slots in the char-table. +This should be an integer between 0 and 10; otherwise, +@code{make-char-table} raises an error. If @var{subtype} has no +@code{char-table-extra-slots} symbol property, the char-table has no +extra slots. @end defun @defun char-table-p object -This function returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a char-table, -otherwise @code{nil}. +This function returns @code{t} if @var{object} is a char-table, and +@code{nil} otherwise. @end defun @defun char-table-subtype char-table