Using xbindkeys I can register key bindings to run a command or run a guile scheme function. For example windows key + Up to maximize screen
Does racket have any libraries that could be used to register global key combination bindings, that could trigger racket functions? I would much rather write scripts in racket than in guile scheme.
Python also has something similar here
https://python-evdev.readthedocs.io/en/latest/usage.html#listing-accessible-event-devices
It's not clear exactly what you're asking, but it looks to me like you're hoping to replace the guile backend used in xbindkeys's configuration file with Racket. There might be an easier way to do this, but I think I would suggest that unless you have a need for specific features, this might be a great time to get to know Guile better :).
Related
I'm an experienced C++/.NET/Java Windows/web programmer trying to learn (Common) Lisp. I'm reading Practical Common Lisp and using SLIME.
I'm getting the Lisp language easily enough, but I'm having trouble groking the mechanics of development. One of my issues is dealing with Emacs. I have no experience with it and find it generally confusing with hard to find/figure out commands.
Specific questions:
I get the REPL, but I don't quite get how I can use it effectively. When I need to change a function I have to retype the defun and make changes (tedious and error prone). How can I do this better?
How do I get from entering code at the REPL to actually having a program? I'm used to the C model where you have code files that you can review, edit and recompile. I know Lisp has something similar (via the load function), but how does one get a function I just defined and tested into a file to be saved? I'm hoping there's a better method than my current select+copy+paste.
How do you debug errors? Is there any ability to step into code like I would with other languages?
As long as the S-expression is valid, I don't get any errors when entering a (defun ...). It's not until I try to use it that I find out it's not valid. Is there any way to get errors sooner (i.e. compile the code)?
Is there some IDE that would be more familiar to me or allow me to play with the language easier?
Should I switch to learning Scheme instead?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
-I get the REPL, but don't quite get how I can use it effectively. When I
need to change a function I have to
retype the defun and make changes
(tedious and error prone). How can I
do this better?
-How do I get from entering code at the REPL to actually having a program?
I'm used to the C model where you have
code files that you can review, edit
and recompile. I know lisp has
something similar (via the load
function), but how does one get a
function I just defined and tested
into a file to be saved? I'm hoping
there's a better method than my
current select+copy+paste.
Load SLIME. Enter code in your .lisp file, and then run slime-eval-buffer to load all your code into Lisp. Then, for a specific function you are hacking on C-e, C-j to redefine it in your running Lisp.
-How do you debug errors? Is there any ability to step into code like I would with other languages?
Yes. (trace 'my-function) - or some variant on that - and when my-function is called, it will break into the debugger.
-As long as the S-expression is valid, I don't get any errors when entering a
(defun ...). It's not until I try to
use it that I find out it's not valid.
Is there any way to get errors sooner
(i.e. compile the code)?
To some degree, that is a characteristic of dynamic languages (Python, Perl, Ruby, Lisp, etc.). Try SBCL for better error-checking.
-Is there some IDE that would be more familiar to me or allow me to play with the language easier?
Emacs is the free IDE for Lisp. Allegro has a free edition I believe; I've never tried it though..
-Should I switch to learning Scheme instead?
Nah, Scheme is not as pragmatic a language.
I'm an experienced C++/.NET/Java Windows/Web programmer trying to learn (Common) Lisp. I'm reading Practical Common Lisp and using SLIME.
One can also use the LispWorks Personal Edition for learning Lisp. It has some limitations and the full product is commercial, but it is quite a bit easier to use.
I get the REPL, but don't quite get how I can use it effectively. When I need to change a function I have to retype the defun and make changes (tedious and error prone). How can I do this better?
The REPL has a history. With keyboard commands you can get back prior input and change it. Other than that just edit a Lisp file and compile code from there. In Lisp you can compile/eval individual expressions and definitions. Typical IDEs like SLIME, LispWorks or Allegro CL allow you to run code also from normal Lisp text windows - additionally to executing expressions in the REPLA (aka Listener).
How do I get from entering code at the REPL to actually having a program? I'm used to the C model where you have code files that you can review, edit and recompile. I know Lisp has something similar (via the load function), but how does one get a function I just defined and tested into a file to be saved? I'm hoping there's a better method than my current select+copy+paste.
Copy and paste in one thing. But the correct way is to work from a text file in an editor window. One can compile/load expressions, the editor buffer or the associated file.
How do you debug errors? Is there any ability to step into code like I would with other languages?
See STEP, TRACE and related. SLIME, LispWorks and Allegro CL have lots of additional features.
As long as the S-expression is valid, I don't get any errors when entering a (defun ...). It's not until I try to use it that I find out it's not valid. Is there any way to get errors sooner (i.e. compile the code)?
For many cases one uses a compiler. The compiler will find a range of errors and also will note when something is unusual (for example a function does not exist or a variable has not been defined).
-Is there some IDE that would be more familiar to me or allow me to play with the language easier?
LispWorks, Allegro CL are the best under Windows. There are some alternatives like Corman Lisp (I don't know it is maintained right now) or even Ufasoft Lisp.
Should I switch to learning Scheme instead?
Not really.
It doesn't sound like you're really using SLIME, or at least not in the way it was intended to be used. ("have to retype the defun", "the C model where you have code files")
I recommend watching some SLIME screencasts (or, even better, watching a Lisp programmer use SLIME for a few minutes, if you have one handy). The SLIME webpage has a couple.
It sounds like you'd really enjoy the DrRacket IDE. Racket is closer to Scheme than to Common Lisp, but you could dip your toes into the Lisp family without the speed bump of the Emacs style of development.
I am not a very good at using Emacs, but the feature I would like the most would be some integration with help/documentation for a particular language/API I use at the moment. I would imagine that there would be help displayed in another buffer depending on where I put my cursor while editing.
I wonder if there is a package that does that, even if it would be very simple, just displaying some file based on the keyword. I think there is, but I cannot find it ("help" is a too generic word).
(In particular, I would like to have this help for Common Lisp, but other languages, such as Java or C, could be useful.)
ILISP and SLIME provide several methods for looking up a function; see the Emacs wiki and the SLIME documentation. Or just built into Emacs itself, there are functions like C-h f to get function help or M-x man; both use the text at the point by default. You could pretty easily adapt them to work for another language of your choice.
Assuming you are using SLIME for common-lisp, you can take a look at slime-autodoc-mode.
Sorry, can't help with a generic solution for this.
You can set up the CLHS root for SLIME in your .emacs file:
(setq common-lisp-hyperspec-root "/usr/share/doc/hyperspec/HyperSpec/")
Adjust the path to where you put your HyperSpec.
Then, C-c C-d h with point at a symbol will look it up there in your browser.
One thing you might like to enable is eldoc-mode, by adding (turn-on-eldoc-mode) to your mode hook functions for the appropriate programming modes.
In ElDoc mode, the echo area displays information about a
function or variable in the text where point is. If point is
on a documented variable, it displays the first line of that
variable's doc string. Otherwise it displays the argument list
of the function called in the expression point is on.
This is probably less than you were after, but it still makes a good companion to a fuller-featured contextual help system, and there are a number of programming modes that support it.
I wrote a Lisp function earlier that had an error. The first challenge was to figure out how to view the function again. That challenge is solved. Now that I see WHAT I have done wrong, I want to modify the contents of the defined function without rewriting the whole thing?
Seems like as intelligent as Lisp is, there HAS to be a way to do this, I just don't know what it is because I am fairly new to the language. Can this be done?
Judging from the question, I think that you have a strange setup. It seems to indicate that you are writing your functions directly at the REPL. Don't do that.
The usual setup is to have an IDE (for example, Emacs with Slime) where you edit a source file, and then "send" top-level forms (like function definitions) to the REPL.
Every useful REPL has a history functionality. It allows you to move in the history of your input backwards and forwards.
When I write code in the REPL simple keystrokes like m-p gets back earlier code. Some IDEs might even be able to locate source code in a Lisp listener with m-. .
In most REPLS you can also search incrementally backwards.
If you want a log of your input use the function DRIBBLE..
There are some more options, like retrieving the code from the function - when a Lisp IDE supports that.
There is the advice functionality in many Lisps, which lets you run additional code before or after or around an existing function. But the comment is right, why wouldn't you rewrite a function if you're still learning and trying things out? Do they charge you by the compile cycle?
For now I've stuck with multi-occur-in-matching-buffers and rgrep, which, while powerful, is still pretty basic I guess.
Eventhough I realize anything more involved than matching a regexp and renaming will need to integrate with CEDET's semantic bovinator, I feel like there is still room for improvement here.
Built-in functions, packages, or custom-code what do you find helpful getting the job done ?
Cheers
In CEDET, there is a symbol reference tool. By default it also uses find/grep in a project to find occurrence of a symbol. It is better to use GNU Global, IDUtils, or CScope instead to create a database in your project. You can then use semantic-symref-symbol which will then use gnu global or whatever to find all the references.
Once in symref list buffer, you can look through the hits. You can then select various hits and perform operations such as symbol rename, or the more powerful, execute macro on all the hits.
While there are more focused commands that could be made, the macro feature allows almost anything to happen for the expert user who understands Emacs keyboard macros well.
It depends on which language you are using; if your language is supported by slime, there are the family of who commands: slime-who-calls, who-references, who-binds, calls-who, etc. They provide real, semantic based information, so are more reliable than regexp matching.
If you're editing lisp, I've found it useful (in general) to use the paredit.el package. Follow the link for documentation, and the video is a great introduction.
I've been wanting to teach myself Lisp for a while. However, all the interpreters of which I've heard involve some flavor of emacs.
Are there any command line interpreters, such that I could type this into the command line:
lispinterpret sourcefile.lisp
just like I can run perl or python.
While I'd also like to become more familiar with Emacs (if only not to be frustrated when I work with somebody who uses Emacs), I'd rather decouple learning Emacs from learning Lisp.
Edit: I actually want to follow SICP which uses Scheme, so an answer about Scheme would be more useful. I'm just not that familiar with the differences.
You could also try DrScheme, which whilst not exactly a standalone interpreter, isn't emacs :)
It's basically a simple IDE that has an area to type in code that can be executed as a file, and then another area that is the running interpreter that you can interact with.
(Also, find the UC Berkeley CS61A podcasts and listen to them, as well as reading SICP)
It looks like Steel Bank Common Lisp (SBCL) also caters to what you want:
http://www.sbcl.org/manual/#Shebang-Scripts
SBCL is both top rate and open source.
Checkout CLISP wiki-link that ie. was used by Paul Graham
Direct link
I often write lisp shell scripts which start with this line:
#!/usr/bin/clisp
Then you don't even need to type "lispinterpret" on the command-line. Just mark the script executable and run it directly.
Most scheme interpreters that I am familiar with can be run from the command line. (Much of the list below is extracted from the comparative table at Alexey Radul's Scheme Implementation Choices page. There is a more extensive list at schemewiki but that page does not immediately provide command-line invocation syntax.)
Here's how you run a number of implementations at the command line:
Chez Scheme: scheme, petite
MIT Scheme: mit-scheme
Scheme 48: scheme48
RScheme: rs
Racket: racket (But I recommend trying the DrRacket IDE, especially for beginners.)
Guile: guile
Bigloo: bigloo
Chicken: csi
Gambit: gsi
Gauche: gosh
IronScheme: IronScheme.Console
Kawa: kawa, java kawa.repl
Larceny: larceny
SCM: scm
If you are looking for Scheme to work with the SICP, take a look at MIT/GNU Scheme
http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/projects/scheme/
http://www.gnu.org/software/mit-scheme/index.html
The most widely used IDE for Common Lisp, particularly in the free software subset of the community, is in fact SLIME, which runs on Emacs. You can use whatever CL compiler you prefer and invoke Lisp source files the way you describe, but if you do that, you won't be taking advantage of many of Lisps dynamic features that are so incredibly useful while developing your application.
I suggest you take a look at this SLIME demonstration video to see what I mean, even though it might be a bit outdated at this point.
If the problem is that you (think you) don't like Emacs, I seriously suggest you try to learn it. Seriously. No, really, I mean that. However, there are alternatives, such as the IDEs provided by commercial Lisp implementations such as Allegro and Lispworks (free trials available), or an Eclipse plug-in called Cusp.
Did you try Allegro CL from http://www.franz.com/?
#Nathan: I've upmodded the Common Lisp links, because you asked about Lisp (especially with reference to Emacs Lisp). However, Common Lisp is very different from Scheme. A program written for one is unlikely to run on the other.
As you mentioned, SICP is for learning Scheme, not Lisp (or at least, not Common Lisp and not Emacs Lisp). There are some overlap in principles, however you can't simply cut and paste code from SICP and expect it to run on any Common Lisp or Emacs Lisp system. :-)
No "interpreter" requires emacs.
Also, emacs can run elisp in a headless manner.
It seems like scheme shell is suitable for your purpose.
Take a look at http://www.scsh.net/index.html
Another good dialect of lisp is cmucl. They used to love to brag about being the "fastest" lisp.