# # "Not all of them use vi." # package Emacs::Lisp; use 5.002; # prototypes use Carp (); use strict; no strict 'refs'; use vars qw ($VERSION @EXPORT @EXPORT_OK %EXPORT_TAGS $AUTOLOAD %EXPORT); my (%special); require Exporter; BEGIN { # Set inlinable constants based on feature tests. local ($@); local $ENV{PERL_DL_NONLAZY} = ""; # Why? I forgot. Needed for 5.005. eval { require B; }; eval ('sub HAVE_B () {'. ($@ ? 0 : 1) .'}'); } $VERSION = '1.01'; if (! defined (&Emacs::Lisp::funcall) || ! defined (&Emacs::Lisp::Object::funcall)) { if (defined (&Emacs::boot_Emacs)) { Emacs::boot_Emacs ($VERSION); } else { require Emacs::EPL; } } # Really don't want to leave the funcall()s undefined, because they # are called by AUTOLOAD, and infinite recursion in AUTOLOAD is a # quick way to melt down a system. if (! defined (&Emacs::Lisp::funcall) || ! defined (&Emacs::Lisp::Object::funcall)) { Carp::croak ("funcall not defined"); } # Closure generator shared by Emacs::Lisp::AUTOLOAD and # Emacs::Lisp::Object::AUTOLOAD. # FIXME: This code tries to be very clever for best performance, # but it should be thoroughly tested. my $get_funcall_closure = sub { my ($whose_funcall, $function) = @_; my ($fullname); $function =~ s/.*:://; $fullname = "${whose_funcall}::$function"; if (defined &$fullname) { return \&$fullname; } if (exists $special{$function}) { my $msg = $special{$function}; $msg = $special{$1} while $msg =~ /^\*(.*)/; $msg = (defined ($msg) ? "; $msg" : ""); $function =~ tr/_/-/; Carp::croak ("`$function' not implemented$msg"); } $function = \*{"::$function"}; $whose_funcall = \&{"$whose_funcall\::funcall"}; *$fullname = sub { # Switch to package main in case Lisp compiles any Perl code. # FIXME: should perhaps handle this in Perlmacs, by # allowing the package for perl-eval to be specified. package main; return &$whose_funcall ($function, @_); }; return \&$fullname; }; my $can = sub { my ($symbol); $symbol = \*{"::$_[1]"}; if (&fboundp ($symbol) and do { my ($f); $f = Emacs::Lisp::Object::symbol_function ($symbol); # XXX should save some communication by using &Emacs::Lisp::consp # and &Emacs::Lisp::car. ($f->consp->is_nil) or $f->car->eq (\*::macro)->is_nil; }) { return eval { &$get_funcall_closure }; } return undef; }; package Emacs::Lisp::Object; use vars qw ($AUTOLOAD); sub AUTOLOAD { *$AUTOLOAD = &$get_funcall_closure (__PACKAGE__, $AUTOLOAD); goto &$AUTOLOAD; } sub can { &UNIVERSAL::can || &$can (__PACKAGE__, $_[1]) } sub is_nil ($) { defined $_[0]->null->to_perl } package Emacs::Lisp::Variable; sub TIESCALAR { return bless (\$_[1], $_[0]); } sub FETCH { return &Emacs::Lisp::symbol_value (${$_[0]}); } sub STORE { return &Emacs::Lisp::set (${$_[0]}, $_[1]); } package Emacs::Lisp::Plist; # tied hash interface to Lisp property lists # tie (%sym, 'Emacs::Lisp::Plist', \*::sym) sub TIEHASH { return bless (\$_[1], $_[0]); } sub FETCH { return &Emacs::Lisp::get (${$_[0]}, $_[1]); } sub STORE { return &Emacs::Lisp::put (${$_[0]}, $_[1], $_[2]); } sub CLEAR { &Emacs::Lisp::setplist (${$_[0]}, undef); } # Look for $key (a Perl thing, typically a \*::globref) in all the # even-numbered positions (zero-based) in $list (a Lisp list). # If found, return the list's tail and the tail from one position # up (needed for DELETE). If not found, return an empty list. # # Assumes $list has an even number of elts. # Should be called in list context. sub memq_even ($$) { my ($list, $key) = @_; my ($prev); for (; not $list->is_nil; $list = ($prev = $list->cdr)->cdr) { if (&Emacs::Lisp::eq ($list->car, $key)) { return ($list, $prev); } } return (); } sub EXISTS { # "[T]here is no distinction between a value of `nil' # and the absence of the property." # # - *Note (elisp)Symbol Plists::. (Elisp Manual) # # Well now there is. :-) # my ($symbol, $key) = @_; return (memq_even (&Emacs::Lisp::Object::symbol_plist ($$symbol), $key))[0] ? 1 : 0; } sub DELETE { my ($symbol, $key) = @_; my ($plist, $list, $prev); $plist = &Emacs::Lisp::Object::symbol_plist ($$symbol); if ($plist->is_nil) { return undef; } ($list, $prev) = memq_even ($plist, $key); if ($list) { if ($prev) { $prev->setcdr ($list->cdr->cdr); } else { &Emacs::Lisp::setplist ($$symbol, $list->cdr->cdr); } } return undef; } sub FIRSTKEY { my ($symbol) = @_; my ($plist); $plist = &Emacs::Lisp::Object::symbol_plist ($$symbol); return $plist->is_nil ? undef : $plist->car->to_perl; } sub NEXTKEY { my ($symbol, $lastkey) = @_; my ($plist, $list); $plist = &Emacs::Lisp::Object::symbol_plist ($$symbol); ($list) = memq_even ($plist, $lastkey); if ($list) { $list = $list->cdr->cdr; if (not $list->is_nil) { # bad if nil is a key, I guess return $list->car->to_perl; } } return undef; } package Emacs::Lisp; sub import { my @newlist = (); for my $i (1..$#_) { if ($_[$i] =~ m/^\d/) { # Exporter will try to call Emacs::Lisp->require_version if # we let it handle numeric arguments. Rather than provide # a require_version sub (which would shadow a Lisp # require-version function), we emulate Exporter. if ($VERSION < $_[$i]) { Carp::croak ("Emacs::Lisp $_[$i] required--this is only" . " version $VERSION (" . __FILE__ . ")"); } next; } next if $_[$i] !~ /([\$\%])(.*)/; my ($type, $name) = ($1, $2); if ($type eq '%') { next if tied %$name; tie %$name, 'Emacs::Lisp::Plist', \*{"::$name"}; } else { next if tied $$name; tie $$name, 'Emacs::Lisp::Variable', \*{"::$name"}; } push @newlist, $_[$i]; } # XXX Accommodating some undocumented Exporter.pm behavior here... if (%EXPORT) { @EXPORT{@newlist} = (1) x @newlist; } else { push @EXPORT_OK, @newlist; } goto &Exporter::import; } # Normally, one does not export an AUTOLOAD sub by default. # But presumably, if you're using this module, you are running Emacs # and want easy access to Lisp functions. # Say `use Emacs::Lisp ();' to avoid importing AUTOLOAD. # # XXX Regardless, this should probably be fixed to insert AUTOLOAD # as a closure/hook if there already is one. Maybe the place to fix # it is in Exporter.pm. (?) %EXPORT_TAGS = ( funcs => [qw( funcall AUTOLOAD cons consp car cdr setcar setcdr )], special => [qw( catch defun interactive save_current_buffer save_excursion save_restriction setq track_mouse unwind_protect )], extra => [qw( lisp t nil )], ); @EXPORT = map { @$_ } values %EXPORT_TAGS; sub t () { return \*::t; } sub nil () { return undef; } sub AUTOLOAD { *$AUTOLOAD = &$get_funcall_closure (__PACKAGE__, $AUTOLOAD); goto &$AUTOLOAD; } sub can { return &UNIVERSAL::can || &$can (__PACKAGE__, $_[1]); } %special = ( 'setq_default' => "use `&set_default(\\*::symbol, \$value)' instead", 'or' => "use Perl's `or' or `||' operator instead", 'and' => "use Perl's `and' or `&&' operator instead", 'if' => "use Perl's `if' or `?...:' operator instead", 'cond' => "use Perl's `if', `elsif' and `else' instead", 'progn' => "use a code block instead", 'prog1' => "use a temporary variable instead", 'prog2' => '*prog1', 'quote' => "use `\\*::symbol' to quote a symbol, and " . "`[\@items]' to make a list", 'function' => '*quote', 'defmacro' => "functionality to be added", 'defvar' => "functionality to be added", 'defconst' => '*defvar', 'let*' => '*let', 'let' => "use `local' instead", 'while' => "use Perl's `for', `while' or `until' instead", 'condition_case' => "use Perl's `eval' instead", 'ml_if' => undef, 'eval_when_compile'=> "use a `BEGIN' block or Perl's `use' instead", ); sub setq (&) { if (! HAVE_B()) { warn ("This version of Perl can't do setq. Import explicitly"); # But try anyway. return (&{$_[0]}()); } my $coderef = shift; my $callpkg = caller; my @vars = _assignees($coderef); local $Exporter::ExportLevel = 1; import Emacs::Lisp @vars; return (&$coderef); } my (@_assignees); sub _assignees ($) { return unless HAVE_B(); my ($coderef) = @_; # What an irony that the B module is not conducive to thread-safety! # (or am I missing something?) # Well, you're toast if you are defunning from multiple threads anyway. @_assignees = (); B::walkoptree (B::svref_2object ($coderef)->ROOT, 'Emacs__Lisp_push_op_assignees'); return @_assignees; } # Perl 5.005 $op->ppaddr returns stuff like 'pp_sassign'. # With 5.6.0 you're supposed to use $op->name, which would return 'sassign'. # 5.6.0's $op->ppaddr gives 'PL_ppaddr[OP_SASSIGN]'. Oh well. sub match_op_name { return unless HAVE_B(); my ($op, $name) = @_; return $op->ppaddr =~ /p_$name\b/i; } # Try to ferret out the variables that get assigned to in a coderef. # Currently, we're only looking for scalars and hash elements. # Recklessly avoid type checking unless/until we have problems. sub B::OBJECT::Emacs__Lisp_push_op_assignees { } sub B::BINOP::Emacs__Lisp_push_op_assignees { return unless HAVE_B(); my ($op) = @_; return unless match_op_name ($op, 'sassign'); $op = $op->first->sibling; if (match_op_name ($op, 'null')) { $op = $op->first; } if (match_op_name ($op, 'gvsv')) { push @_assignees, "\$".$op->gv->NAME; } elsif (match_op_name ($op, 'helem') && match_op_name (($op = $op->first), 'rv2hv') # 5.005 had it as B::GVOP, 5.6.0 calls it B::SVOP && ref ($op = $op->first) =~ /^B::[GS]VOP$/) { push @_assignees, "%".$op->gv->NAME; } } sub interactive (;$) { my $what = shift; return bless \$what, 'Emacs::InteractiveSpec'; } # See if the first thing the sub does is assign @_ to a list. # For use in finding reasonable function parameter names for defun. sub _param_names { return undef unless HAVE_B(); my ($code) = @_; my ($top, $aa, $op, @names, @pad_name, $name); # Make all sorts of assumptions to provoke errors and learn how Perl # *really* works. :-) # FIXME: Could maybe replace some of the ppaddr with ref($op) eq 'B::BLAH'. $top = B::svref_2object ($code); $aa = $top->ROOT->first->first->sibling; return undef unless match_op_name ($aa, 'aassign'); # The following probably needs to be revised for threaded Perl, # since @_ is a different sort of beast there. $aa = $aa->first; $op = $aa->first->sibling; return undef unless (match_op_name ($op, 'rv2av') && match_op_name (($op = $op->first), 'gv') # If you use @pkg::_ you get what you deserve. && $op->gv->NAME eq '_'); # We are assigning @_ to something. # Get the names of the variables assigned to. # For now, only worry about lexicals. # (Globals will probably be easier. Dunno about local().) # Here I shy away from making assumptions. return undef unless match_op_name (($op = $aa->sibling), 'null'); return undef unless B::ppname ($op->targ) eq 'pp_list'; return undef unless match_op_name (($op = $op->first), 'pushmark'); $op = $op->sibling; return undef unless (match_op_name ($op, 'padsv') or match_op_name ($op, 'padav')); @pad_name = ($top->PADLIST->ARRAY)[0]->ARRAY; for (; $$op; $op = $op->sibling) { $name = $pad_name[$op->targ]->PV; return undef if $name =~ /^.arg[\ds]/; push @names, $name; } return \@names; } # Build the Lisp parameter list - names, and &optional &rest as needed. # This makes the online help information more intelligible. sub _make_arglist { my ($code) = @_; my ($proto, @arglist, @applylist, $ends_in_list); my ($num_req, $num_opt, $num_all); my ($counter, $arg_num, @names, $name, $pushed_and_opt); $proto = prototype ($code); if (not defined $proto or $proto =~ /[^\$\@;]/) { $proto = '@'; # Give up on doing anything intelligent with $proto. } @names = @{_param_names ($code) || []}; $ends_in_list = $proto =~ s/\@.*//; $proto =~ s/^(\$*)//; $num_req = length ($1); $num_opt = ($ends_in_list ? 0 : $proto =~ tr/$/$/); $num_all = $num_req + $num_opt; for ($arg_num = 0; $arg_num < $num_all;) { if ($arg_num == $num_req && $num_opt > 0) { push @arglist, '&optional'; $pushed_and_opt = 1; } $arg_num++; if (defined ($name = shift @names)) { $name =~ s|^(.)||; if ($1 ne "\$") { undef $name; @names = (); } } $name = "arg$arg_num" unless defined $name; push @applylist, $name; push @arglist, $name; } if ($ends_in_list) { while (defined ($name = shift @names)) { $name =~ s|^(.)||; last if $1 ne "\$"; if (not $pushed_and_opt) { push @arglist, '&optional'; $pushed_and_opt = 1; } push @applylist, $name; push @arglist, $name; } $name = 'args' unless defined $name; push @applylist, $name; push @arglist, '&rest', $name; } package main; # for globs return ([map {\*$_} @arglist], [map {\*$_} @applylist], $ends_in_list); } sub defun ($$;$$) { my $sym = shift; my ($next, $docstring, $interactive, $body, @form); my ($arglist, $applylist, $ends_in_list); $sym = \*$sym unless ref ($sym) eq 'GLOB'; $next = shift; if (! ref ($next)) { $docstring = $next; $next = shift; } if (ref ($next) eq 'Emacs::InteractiveSpec') { $interactive = $next; $next = shift; } # FIXME: can't use a sub name. ref ($body = $next) eq 'CODE' && $#_ == -1 or Carp::croak ('Usage: defun ($sym, [$docstring],' .' [&interactive($spec)], $code)'); ($arglist, $applylist, $ends_in_list) = _make_arglist ($body); @form = (\*::lambda, $arglist); if (defined ($docstring)) { push @form, $docstring; } if (defined ($interactive)) { $interactive = $$interactive; if (ref ($interactive) eq 'CODE') { $interactive = [\*::perl_call, wrap ($interactive), \*::list_context]; } if (defined ($interactive)) { push @form, [\*::interactive, $interactive]; } else { push @form, [\*::interactive]; } } if ($ends_in_list) { push @form, [\*::apply, $body, @$applylist]; } else { push @form, [$body, @$applylist]; } &fset ($sym, [@form]); return $sym; } sub catch ($&) { return &eval ([\*::catch, [\*::quote, $_[0]], [\*::perl_call, wrap ($_[1])]]); } sub save_excursion (&) { return &eval ([\*::save_excursion, [\*::perl_call, wrap ($_[0])]]); } sub save_current_buffer (&) { return &eval ([\*::save_current_buffer, [\*::perl_call, wrap ($_[0])]]); } sub save_restriction (&) { return &eval ([\*::save_restriction, [\*::perl_call, wrap ($_[0])]]); } sub track_mouse (&) { return &eval ([\*::track_mouse, [\*::perl_call, wrap ($_[0])]]); } sub unwind_protect { my ($body, $handler) = @_; for ($body, $handler) { $_ = wrap ($_) if ref eq 'CODE'; } return (&eval ([\*::unwind_protect, [\*::perl_call, $body], # XXX should save some possible work by adding # \*::void_context. [\*::perl_call, $handler]])); } 1; __END__ =head1 NAME Emacs::Lisp - Support for writing Emacs extensions in Perl =head1 SYNOPSIS =head2 In Emacs M-x perl-eval-expression RET 2+2 RET M-x perl-eval-region RET M-x perl-eval-buffer RET ... and more ... =head2 In Perl use Emacs::Lisp; &switch_to_buffer('*scratch*'); &insert("Hello, world!\n"); setq { $cperl_font_lock = t }; &add_hook(\*find_file_hooks, sub { &message("found a file!") }); use Emacs::Lisp qw($emacs_version $epl_version); save_excursion { &set_buffer(&get_buffer_create("*test*")); &insert("This is "); &insert(&featurep(\*::xemacs) ? "XEmacs" : "Emacs"); &insert(" version $emacs_version,\n"); &insert("EPL version $epl_version.\n"); &insert("Emacs::Lisp version is $Emacs::Lisp::VERSION.\n"); }; =head1 DESCRIPTION Emacs allows you to customize your environment using Lisp. With EPL, you can use Perl, too. This module allows Perl code to call functions and access variables of Lisp. You still need to learn some Lisp in order to understand I, which is the definitive reference for Emacs programming. This document assumes a basic understanding of Emacs commands and Lisp data types. I also assume familiarity with Perl's complex data structures (described in L) and objects (see L). =head2 Quick Start Run B and type: C-x p e &insert ("hello!\n") RET The string C<"hello!"> should appear in your scratch buffer. The Perl sub C<&insert> has called the Emacs Lisp C function, which inserts its string argument into the current buffer at point. Paste this text into a buffer, select it, and type C: sub doit { &message("Cool, huh?"); } defun (\*perltest, interactive, \&doit); Type C. The text will appear in the minibuffer. C and C are used to create Emacs commands. =head1 EPL AND PERLMACS Perlmacs was (is?) a project that embedded a Perl interpreter into the Emacs binary so that it could run Lisp, Perl, or any combination of the two. It uses Perl's C interface, which requires patching and recompiling Emacs. As a result, each release is tied to a version of Emacs, it takes a lot of time and disk space to build, and it is not very portable. EPL (Emacs Perl) accomplishes most of what Perlmacs can do, but it does not suffer from the same drawbacks. It uses unmodified Emacs and Perl and lets them work together through IPC (pipes). This may make some tasks much slower, but it is much more convenient to install and upgrade, and it works with XEmacs as well as Emacs 21 betas. For the time being, this module attempts to support both Perlmacs and EPL. The user-visible APIs are almost identical, except for EPL's lack of C. =head1 LISP SUPPORT FOR PERL Lisp code can check for Perl support using C<(require 'perl)>. In Perlmacs, some of the Perl functions are built in, and others are defined in F. When you use EPL, F substitutes for the built-in support, but the same F is used. =head2 Functions The following Lisp functions do not rely on the Emacs::Lisp module. Use Cfunction-nameE RET> within Emacs to see their doc strings. perl-eval-expression EXPRESSION perl-eval-region START END perl-eval-buffer perl-load-file NAME perl-eval STRING &optional CONTEXT perl-call SUB &optional CONTEXT &rest ARGS perl-eval-and-call STRING &optional CONTEXT &rest ARGS perl-to-lisp OBJECT perl-wrap OBJECT perl-value-p OBJECT perl-eval-raw STRING &optional CONTEXT perl-call-raw SUB &optional CONTEXT &rest ARGS make-perl-interpreter &rest ARGV perl-destruct &optional INTERPRETER perl-gc &optional PURGE perl-free-refs &rest REFS The following Lisp variables affect the Perl interpreter and have doc strings accessible via Cvariable-nameE RET>. They are: perl-interpreter-program perl-interpreter-args perl-interpreter =head2 Data Conversions When Perl calls a Lisp function, its arguments are converted to Lisp objects, and the returned object is converted to a Perl value. Likewise, when Lisp calls Perl, the arguments are converted from Lisp to Perl and the return values are converted to Lisp. =over 4 =item * Lisp has three scalar types. Lisp integers, floats, and strings all become Perl scalars. A simple Perl scalar becomes either an integer, a float, or a string. Interesting character encodings such as UTF-8 are not currently supported. I don't even know what happens to 8-bit characters during string conversion. =item * Lisp symbols correspond to globrefs. Glob references become symbols in Lisp. Underscores are swapped with hyphens in the name, since Perl prefers underscores and Lisp prefers hyphens. See L for more information. =item * Lisp's `nil' is equivalent to Perl's `undef' or `()'. As an exception to the rule for symbols, C in Lisp corresponds to C in Perl. In Lisp, C is really a symbol. However, it is typically used as the boolean value I. Glob references evaluate to I in boolean context. It is much more natural to convert C to C. =item * Arrayrefs correspond to lists. Lists are a central data structure in Lisp. To make it as easy as possible to pass lists to Lisp functions that require them, Perl array references are converted Lisp lists. For example, the Perl expression such as ["x", ["y", 1]] is converted to '("x" ("y" 1)) in Lisp. =item * Arrayref refs correspond to vectors. Adding C<\> to an arrayref makea it an arrayref ref, which becomes a vector in Lisp. For example, C<\[1, 2, undef]> becomes C<[1 2 nil]>. =item * Conses that are not lists become Emacs::Lisp::Cons objects. Compatibility note: Perlmacs does not have this feature. $x = &cons("left", "right"); print ref($x); # "Emacs::Lisp::Cons" print $x->car; # "left" print $x->cdr; # "right" But: $x = &cons ("top", undef); # a Lisp list print ref($x); # "ARRAY" print $x->[0]; # "top" =item * Conversion uses "deep" copying by default. Conversion of lists and vectors to arrayrefs and arrayref refs is recursive by default. Changes made by Lisp to a list will not affect the Perl array of which it is a copy, nor will changes to a Perl array affect a Lisp list. See L about converting cyclic structures. =item * There are ways to make "shallow" copies. A shallow copy simply wraps a Perl scalar in a Lisp object or vice versa. Wrapped Perl values appear as a Lisp objects of type C. Wrapped Lisp values appear in Perl as objects of class C. See L for issues relating to wrapped data. Where a data type has no natural equivalent in the other language, shallow copying is the default. Examples include Perl hashrefs and Lisp buffer objects. In Perl, the C function wraps its argument in a Lisp object. This allows Perl arrays to be passed by reference to Lisp functions. (Of course, the value returned by C is really a Perl value wrapped in a Lisp object wrapped in a Perl object.) An Emacs::Lisp::Object's C method performs a deep copy (if the argument is Lisp data) or unwraps its argument (if it is Perl data). Lisp functions called through package Emacs::Lisp convert their return values using deep copying. The same functions are accessible through Emacs::Lisp::Object, which does shallow conversion and always returns an Emacs::Lisp::Object object. These examples show how the data wrapping functions work: $x = lisp [1, 2, 3]; print ref($x); # "Emacs::Lisp::Object" print ref($x->to_perl); # "ARRAY" print @{&list(2, 3)}; # "23" $x = Emacs::Lisp::Object::list(2, 3); print ref($x); # "Emacs::Lisp::Object" print @{$x->to_perl}; # "23" =back =head2 Scripts Perlmacs can run Perl programs. By default, Perlmacs is installed under two names, B and B. Which name is used to invoke the program determines how it parses its command line. If B is used (or, more precisely, any name containing "B"), it behaves like Perl. For example, $ perlmacs script.pl runs the Perl program script.pl. When invoked as B, it behaves like Emacs. Example: $ pmacs file.txt This begins an editing session with F in the current buffer. The I command line argument can override the invocation name. If it is B<--emacs>, Emacs takes control. If it is B<--perl>, the program runs in Perl mode. The I module (that is, the Perl module named "Emacs") includes support for starting an editing session from within a Perlmacs script. See L. =head1 PERL SUPPORT FOR LISP The Emacs::Lisp module allows Perl programs to invoke Lisp functions and handle Lisp variables as if they were Perl subs and variables. The directive C causes any use of a function not defined in Perl to invoke the Lisp function of the same name (with hyphens in place of underscores). For example, this writes a message to the standard error stream (in Perl mode) or displays it in the minibuffer: &message ("this is a test"); =head2 Functions This code calls the hypothetical Lisp function C with arguments C<4> and C. &foo_bar(4, t); The Lisp syntax for the same call would be (foo-bar 4 t) The ampersand (C<&>) in the Perl example is not required, but it is needed for functions, such as C, C, and C, which are Perl keywords. Using it with Emacs::Lisp is a good habit, so the examples in this document include it. If you don't want an C sub to affect your namespace, you may either put parentheses after "C" or import to a different package, and use qualified function names. For example: use Emacs::Lisp (); Emacs::Lisp::message("hello\n"); {package L; use Emacs::Lisp;} L::message("goodbye\n"); =head2 Symbols Many Lisp functions take arguments that may be, or are required to be, I. In Lisp, a symbol is a kind of name, but does not have the same type as a string. Lisp programs typically use the C operator to specify a symbol. For example, this Lisp code refers to the C symbol: (run-at-time nil 1 'beep) EPL uses glob references to specify symbols. A literal globref begins with a backslash followed by an asterisk, so the last example would be written as &run_at_time(undef, 1, \*beep); in Perl. (You may want to do C<&cancel_function_timers(\*beep)> soon after trying this example.) When comparing the returned values of Lisp functions to each other and to symbols, it is best to use the Lisp C function instead of Perl's equality operators. ### PREFERRED if (&eq(&type_of($x), \*::cons)) { ... } ### PROBABLY OK if (&type_of($x) eq \*cons) { ... } if (&type_of($x) == \*cons) { ... } =head2 Variables In Lisp, variables play a role akin to that of Perl I variables. A variable may hold a number, a string, or a reference to any type of complex Lisp data structure. (They are not called references in Lisp, but rather "objects".) You can create a Perl alias for any reasonably named Lisp variable by saying C. Thereafter, assignment to C<$varname> will update the Lisp value. Changes made to the variable in Lisp will be reflected in Perl when C<$varname> is used in expressions. This example saves and replaces the value of the Lisp variable C: use Emacs::Lisp qw($inhibit_eol_conversion); $old_val = $inhibit_eol_conversion; $inhibit_eol_conversion = 1; This sort of thing could be accomplished in Lisp as follows: (setq old-val inhibit-eol-conversion) (setq inhibit-eol-conversion 1) (but you would probably rather use C instead, for which there is still no convenient Emacs::Lisp equivalent). See also the C function below. =head2 Property Lists Lisp symbols all have an associated object called a I, for "property list". The plist is an object just like any other, but it is typically used in a way vaguely resembling Perl's hashes. Plists are not used nearly as often as Lisp functions and variables. If you are new to Lisp, you can probably skip this section. A plist is different from a Perl hash. Lookups are not based on string equality as with Perl, but rather on Lisp object equality of the C variety. For this reason, it is best to stick to the Lisp convention of using only symbols as keys. (See L.) Emacs::Lisp provides a shorthand notation for getting and setting plist elements. If you say "C", then subsequent access to the elements of C<%any_name> will get or set the corresponding properties of the Lisp symbol C. For example, the following Perl and Lisp fragments are more or less equivalent: # Perl fragment use Emacs::Lisp qw(%booboo %upcase_region); $booboo{\*error_conditions} = [\*booboo, \*error]; $can_upcase = ! $upcase_region{\*disabled}; ; Lisp fragment (put 'booboo 'error-conditions '(booboo error)) (setq can-upcase (not (get 'upcase-region 'disabled))) See also the C function below. =head2 Macros Lisp I, such as C and C, do not work the same way functions do, although they are invoked using the function syntax. (Here you see the vast philosophical chasm separating Perl from Lisp. While Perl might have five syntaxes to mean the same thing, Lisp has one syntax with two meanings!) Some macros are equivalent to Perl operators, such as C and C. Others have meanings peculiar to Lisp. A few macros are implemented in Emacs::Lisp. They are described below. If you try to call a macro that has not been implemented, you will get an error message which may propose an alternative. =over 8 =item catch SYMBOL,CODE Evaluate CODE in a Lisp C construct. At any point during CODE's execution, the C function may be used to return control to the end of the C block. For example: $x = catch \*::out, sub { $y = 1; &throw(\*::out, 16); $y = 2; }; print $x; # prints 16 print $y; # prints 1 Some Perl constructs have functionality similar to C; for example, C and C. However, they do not work with catches in Lisp code. =item defun SYMBOL,DOCSTRING,SPEC,CODE =item defun SYMBOL,DOCSTRING,CODE =item defun SYMBOL,SPEC,CODE =item defun SYMBOL,CODE Make CODE callable as the Lisp function SYMBOL. This is Lisp's version of Perl's C keyword. A function defined in this way becomes visible to Lisp code. C is useful for defining Emacs I. Commands are functions that the user can invoke by typing Cfunction-nameE>. A command may be bound to a key or sequence of keystrokes. See the Emacs documentation for specifics. When defining a command, you must specify the interactive nature of the command. There are various codes to indicate that the command acts on the current region, a file name to be read from the minibuffer, etc. Please see I for details. Emacs::Lisp's C uses a SPEC returned by the C function to specify a command's interactivity. If no SPEC is given, the function will still be callable by Lisp, but it will not be available to the user via Cfunction-nameE RET> and cannot be bound to a sequence of keystrokes. Even commands that do not request information from the user need an interactive spec. See L. This example creates a command, C, that replaces a region of text with the same text after reversing the order of words. To be user-friendly, we'll provide a documentation string, which will be accessible through the Emacs help system (C). use Emacs::Lisp; defun (\*reverse_region_words, "Reverse the order of the words in the region.", interactive("r"), sub { my ($start, $end) = @_; my $text = &buffer_substring($start, $end); $text = join('', reverse split (/(\s+)/, $text)); &delete_region($start, $end); &insert($text); }); If you try this example and invoke the help system, you may notice something not quite right in the message. It reads as follows: reverse-region-words is an interactive Lisp function. (reverse-region-words &optional START END &rest ARGS) Reverse the order of the words in the region. Notice the part about "&optional" and "&rest". This means that Lisp thinks the function accepts any number of arguments. It knows the names of the first two because of the assignment "C". But our function only works if it receives two args. Specifying a prototype documents this: sub ($$) { my ($start, $end) = @_; ... } reverse-region-words is an interactive Lisp function. (reverse-region-words START END) =item interactive SPEC =item interactive Used to generate the third (or, in the absence of a doc string, the second) argument to C. This determines how a command's arguments are obtained. What distinguishes a "command" from an ordinary function in Emacs is the presence of an C specifier in the C expression. SPEC may be a string, as described in I, or a reference to code which returns the argument list. If no spec is given, the command runs without user input. =item save_excursion BLOCK Execute BLOCK within a Lisp C construct. This restores the current buffer and other settings to their original values after the code has completed. See I for details. =item setq BLOCK BLOCK is searched for assignments of either of these forms: $var = EXPR; $hash{$key} = EXPR; Every such C<$var> and C<%hash> is imported from the Emacs::Lisp module as if you had said, "C". Afterwards, BLOCK is executed. This is a convenient way to assign to variables, for example in customization code. This code use Emacs::Lisp; setq { $A = 2*$foo[5]; $B{\*foo} = "more than $A"; }; would have exactly the same effect as this: use Emacs::Lisp qw(:DEFAULT $A %B); $A = 2*$foo[5]; $B{\*foo} = "more than $A"; The following, which does not tie or import any variables, has the same effect on Lisp as the above: use Emacs::Lisp (); Emacs::Lisp::set( \*A, 2*$foo[5] ); Emacs::Lisp::put( \*B, \*foo, "more than " . &Emacs::Lisp::symbol_value( \*A )); =item unwind_protect (BODY, HANDLER) Execute coderef BODY, returning its result. Execute coderef HANDLER after BODY finishes, even if BODY exits nonlocally through C or the like. =back =head1 BUGS These are some of the known bugs in EPL and Emacs::Lisp. If you find other bugs, please check that you have the latest version, and email me. =over 4 =item * Emacs::Lisp doesn't work outside of XEmacs. If a Perl program not under the control of an Emacs process uses Emacs::Lisp functions, Emacs::Lisp tries to run Emacs in batch mode. This only works with GNU Emacs 21 beta, not Emacs 20 or XEmacs. This can probably be fixed, but I don't know what the problem is yet. A real solution would involve talking to Emacs on a channel other than its standard input and output. This might allow one to run in interactive mode with arbitrary command line options. I don't know if Emacs can use arbitrary file descriptors or named pipes. I suspect not. If not, I guess I'll try inet sockets. Other possibilities would be ptys (Emacs loves them, I'm not overly fond) and an intermediary perl process that talks to the original process over a named pipe. =item * Non-robust with respect to subprocess Perl dying. Perl dies because of (e.g.) version mismatch between epl.el and EPL.pm. Then you can't exit Emacs, because it tries to tell Perl to exit and gives you an error "Process perl not running". Very unfriendly. =item * Within Lisp code, everything defaults to package `main'. It would perhaps be best to give the Lisp evaluation environment the notion of a "current package" such as Perl has. =item * Symbols whose names contain :: or ' How can we convert them to and from Perl? =item * High IPC overhead Strings are copied more than they absolutely need to be. Even if they weren't, it's bound to be a lot slower than Perlmacs. =item * Lisp hash tables are not deep-copied. What to do? Produce tied hashes whose keys can be any Lisp object? Wrap hashes that contain non-string keys? =item * XEmacs package autoloads commands but not key bindings. I need to figure out how to do this. =back =head1 CAVEATS =over 4 =item * Conversion of scalar types is uncertain. A defined, non-reference Perl scalar converted to Lisp becomes either an integer, a float, or a string. The method of choice is unclear. This could be considered a bug, but it is somewhat inherent in the languages' semantics, as Perl has no really good way to distinguish a number from an equivalent string or an integer from a float. =item * Conversion is not always reversible. Information may be lost through the default (``deep'') data conversion process. For example, the glob reference C<\*::nil> and an empty arrayref both become C when converted to Lisp and back. Perl and Emacs support different ranges for integer values. Integers that don't fit are upgraded to floats, so the distinction is lost. =item * Circular data structures are troublesome. See L. Lisp data structures may be recursive (contain references to themselves) without the danger of a memory leak, because Lisp uses a periodic-mark-and-sweep garbage collector. However, if a recursive structure involves I Perl references, it may I be destroyable. For best results, Perl code should handle mainly Perl data, and Lisp code should handle mainly Lisp data. =item * Cross-language references incur overhead. For the benefit of Lisp's garbage collection, all Perl data that is referenced by Lisp participates in mark-and-sweep. For the benefit of Perl's garbage collection, all Lisp objects that are referenced by Perl maintain a (kind of) reference count. A chain of Perl -> Lisp -> ... -> Perl references may take several garbage collection cycles to be freed. It is therefore probably best to keep the number and complexity of such references to a minimum. To make matters worse, if Emacs does not support weak hash tables, Lisp must explicitly free its references to Perl data. GNU Emacs 20 does not support weak hash tables, but Perlmacs solves this problem by adding necessary support. XEmacs 21 has weak hash tables, but EPL does not yet know how to use them. =back =head1 TO DO =over 4 =item * Finish texinfo doc =item * Delete/revise obsolete portions of POD =item * Figure out how to handle hash tables =item * Garbage collection for XEmacs =item * Debian package target =item * Overload Emacs::Lisp::Object in various ways =item * Formal rules for scalar type conversion =item * Regression-test multiple Emacses under Perl =item * Regression-test any Perls under Emacs =item * Steal from IPC::Open2 =item * Optimized regex find and replace functions =item * Multibyte characters Emacs has had them for some time. Now Perl's UTF-8 support is stabilizing. It's time the two met. =item * Special forms: let, defmacro, defvar. =item * Make a way to get a tied filehandle that reads a buffer. =item * Improve perl-eval-buffer, perl-eval-and-call, et al. =back =head1 COPYRIGHT Copyright (C) 1998-2001 by John Tobey, jtobey@john-edwin-tobey.org. All rights reserved. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; see the file COPYING. If not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA =head1 SEE ALSO L, L, L, L, B, and I (available where you got the Emacs source, or from ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/emacs/). =cut