I'm following the syntax as it is in my book "The land of lisp" and the let version only returns nil when passed *string*. Whereas the "setq" version returns the reversed version of string.
(defparameter *string* "a b c")
(defun reverse-string (string)
(let (reversed (string))))
(defun setq-reverse-string (string)
(setq reversed (reverse string)))
The syntax of LET is:
(LET ((var1 val1)
(var2 val2)
...)
body)
In place of (varN valN) you can just put varN, which is shorthand for (varN nil). You can also omit valN, in which case it defaults to nil.
So your code is equivalent to:
(defun reverse-string (string)
(let ((reversed nil)
(string nil))))
You're missing a level of parentheses to do what you want:
(defun reverse-string (string)
(let ((reversed (string)))))
You're also missing the call to reverse, and returning the variable
(defun reverse-string (string)
(let ((reversed (reverse string)))
reversed))
Related
I am trying to do the following: separate a function that gets values from some user input from the function that uses it.
I have tried the following code for the proof of concept initially (that worked):
(defun initialiser (bindings)
(cl-loop for (var) in bindings do
(set var (read-from-minibuffer "Input value: "))))
That i have tested with:
(let ((name))
(initialiser '((name)))
(message "name is %S" name))
The idea was to pass bindings to the function that handles input in the form like ((name "Name") (address "Post address") (code "County code")) or something similar, and in there assign the input.
After testing above i have come up with the following macro to do things:
(defmacro initialise-and-execute (bindings initialiser &rest callback-actions)
(let ((unwrapped-bindings (map 'list (lambda (binding) (car binding)) bindings)))
`(let ,unwrapped-bindings
(,initialiser (quote ,bindings)
(lambda () ,#callback-actions)))))
However, in the "real" scenario the assignments must happen in callbacks, like:
(defun initialiser(bindings)
(cl-loop for (var) in bindings collect
(lambda () (set var (read-from-minibuffer "Input value: ")))
into callbacks
return callbacks))
This fails to work. Code i have used to test was:
(defvar callbacks nil)
(let ((name))
(setq callbacks (initialiser '((name)))))
(funcall (car callbacks))
Edit: changed the code the following way:
(defmacro initialise-and-execute (bindings initialiser &rest callback-actions)
(let ((unwrapped-bindings (map 'list (lambda (binding) (car binding)) bindings)))
`(lexical-let ,unwrapped-bindings
(,initialiser
(quote ,(map 'list
(lambda (binding) (list (cadr binding)
`(lambda (val) (setq ,(car binding) val))))
bindings))
(lambda () ,#callback-actions)))))
What it must do: generate number of lambdas that share the same lexical environment - one that uses captured variables and the rest that modify them.
However, what i get is, regrettably, something else. Symbols used in callback-actions do not resolve into the values set.
For completeness, here is how i tested it:
(defun init-values (bindings callback)
(loop for (desc setter) in bindings
for idx = 0 then (incf idx)
do (print (format "Setting %s" desc))
(funcall setter idx))
(funcall callback))
(initialise-and-execute
((name "Name")
(surname "Surname"))
init-values
(message "name is %S" name))
Here, lambdas were not generated in a loop and values in the context of a lexical binding were assigned with setq.
To set the function value, use fset, not set.
(defun initialiser(bindings)
(cl-loop for (var) in bindings collect
(lambda () (fset var (read-from-minibuffer "Input value: ")))
into callbacks
return callbacks))
There are possible issues:
in a LOOP the VAR is possibly assigned on each iteration, not bound (that's in Common Lisp). so your callbacks set all the same VAR value.
in a lexical bound Lisp (new in GNU Emacs Lisp) one can't set the variable values with SET
Examples:
ELISP> (mapcar #'funcall
(cl-loop for i in '(1 2 3 4)
collect (lambda () i)))
(4 4 4 4)
all closures have the same value of i
ELISP> (let ((a 'foobar))
(set 'a 42)
a)
foobar
SET had no effect on the local variable
In Common Lisp I might write something like:
(defun initializer (bindings)
(loop for (what setter) in bindings
for new-value = (progn
(format t "Enter ~a: " what)
(finish-output)
(read-line))
do (funcall setter new-value)))
(defmacro call-with-bindings (name-sym-list fn)
(let ((value-sym (gensym "v")))
`(,fn
(list ,#(loop for (name sym) in name-sym-list
collect `(list ,name ,`(lambda (,value-sym)
(setf ,sym ,value-sym))))))))
CL-USER > (let (name age)
(call-with-bindings (("name" name) ("age" age))
initializer)
(format t "name is ~S~%" name)
(values name age))
Enter name: Lara
Enter age: 42
name is "Lara"
"Lara"
"42"
Where we can look at the macro expansion:
CL-USER > (pprint (macroexpand-1
'(call-with-bindings (("name" name) ("age" age))
initializer)))
(INITIALIZER (LIST (LIST "name"
(LAMBDA (#:|v1669|)
(SETF NAME #:|v1669|)))
(LIST "age"
(LAMBDA (#:|v1669|)
(SETF AGE #:|v1669|)))))
After some experimenting, i have been able to do it. The key was realising that lexical-let apparently had some restrictions on how the lambda should be placed for them to have the same closure context. After i have managed to generate set of closures that referred to the same variables, the rest was easy.
Here is the final code:
(defmacro make-lamba-set (bindings &rest callback-actions)
"Make set of closures with shared context
BINDINGS are a list of form (SYMBOL NAME), where SYMBOL is not defined yet
CALLBACK-ACTIONS are forms that use symbols from bindings
Return created captures a as a list of forms:
(do-callback-actions (set-symbol NAME) ...)"
(let ((unwrapped-bindings (map 'list
(lambda (binding)
(car binding))
bindings)))
`(lexical-let ,unwrapped-bindings
(list (lambda () ,#callback-actions)
,#(map 'list
(lambda (binding)
`(list
(lambda (val)
(setq ,(car binding) val))
,(cadr binding)))
bindings)))))
(defmacro initialise-and-execute (bindings initialiser &rest callback-actions)
"BINGINGS have form of ((BINDING-SYMBOL PROMPT) ...)
INITIALISER somehow assigns values to all of BINDING-SYMBOL
then it calls CALLBACK-ACTIONS with values of BINDING-SYMBOL set"
`(let ((closure-parts (make-lamba-set ,bindings ,#callback-actions)))
(,initialiser (cdr closure-parts)
(car closure-parts))))
Here is how i tested it:
(defun init-values (bindings callback)
(loop for (setter desc) in bindings
for idx = 0 then (incf idx)
do (message "Setting %s" desc)
(funcall setter idx))
(funcall callback))
(initialise-and-execute ((name "Name")
(surname "Surname"))
init-values
(insert (format "Name is %S and surname is %S"
name
surname)))
That gave me expected output of:
Name is 0 and surname is 1
Update
This question is no longer feasible.
Turned out ivy-read doesn't return immediately as I expected. I used C-g to cancel completion which skips the restoring ivy-format-function part.
I'm writing an ivy extension with dynamic collection. I'd like to return a list of list of strings instead of a list of strings as candidates. The default value of ivy-format-function only supports list of strings so I decide to change it to my own function while calling ivy-read then change it back.
I defined the following macro and function:
(defun ivy-foo ()
(interactive)
(with--ivy-foo-format-function
(ivy-read "Foo: "
#'ivy-foo-function
:dynamic-collection t
:require-match t
:action #'ivy-foo--action
:unwind #'ivy-foo--unwind
:history 'ivy-foo-history
:caller 'ivy-foo)))
(defmacro with--ivy-foo-format-function (&rest body)
`(let ((original-function ivy-format-function))
(setq ivy-format-function (lambda (candidates) (ivy-foo--format-function candidates original-function)))
,#body
(setq ivy-format-function original-function)))
(defun ivy-foo--format-function (candidates original-format-function)
(funcall original-format-function
(mapcar
(lambda (cand)
(if (listp cand)
(car cand)
cand))
candidates)))
(defun ivy-foo-function (str)
(list (list "cand1" str) (list "cand2" str)))
with--ivy-foo-format-function doesn't set ivy-format-function to the original value. I got error "Symbol's value as a variable is void: original-function". What's wrong?
Update: ivy-format-function is a defvar. Its default value is #'ivy--format-function-default
I would like to initiate dynamically a hash table with defmethod or defun using one of the arguments to create the name. For instance:
(defun foo (arg)
(let ((NAME (read-from-string (format nil "\*~S\*" arg))))
(defparameter NAME (make-hash-table))))
Of course, foo create hash table with the symbol NAME, instead of the value of NAME in let. What can I do to get the value of NAME to create this hash table?
General Remarks
It is almost always wrong to create global variables in functions.
It is also almost always wrong to create new symbols using read-from-string instead of intern.
Use a Macro
What you probably want is
(defmacro def-ht (name)
(let ((var (intern (concatenate 'string "*" (symbol-name name) "*")
(symbol-package name))))
`(defparameter ,var (make-hash-table))))
(def-ht foo)
Use a Function
You might be able to do it in a function too - by inspecting the macroexpansion of a defparameter form and placing the needed stuff in the function:
(defun make-ht-var (name)
(let ((var (intern (concatenate 'string "*" (symbol-name name) "*")
(symbol-package name))))
(setf (symbol-value var) (make-hash-table))
(proclaim (list var 'special))))
(make-ht-var 'foo)
Note that the argument to the function is quoted, but the argument to the macro is not.
You need to use a macro instead of a function. DEFPARAMETER will bind value of MAKE-HASH-TABLE to the symbol NAME because it evaluates at macro-expansion time which occurs earlier than run-time, which is when the function FOO binds the lexical value of NAME.
Look up the CL evaluation model for a deeper understanding.
(defmacro foo (arg)
(let ((name (read-from-string (format nil "*~S*" arg))))
`(defparameter ,name (make-hash-table))))
(foo "my-hash")
=> <hash-table 0x121>
*my-hash*
=> <hash-table 0x121>
I have a simple function that works:
(defun ifelse (the-test)
(cond (the-test (format t "passed test, true!"))
(t (format t "failed test, boo hoo"))))
If I do this, I get what you'd expect:
(ifelse (funcall (lambda () nil)))
failed test, boo hoo
NIL
I'm curious why this doesn't also result in a "failure" :
CL-USER> (ifelse '(funcall (lambda () nil)))
passed test, true!
NIL
My thinking is that, rather than evaluating the funcall in place and then passing the return value into ifelse, the entire funcall is being passed unevaluated into the ifelse -- however, how is a quoted form treated within the function? Wouldn't it be essentially copied in-place and then treated as a true Lisp form?
Let's see what you actually get:
(defun return-argument (element) element)
[9]> (defun return-argument (element) element)
RETURN-ARGUMENT
[10]> (return-argument (funcall (lambda () nil)))
NIL
Ok, this is as expected. Now your second function call, which results in a failure.
[11]> (return-argument '(funcall (lambda () nil)))
(FUNCALL (LAMBDA NIL NIL))
Aha, this gives us a clue. We're not evaluating argument, because it's quoted. In fact, we can see we're getting it back as a list:
[19]> (listp (return-argument '(funcall (lambda () nil))))
T
Remember, when you quote something, you prevent it from being evaluated.
Note: return-argument is the same function as the built-in identity. I wrote a new one so you could see what it's doing under the hood.
In the example , you pass a list as argument (because of the quote).
You need to use eval to evaluate the quoted list to have the 'failure'.
like this
(ifelse (eval '(funcall (lambda () nil))))
or remove the quote
(ifelse (funcall (lambda () nil)))
I wrote the function
(defun test ()
(let ((str1 "foo") (str2 "bar"))
(loop for s in '(str1 str2) do (message s))))
but it does not work. The Elisp Backtrace message is:
Debugger entered--Lisp error: (wrong-type-argument stringp str1)
How can I make it work?
P.S.: the following modified version works perfectly, but I need the original version
(defun test1 ()
(loop for s in '("asdf" "fdsa") do (message s)))
The quote operator (for which the apostrophe is syntactic sugar) means that its arguments are not evaluated, i.e. (quote (str1 str2)) returns a list of two symbols. Use list instead: (list str1 str2).
Build a list of the values:
(defun test ()
(let ((str1 "foo") (str2 "bar"))
(loop for s in (list str1 str2) do (message s))))
try:
`(,str1 ,str2)