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1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
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2 @c %**start of header
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3 @setfilename ../../info/internals.info
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4 @settitle XEmacs Internals Manual
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5 @c %**end of header
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6
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7 @ifinfo
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8
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9 Copyright @copyright{} 1992 - 1996 Ben Wing.
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10 Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997 Sun Microsystems.
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11 Copyright @copyright{} 1994, 1995 Free Software Foundation.
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12 Copyright @copyright{} 1994, 1995 Board of Trustees, University of Illinois.
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13
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14
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15 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
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16 manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
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17 preserved on all copies.
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18
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19 @ignore
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20 Permission is granted to process this file through TeX and print the
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21 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission notice
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22 identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph (this
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23 paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
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24
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25 @end ignore
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26 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
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27 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
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28 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
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29 permission notice identical to this one.
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30
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31 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
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32 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions,
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33 except that this permission notice may be stated in a translation
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34 approved by the Foundation.
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35
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36 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
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37 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
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38 section entitled ``GNU General Public License'' is included exactly as
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39 in the original, and provided that the entire resulting derived work is
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40 distributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this
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41 one.
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42
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43 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
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44 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions,
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45 except that the section entitled ``GNU General Public License'' may be
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46 included in a translation approved by the Free Software Foundation
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47 instead of in the original English.
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48 @end ifinfo
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49
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50 @c Combine indices.
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51 @synindex cp fn
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52 @syncodeindex vr fn
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53 @syncodeindex ky fn
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54 @syncodeindex pg fn
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55 @syncodeindex tp fn
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56
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57 @setchapternewpage odd
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58 @finalout
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59
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60 @titlepage
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61 @title XEmacs Internals Manual
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62 @subtitle Version 1.1, March 1997
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63
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64 @author Ben Wing
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65 @author Martin Buchholz
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66 @page
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67 @vskip 0pt plus 1fill
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68
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69 @noindent
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70 Copyright @copyright{} 1992 - 1996 Ben Wing. @*
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71 Copyright @copyright{} 1996 Sun Microsystems, Inc. @*
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72 Copyright @copyright{} 1994 Free Software Foundation. @*
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73 Copyright @copyright{} 1994, 1995 Board of Trustees, University of Illinois.
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74
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75 @sp 2
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76 Version 1.1 @*
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77 March, 1997.@*
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78
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79 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
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80 manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
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81 preserved on all copies.
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82
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83 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
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84 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
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85 section entitled ``GNU General Public License'' is included
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86 exactly as in the original, and provided that the entire resulting
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87 derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission notice
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88 identical to this one.
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89
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90 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
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91 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions,
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92 except that the section entitled ``GNU General Public License'' may be
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93 included in a translation approved by the Free Software Foundation
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94 instead of in the original English.
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95 @end titlepage
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96 @page
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97
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98 @node Top, A History of Emacs, (dir), (dir)
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99
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100 @ifinfo
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101 This Info file contains v1.0 of the XEmacs Internals Manual.
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102 @end ifinfo
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103
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104 @menu
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105 * A History of Emacs:: Times, dates, important events.
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106 * XEmacs From the Outside:: A broad conceptual overview.
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107 * The Lisp Language:: An overview.
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108 * XEmacs From the Perspective of Building::
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109 * XEmacs From the Inside::
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110 * The XEmacs Object System (Abstractly Speaking)::
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111 * How Lisp Objects Are Represented in C::
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112 * Rules When Writing New C Code::
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113 * A Summary of the Various XEmacs Modules::
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114 * Allocation of Objects in XEmacs Lisp::
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115 * Events and the Event Loop::
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116 * Evaluation; Stack Frames; Bindings::
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117 * Symbols and Variables::
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118 * Buffers and Textual Representation::
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119 * MULE Character Sets and Encodings::
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120 * The Lisp Reader and Compiler::
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121 * Lstreams::
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122 * Consoles; Devices; Frames; Windows::
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123 * The Redisplay Mechanism::
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124 * Extents::
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125 * Faces and Glyphs::
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126 * Specifiers::
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127 * Menus::
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128 * Subprocesses::
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129 * Interface to X Windows::
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130 * Index:: Index including concepts, functions, variables,
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131 and other terms.
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132
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133 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
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134
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135 Here are other nodes that are inferiors of those already listed,
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136 mentioned here so you can get to them in one step:
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137
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138 A History of Emacs
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139
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140 * Through Version 18:: Unification prevails.
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141 * Lucid Emacs:: One version 19 Emacs.
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142 * GNU Emacs 19:: The other version 19 Emacs.
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143 * XEmacs:: The continuation of Lucid Emacs.
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144
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145 Rules When Writing New C Code
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146
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147 * General Coding Rules::
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148 * Writing Lisp Primitives::
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149 * Adding Global Lisp Variables::
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150 * Techniques for XEmacs Developers::
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151
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152 A Summary of the Various XEmacs Modules
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153
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154 * Low-Level Modules::
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155 * Basic Lisp Modules::
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156 * Modules for Standard Editing Operations::
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157 * Editor-Level Control Flow Modules::
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158 * Modules for the Basic Displayable Lisp Objects::
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159 * Modules for other Display-Related Lisp Objects::
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160 * Modules for the Redisplay Mechanism::
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161 * Modules for Interfacing with the File System::
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162 * Modules for Other Aspects of the Lisp Interpreter and Object System::
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163 * Modules for Interfacing with the Operating System::
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164 * Modules for Interfacing with X Windows::
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165 * Modules for Internationalization::
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166
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167 Allocation of Objects in XEmacs Lisp
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168
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169 * Introduction to Allocation::
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170 * Garbage Collection::
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171 * GCPROing::
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172 * Integers and Characters::
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173 * Allocation from Frob Blocks::
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174 * lrecords::
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175 * Low-level allocation::
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176 * Pure Space::
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177 * Cons::
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178 * Vector::
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179 * Bit Vector::
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180 * Symbol::
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181 * Marker::
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182 * String::
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183 * Bytecode::
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184
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185 Events and the Event Loop
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186
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187 * Introduction to Events::
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188 * Main Loop::
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189 * Specifics of the Event Gathering Mechanism::
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190 * Specifics About the Emacs Event::
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191 * The Event Stream Callback Routines::
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192 * Other Event Loop Functions::
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193 * Converting Events::
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194 * Dispatching Events; The Command Builder::
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195
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196 Evaluation; Stack Frames; Bindings
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197
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198 * Evaluation::
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199 * Dynamic Binding; The specbinding Stack; Unwind-Protects::
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200 * Simple Special Forms::
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201 * Catch and Throw::
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202
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203 Symbols and Variables
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204
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205 * Introduction to Symbols::
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206 * Obarrays::
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207 * Symbol Values::
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208
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209 Buffers and Textual Representation
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210
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211 * Introduction to Buffers:: A buffer holds a block of text such as a file.
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212 * The Text in a Buffer:: Representation of the text in a buffer.
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213 * Buffer Lists:: Keeping track of all buffers.
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214 * Markers and Extents:: Tagging locations within a buffer.
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215 * Bufbytes and Emchars:: Representation of individual characters.
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216 * The Buffer Object:: The Lisp object corresponding to a buffer.
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217
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218 MULE Character Sets and Encodings
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219
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220 * Character Sets::
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221 * Encodings::
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222 * Internal Mule Encodings::
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223
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224 Encodings
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225
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226 * Japanese EUC (Extended Unix Code)::
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227 * JIS7::
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228
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229 Internal Mule Encodings
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230
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231 * Internal String Encoding::
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232 * Internal Character Encoding::
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233
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234 The Lisp Reader and Compiler
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235
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236 Lstreams
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237
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238 Consoles; Devices; Frames; Windows
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239
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240 * Introduction to Consoles; Devices; Frames; Windows::
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241 * Point::
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242 * Window Hierarchy::
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243
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244 The Redisplay Mechanism
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245
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246 * Critical Redisplay Sections::
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247 * Line Start Cache::
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248
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249 Extents
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250
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251 * Introduction to Extents:: Extents are ranges over text, with properties.
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252 * Extent Ordering:: How extents are ordered internally.
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253 * Format of the Extent Info:: The extent information in a buffer or string.
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254 * Zero-Length Extents:: A weird special case.
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255 * Mathematics of Extent Ordering:: A rigorous foundation.
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256 * Extent Fragments:: Cached information useful for redisplay.
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257
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258 Faces and Glyphs
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259
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260 Specifiers
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261
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262 Menus
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263
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264 Subprocesses
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265
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266 Interface to X Windows
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267
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268 @end menu
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269
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270 @node A History of Emacs, XEmacs From the Outside, Top, Top
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271 @chapter A History of Emacs
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272 @cindex history of Emacs
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273 @cindex Hackers (Steven Levy)
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274 @cindex Levy, Steven
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275 @cindex ITS (Incompatible Timesharing System)
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276 @cindex Stallman, Richard
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277 @cindex RMS
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278 @cindex MIT
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279 @cindex TECO
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280 @cindex FSF
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281 @cindex Free Software Foundation
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282
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283 XEmacs is a powerful, customizable text editor and development
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284 environment. It began as Lucid Emacs, which was in turn derived from
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285 GNU Emacs, a program written by Richard Stallman of the Free Software
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286 Foundation. GNU Emacs dates back to the 1970's, and was modelled
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287 after a package called ``Emacs'', written in 1976, that was a set of
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288 macros on top of TECO, an old, old text editor written at MIT on the
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289 DEC PDP 10 under one of the earliest time-sharing operating systems,
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290 ITS (Incompatible Timesharing System). (ITS dates back well before
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291 Unix.) ITS, TECO, and Emacs were products of a group of people at MIT
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292 who called themselves ``hackers'', who shared an idealistic belief
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293 system about the free exchange of information and were fanatical in
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294 their devotion to and time spent with computers. (The hacker
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295 subculture dates back to the late 1950's at MIT and is described in
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296 detail in Steven Levy's book @cite{Hackers}. This book also includes
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297 a lot of information about Stallman himself and the development of
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298 Lisp, a programming language developed at MIT that underlies Emacs.)
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299
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300 @menu
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301 * Through Version 18:: Unification prevails.
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302 * Lucid Emacs:: One version 19 Emacs.
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303 * GNU Emacs 19:: The other version 19 Emacs.
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304 * GNU Emacs 20:: The other version 20 Emacs.
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305 * XEmacs:: The continuation of Lucid Emacs.
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306 @end menu
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307
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308 @node Through Version 18
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309 @section Through Version 18
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310 @cindex Gosling, James
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311 @cindex Great Usenet Renaming
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312
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313 Although the history of the early versions of GNU Emacs is unclear,
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314 the history is well-known from the middle of 1985. A time line is:
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315
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316 @itemize @bullet
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317 @item
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318 GNU Emacs version 15 (15.34) was released sometime in 1984 or 1985 and
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319 shared some code with a version of Emacs written by James Gosling (the
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320 same James Gosling who later created the Java language).
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321 @item
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322 GNU Emacs version 16 (first released version was 16.56) was released on
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323 July 15, 1985. All Gosling code was removed due to potential copyright
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324 problems with the code.
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325 @item
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326 version 16.57: released on September 16, 1985.
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327 @item
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328 versions 16.58, 16.59: released on September 17, 1985.
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329 @item
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330 version 16.60: released on September 19, 1985. These later version 16's
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331 incorporated patches from the net, esp. for getting Emacs to work under
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332 System V.
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333 @item
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334 version 17.36 (first official v17 release) released on December 20,
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335 1985. Included a TeX-able user manual. First official unpatched
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336 version that worked on vanilla System V machines.
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337 @item
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338 version 17.43 (second official v17 release) released on January 25,
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339 1986.
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340 @item
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341 version 17.45 released on January 30, 1986.
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342 @item
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343 version 17.46 released on February 4, 1986.
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344 @item
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345 version 17.48 released on February 10, 1986.
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346 @item
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347 version 17.49 released on February 12, 1986.
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348 @item
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349 version 17.55 released on March 18, 1986.
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350 @item
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351 version 17.57 released on March 27, 1986.
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352 @item
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353 version 17.58 released on April 4, 1986.
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354 @item
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355 version 17.61 released on April 12, 1986.
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356 @item
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357 version 17.63 released on May 7, 1986.
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358 @item
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359 version 17.64 released on May 12, 1986.
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360 @item
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361 version 18.24 (a beta version) released on October 2, 1986.
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362 @item
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363 version 18.30 (a beta version) released on November 15, 1986.
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364 @item
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365 version 18.31 (a beta version) released on November 23, 1986.
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366 @item
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367 version 18.32 (a beta version) released on December 7, 1986.
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368 @item
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369 version 18.33 (a beta version) released on December 12, 1986.
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370 @item
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371 version 18.35 (a beta version) released on January 5, 1987.
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372 @item
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373 version 18.36 (a beta version) released on January 21, 1987.
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374 @item
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375 January 27, 1987: The Great Usenet Renaming. net.emacs is now
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376 comp.emacs.
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377 @item
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378 version 18.37 (a beta version) released on February 12, 1987.
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379 @item
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380 version 18.38 (a beta version) released on March 3, 1987.
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381 @item
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382 version 18.39 (a beta version) released on March 14, 1987.
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383 @item
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384 version 18.40 (a beta version) released on March 18, 1987.
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385 @item
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386 version 18.41 (the first ``official'' release) released on March 22,
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387 1987.
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388 @item
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389 version 18.45 released on June 2, 1987.
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390 @item
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391 version 18.46 released on June 9, 1987.
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392 @item
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393 version 18.47 released on June 18, 1987.
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394 @item
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395 version 18.48 released on September 3, 1987.
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396 @item
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397 version 18.49 released on September 18, 1987.
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398 @item
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399 version 18.50 released on February 13, 1988.
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400 @item
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401 version 18.51 released on May 7, 1988.
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402 @item
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403 version 18.52 released on September 1, 1988.
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404 @item
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405 version 18.53 released on February 24, 1989.
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406 @item
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407 version 18.54 released on April 26, 1989.
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408 @item
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409 version 18.55 released on August 23, 1989. This is the earliest version
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410 that is still available by FTP.
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411 @item
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412 version 18.56 released on January 17, 1991.
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413 @item
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414 version 18.57 released late January, 1991.
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415 @item
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416 version 18.58 released ?????.
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417 @item
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418 version 18.59 released October 31, 1992.
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419 @end itemize
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420
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421 @node Lucid Emacs
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422 @section Lucid Emacs
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423 @cindex Lucid Emacs
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424 @cindex Lucid Inc.
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425 @cindex Energize
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426 @cindex Epoch
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427
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428 Lucid Emacs was developed by the (now-defunct) Lucid Inc., a maker of
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429 C++ and Lisp development environments. It began when Lucid decided they
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430 wanted to use Emacs as the editor and cornerstone of their C++
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431 development environment (called ``Energize''). They needed many features
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432 that were not available in the existing version of GNU Emacs (version
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433 18.5something), in particular good and integrated support for GUI
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434 elements such as mouse support, multiple fonts, multiple window-system
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435 windows, etc. A branch of GNU Emacs called Epoch, written at the
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436 University of Illinois, existed that supplied many of these features;
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437 however, Lucid needed more than what existed in Epoch. At the time, the
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438 Free Software Foundation was working on version 19 of Emacs (this was
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439 sometime around 1991), which was planned to have similar features, and
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440 so Lucid decided to work with the Free Software Foundation. Their plan
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441 was to add features that they needed, and coordinate with the FSF so
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442 that the features would get included back into Emacs version 19.
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443
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444 Delays in the release of version 19 occurred, however (resulting in it
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445 finally being released more than a year after what was initially
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446 planned), and Lucid encountered unexpected technical resistance in
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447 getting their changes merged back into version 19, so they decided to
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448 release their own version of Emacs, which became Lucid Emacs 19.0.
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449
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450 @cindex Zawinski, Jamie
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451 @cindex Sexton, Harlan
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452 @cindex Benson, Eric
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453 @cindex Devin, Matthieu
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454 The initial authors of Lucid Emacs were Matthieu Devin, Harlan Sexton,
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455 and Eric Benson, and the work was later taken over by Jamie Zawinski,
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456 who became ``Mr. Lucid Emacs'' for many releases.
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457
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458 A time line for Lucid Emacs/XEmacs is
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459
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460 @itemize @bullet
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461 @item
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462 version 19.0 shipped with Energize 1.0, April 1992.
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463 @item
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464 version 19.1 released June 4, 1992.
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465 @item
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466 version 19.2 released June 19, 1992.
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467 @item
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468 version 19.3 released September 9, 1992.
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469 @item
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470 version 19.4 released January 21, 1993.
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471 @item
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472 version 19.5 was a repackaging of 19.4 with a few bug fixes and
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473 shipped with Energize 2.0. Never released to the net.
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474 @item
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475 version 19.6 released April 9, 1993.
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476 @item
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477 version 19.7 was a repackaging of 19.6 with a few bug fixes and
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478 shipped with Energize 2.1. Never released to the net.
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479 @item
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480 version 19.8 released September 6, 1993.
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481 @item
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482 version 19.9 released January 12, 1994.
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483 @item
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484 version 19.10 released May 27, 1994.
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485 @item
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486 version 19.11 (first XEmacs) released September 13, 1994.
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487 @item
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488 version 19.12 released June 23, 1995.
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489 @item
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490 version 19.13 released September 1, 1995.
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112
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491 @item
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492 version 19.14 released June 23, 1996.
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493 @item
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494 version 20.0 released February 9, 1997.
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120
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495 @item
|
|
496 version 19.15 released March 28, 1997.
|
149
|
497 @item
|
|
498 version 20.1 (not released to the net) April 15, 1997.
|
|
499 @item
|
|
500 version 20.2 released May 16, 1997.
|
209
|
501 @item
|
|
502 version 19.16 released October 31, 1997.
|
219
|
503 @item
|
|
504 version 20.3 (the first stable version of XEmacs 20.x) released November 30,
|
|
505 1997.
|
259
|
506 version 20.4 released February 28, 1998.
|
0
|
507 @end itemize
|
|
508
|
|
509 @node GNU Emacs 19
|
|
510 @section GNU Emacs 19
|
|
511 @cindex GNU Emacs 19
|
|
512 @cindex FSF Emacs
|
|
513
|
|
514 About a year after the initial release of Lucid Emacs, the FSF
|
|
515 released a beta of their version of Emacs 19 (referred to here as ``GNU
|
|
516 Emacs''). By this time, the current version of Lucid Emacs was
|
|
517 19.6. (Strangely, the first released beta from the FSF was GNU Emacs
|
|
518 19.7.) A time line for GNU Emacs version 19 is
|
|
519
|
|
520 @itemize @bullet
|
|
521 @item
|
|
522 version 19.8 (beta) released May 27, 1993.
|
|
523 @item
|
|
524 version 19.9 (beta) released May 27, 1993.
|
|
525 @item
|
|
526 version 19.10 (beta) released May 30, 1993.
|
|
527 @item
|
|
528 version 19.11 (beta) released June 1, 1993.
|
|
529 @item
|
|
530 version 19.12 (beta) released June 2, 1993.
|
|
531 @item
|
|
532 version 19.13 (beta) released June 8, 1993.
|
|
533 @item
|
|
534 version 19.14 (beta) released June 17, 1993.
|
|
535 @item
|
|
536 version 19.15 (beta) released June 19, 1993.
|
|
537 @item
|
|
538 version 19.16 (beta) released July 6, 1993.
|
|
539 @item
|
|
540 version 19.17 (beta) released late July, 1993.
|
|
541 @item
|
|
542 version 19.18 (beta) released August 9, 1993.
|
|
543 @item
|
|
544 version 19.19 (beta) released August 15, 1993.
|
|
545 @item
|
|
546 version 19.20 (beta) released November 17, 1993.
|
|
547 @item
|
|
548 version 19.21 (beta) released November 17, 1993.
|
|
549 @item
|
|
550 version 19.22 (beta) released November 28, 1993.
|
|
551 @item
|
|
552 version 19.23 (beta) released May 17, 1994.
|
|
553 @item
|
|
554 version 19.24 (beta) released May 16, 1994.
|
|
555 @item
|
|
556 version 19.25 (beta) released June 3, 1994.
|
|
557 @item
|
|
558 version 19.26 (beta) released September 11, 1994.
|
|
559 @item
|
|
560 version 19.27 (beta) released September 14, 1994.
|
|
561 @item
|
|
562 version 19.28 (first ``official'' release) released November 1, 1994.
|
|
563 @item
|
|
564 version 19.29 released June 21, 1995.
|
112
|
565 @item
|
|
566 version 19.30 released November 24, 1995.
|
|
567 @item
|
|
568 version 19.31 released May 25, 1996.
|
|
569 @item
|
|
570 version 19.32 released July 31, 1996.
|
|
571 @item
|
|
572 version 19.33 released August 11, 1996.
|
|
573 @item
|
|
574 version 19.34 released August 21, 1996.
|
|
575 @item
|
|
576 version 19.34b released September 6, 1996.
|
0
|
577 @end itemize
|
|
578
|
|
579 @cindex Mlynarik, Richard
|
|
580 In some ways, GNU Emacs 19 was better than Lucid Emacs; in some ways,
|
|
581 worse. Lucid soon began incorporating features from GNU Emacs 19 into
|
|
582 Lucid Emacs; the work was mostly done by Richard Mlynarik, who had been
|
|
583 working on and using GNU Emacs for a long time (back as far as version
|
|
584 16 or 17).
|
|
585
|
193
|
586 @node GNU Emacs 20
|
|
587 @section GNU Emacs 20
|
|
588 @cindex GNU Emacs 20
|
|
589 @cindex FSF Emacs
|
|
590
|
|
591 On February 2, 1997 work began on GNU Emacs to integrate Mule. The first
|
|
592 release was made in September of that year.
|
|
593
|
|
594 A timeline for Emacs 20 is
|
|
595
|
|
596 @itemize @bullet
|
|
597 @item
|
|
598 version 20.1 released September 17, 1997.
|
195
|
599 @item
|
|
600 version 20.2 released September 20, 1997.
|
193
|
601 @end itemize
|
|
602
|
0
|
603 @node XEmacs
|
|
604 @section XEmacs
|
|
605 @cindex XEmacs
|
|
606
|
|
607 @cindex Sun Microsystems
|
|
608 @cindex University of Illinois
|
|
609 @cindex Illinois, University of
|
|
610 @cindex SPARCWorks
|
|
611 @cindex Andreessen, Marc
|
120
|
612 @cindex Baur, Steve
|
|
613 @cindex Buchholz, Martin
|
0
|
614 @cindex Kaplan, Simon
|
|
615 @cindex Wing, Ben
|
|
616 @cindex Thompson, Chuck
|
|
617 @cindex Win-Emacs
|
|
618 @cindex Epoch
|
|
619 @cindex Amdahl Corporation
|
|
620 Around the time that Lucid was developing Energize, Sun Microsystems
|
|
621 was developing their own development environment (called ``SPARCWorks'')
|
|
622 and also decided to use Emacs. They joined forces with the Epoch team
|
|
623 at the University of Illinois and later with Lucid. The maintainer of
|
|
624 the last-released version of Epoch was Marc Andreessen, but he dropped
|
|
625 out and the Epoch project, headed by Simon Kaplan, lured Chuck Thompson
|
|
626 away from a system administration job to become the primary Lucid Emacs
|
|
627 author for Epoch and Sun. Chuck's area of specialty became the
|
|
628 redisplay engine (he replaced the old Lucid Emacs redisplay engine with
|
|
629 a ported version from Epoch and then later rewrote it from scratch).
|
|
630 Sun also hired Ben Wing (the author of Win-Emacs, a port of Lucid Emacs
|
|
631 to Microsoft Windows 3.1) in 1993, for what was initially a one-month
|
|
632 contract to fix some event problems but later became a many-year
|
|
633 involvement, punctuated by a six-month contract with Amdahl Corporation.
|
|
634
|
|
635 @cindex rename to XEmacs
|
|
636 In 1994, Sun and Lucid agreed to rename Lucid Emacs to XEmacs (a name
|
|
637 not favorable to either company); the first release called XEmacs was
|
|
638 version 19.11. In June 1994, Lucid folded and Jamie quit to work for
|
|
639 the newly formed Mosaic Communications Corp., later Netscape
|
|
640 Communications Corp. (co-founded by the same Marc Andreessen, who had
|
|
641 quit his Epoch job to work on a graphical browser for the World Wide
|
|
642 Web). Chuck then become the primary maintainer of XEmacs, and put out
|
120
|
643 versions 19.11 through 19.14 in conjunction with Ben. For 19.12 and
|
0
|
644 19.13, Chuck added the new redisplay and many other display improvements
|
|
645 and Ben added MULE support (support for Asian and other languages) and
|
|
646 redesigned most of the internal Lisp subsystems to better support the
|
120
|
647 MULE work and the various other features being added to XEmacs. After
|
|
648 19.14 Chuck retired as primary maintainer and Steve Baur stepped in.
|
|
649
|
|
650 @cindex MULE merged XEmacs appears
|
|
651 Soon after 19.13 was released, work began in earnest on the MULE
|
|
652 internationalization code and the source tree was divided into two
|
|
653 development paths. The MULE version was initially called 19.20, but was
|
|
654 soon renamed to 20.0. In 1996 Martin Buchholz of Sun Microsystems took
|
|
655 over the care and feeding of it and worked on it in parallel with the
|
|
656 19.14 development that was occurring at the same time. After much work
|
|
657 by Martin, it was decided to release 20.0 ahead of 19.15 in February
|
219
|
658 1997. The source tree remained divided until 20.2 when the version 19
|
|
659 source was finally retired at version 19.16.
|
|
660
|
|
661 @cindex Baur, Steve
|
|
662 @cindex Buchholz, Martin
|
|
663 @cindex Jones, Kyle
|
|
664 @cindex Niksic, Hrvoje
|
|
665 @cindex XEmacs goes it alone
|
|
666 In 1997, Sun finally dropped all pretense of support for XEmacs and
|
|
667 Martin Buchholz left the company in November. Since then, and mostly
|
|
668 for the previous year, because Steve Baur was never paid to work on
|
|
669 XEmacs, XEmacs has existed solely on the contributions of volunteers
|
|
670 from the Free Software Community. Starting from 1997, Hrvoje Niksic and
|
|
671 Kyle Jones have figured prominently in XEmacs development.
|
0
|
672
|
|
673 @cindex merging attempts
|
|
674 Many attempts have been made to merge XEmacs and GNU Emacs, but they
|
219
|
675 have consistently failed.
|
0
|
676
|
|
677 A more detailed history is contained in the XEmacs About page.
|
|
678
|
|
679 @node XEmacs From the Outside, The Lisp Language, A History of Emacs, Top
|
|
680 @chapter XEmacs From the Outside
|
|
681 @cindex read-eval-print
|
|
682
|
|
683 XEmacs appears to the outside world as an editor, but it is really a
|
|
684 Lisp environment. At its heart is a Lisp interpreter; it also
|
|
685 ``happens'' to contain many specialized object types (e.g. buffers,
|
|
686 windows, frames, events) that are useful for implementing an editor.
|
|
687 Some of these objects (in particular windows and frames) have
|
|
688 displayable representations, and XEmacs provides a function
|
|
689 @code{redisplay()} that ensures that the display of all such objects
|
|
690 matches their internal state. Most of the time, a standard Lisp
|
|
691 environment is in a @dfn{read-eval-print} loop -- i.e. ``read some Lisp
|
|
692 code, execute it, and print the results''. XEmacs has a similar loop:
|
|
693
|
|
694 @itemize @bullet
|
|
695 @item
|
|
696 read an event
|
|
697 @item
|
|
698 dispatch the event (i.e. ``do it'')
|
|
699 @item
|
|
700 redisplay
|
|
701 @end itemize
|
|
702
|
|
703 Reading an event is done using the Lisp function @code{next-event},
|
|
704 which waits for something to happen (typically, the user presses a key
|
|
705 or moves the mouse) and returns an event object describing this.
|
|
706 Dispatching an event is done using the Lisp function
|
|
707 @code{dispatch-event}, which looks up the event in a keymap object (a
|
|
708 particular kind of object that associates an event with a Lisp function)
|
|
709 and calls that function. The function ``does'' what the user has
|
|
710 requested by changing the state of particular frame objects, buffer
|
|
711 objects, etc. Finally, @code{redisplay()} is called, which updates the
|
|
712 display to reflect those changes just made. Thus is an ``editor'' born.
|
|
713
|
|
714 @cindex bridge, playing
|
|
715 @cindex taxes, doing
|
|
716 @cindex pi, calculating
|
|
717 Note that you do not have to use XEmacs as an editor; you could just
|
|
718 as well make it do your taxes, compute pi, play bridge, etc. You'd just
|
|
719 have to write functions to do those operations in Lisp.
|
|
720
|
|
721 @node The Lisp Language, XEmacs From the Perspective of Building, XEmacs From the Outside, Top
|
|
722 @chapter The Lisp Language
|
|
723 @cindex Lisp vs. C
|
|
724 @cindex C vs. Lisp
|
|
725 @cindex Lisp vs. Java
|
|
726 @cindex Java vs. Lisp
|
|
727 @cindex dynamic scoping
|
|
728 @cindex scoping, dynamic
|
|
729 @cindex dynamic types
|
|
730 @cindex types, dynamic
|
|
731 @cindex Java
|
|
732 @cindex Common Lisp
|
|
733 @cindex Gosling, James
|
|
734
|
|
735 Lisp is a general-purpose language that is higher-level than C and in
|
|
736 many ways more powerful than C. Powerful dialects of Lisp such as
|
|
737 Common Lisp are probably much better languages for writing very large
|
|
738 applications than is C. (Unfortunately, for many non-technical
|
|
739 reasons C and its successor C++ have become the dominant languages for
|
|
740 application development. These languages are both inadequate for
|
|
741 extremely large applications, which is evidenced by the fact that newer,
|
|
742 larger programs are becoming ever harder to write and are requiring ever
|
|
743 more programmers despite great increases in C development environments;
|
|
744 and by the fact that, although hardware speeds and reliability have been
|
|
745 growing at an exponential rate, most software is still generally
|
|
746 considered to be slow and buggy.)
|
|
747
|
|
748 The new Java language holds promise as a better general-purpose
|
|
749 development language than C. Java has many features in common with
|
|
750 Lisp that are not shared by C (this is not a coincidence, since
|
|
751 Java was designed by James Gosling, a former Lisp hacker). This
|
|
752 will be discussed more later.
|
|
753
|
|
754 For those used to C, here is a summary of the basic differences between
|
|
755 C and Lisp:
|
|
756
|
|
757 @enumerate
|
|
758 @item
|
|
759 Lisp has an extremely regular syntax. Every function, expression,
|
|
760 and control statement is written in the form
|
|
761
|
|
762 @example
|
|
763 (@var{func} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} ...)
|
|
764 @end example
|
|
765
|
|
766 This is as opposed to C, which writes functions as
|
|
767
|
|
768 @example
|
|
769 func(@var{arg1}, @var{arg2}, ...)
|
|
770 @end example
|
|
771
|
|
772 but writes expressions involving operators as (e.g.)
|
|
773
|
|
774 @example
|
|
775 @var{arg1} + @var{arg2}
|
|
776 @end example
|
|
777
|
|
778 and writes control statements as (e.g.)
|
|
779
|
|
780 @example
|
|
781 while (@var{expr}) @{ @var{statement1}; @var{statement2}; ... @}
|
|
782 @end example
|
|
783
|
|
784 Lisp equivalents of the latter two would be
|
|
785
|
|
786 @example
|
|
787 (+ @var{arg1} @var{arg2} ...)
|
|
788 @end example
|
|
789
|
|
790 and
|
|
791
|
|
792 @example
|
|
793 (while @var{expr} @var{statement1} @var{statement2} ...)
|
|
794 @end example
|
|
795
|
|
796 @item
|
|
797 Lisp is a safe language. Assuming there are no bugs in the Lisp
|
|
798 interpreter/compiler, it is impossible to write a program that ``core
|
|
799 dumps'' or otherwise causes the machine to execute an illegal
|
|
800 instruction. This is very different from C, where perhaps the most
|
|
801 common outcome of a bug is exactly such a crash. A corollary of this is that
|
|
802 the C operation of casting a pointer is impossible (and unnecessary) in
|
|
803 Lisp, and that it is impossible to access memory outside the bounds of
|
|
804 an array.
|
|
805
|
|
806 @item
|
|
807 Programs and data are written in the same form. The
|
|
808 parenthesis-enclosing form described above for statements is the same
|
|
809 form used for the most common data type in Lisp, the list. Thus, it is
|
|
810 possible to represent any Lisp program using Lisp data types, and for
|
|
811 one program to construct Lisp statements and then dynamically
|
|
812 @dfn{evaluate} them, or cause them to execute.
|
|
813
|
|
814 @item
|
|
815 All objects are @dfn{dynamically typed}. This means that part of every
|
|
816 object is an indication of what type it is. A Lisp program can
|
|
817 manipulate an object without knowing what type it is, and can query an
|
|
818 object to determine its type. This means that, correspondingly,
|
|
819 variables and function parameters can hold objects of any type and are
|
|
820 not normally declared as being of any particular type. This is opposed
|
|
821 to the @dfn{static typing} of C, where variables can hold exactly one
|
|
822 type of object and must be declared as such, and objects do not contain
|
|
823 an indication of their type because it's implicit in the variables they
|
|
824 are stored in. It is possible in C to have a variable hold different
|
|
825 types of objects (e.g. through the use of @code{void *} pointers or
|
|
826 variable-argument functions), but the type information must then be
|
|
827 passed explicitly in some other fashion, leading to additional program
|
|
828 complexity.
|
|
829
|
|
830 @item
|
|
831 Allocated memory is automatically reclaimed when it is no longer in use.
|
|
832 This operation is called @dfn{garbage collection} and involves looking
|
|
833 through all variables to see what memory is being pointed to, and
|
|
834 reclaiming any memory that is not pointed to and is thus
|
|
835 ``inaccessible'' and out of use. This is as opposed to C, in which
|
|
836 allocated memory must be explicitly reclaimed using @code{free()}. If
|
|
837 you simply drop all pointers to memory without freeing it, it becomes
|
|
838 ``leaked'' memory that still takes up space. Over a long period of
|
|
839 time, this can cause your program to grow and grow until it runs out of
|
|
840 memory.
|
|
841
|
|
842 @item
|
|
843 Lisp has built-in facilities for handling errors and exceptions. In C,
|
|
844 when an error occurs, usually either the program exits entirely or the
|
|
845 routine in which the error occurs returns a value indicating this. If
|
|
846 an error occurs in a deeply-nested routine, then every routine currently
|
|
847 called must unwind itself normally and return an error value back up to
|
|
848 the next routine. This means that every routine must explicitly check
|
|
849 for an error in all the routines it calls; if it does not do so,
|
|
850 unexpected and often random behavior results. This is an extremely
|
|
851 common source of bugs in C programs. An alternative would be to do a
|
|
852 non-local exit using @code{longjmp()}, but that is often very dangerous
|
|
853 because the routines that were exited past had no opportunity to clean
|
|
854 up after themselves and may leave things in an inconsistent state,
|
|
855 causing a crash shortly afterwards.
|
|
856
|
|
857 Lisp provides mechanisms to make such non-local exits safe. When an
|
|
858 error occurs, a routine simply signals that an error of a particular
|
|
859 class has occurred, and a non-local exit takes place. Any routine can
|
|
860 trap errors occurring in routines it calls by registering an error
|
|
861 handler for some or all classes of errors. (If no handler is registered,
|
|
862 a default handler, generally installed by the top-level event loop, is
|
|
863 executed; this prints out the error and continues.) Routines can also
|
|
864 specify cleanup code (called an @dfn{unwind-protect}) that will be
|
|
865 called when control exits from a block of code, no matter how that exit
|
|
866 occurs -- i.e. even if a function deeply nested below it causes a
|
|
867 non-local exit back to the top level.
|
|
868
|
|
869 Note that this facility has appeared in some recent vintages of C, in
|
|
870 particular Visual C++ and other PC compilers written for the Microsoft
|
|
871 Win32 API.
|
|
872
|
|
873 @item
|
|
874 In Emacs Lisp, local variables are @dfn{dynamically scoped}. This means
|
|
875 that if you declare a local variable in a particular function, and then
|
|
876 call another function, that subfunction can ``see'' the local variable
|
|
877 you declared. This is actually considered a bug in Emacs Lisp and in
|
|
878 all other early dialects of Lisp, and was corrected in Common Lisp. (In
|
|
879 Common Lisp, you can still declare dynamically scoped variables if you
|
|
880 want to -- they are sometimes useful -- but variables by default are
|
|
881 @dfn{lexically scoped} as in C.)
|
|
882 @end enumerate
|
|
883
|
|
884 For those familiar with Lisp, Emacs Lisp is modelled after MacLisp, an
|
|
885 early dialect of Lisp developed at MIT (no relation to the Macintosh
|
|
886 computer). There is a Common Lisp compatibility package available for
|
|
887 Emacs that provides many of the features of Common Lisp.
|
|
888
|
|
889 The Java language is derived in many ways from C, and shares a similar
|
|
890 syntax, but has the following features in common with Lisp (and different
|
|
891 from C):
|
|
892
|
|
893 @enumerate
|
|
894 @item
|
|
895 Java is a safe language, like Lisp.
|
|
896 @item
|
|
897 Java provides garbage collection, like Lisp.
|
|
898 @item
|
|
899 Java has built-in facilities for handling errors and exceptions, like
|
|
900 Lisp.
|
|
901 @item
|
|
902 Java has a type system that combines the best advantages of both static
|
|
903 and dynamic typing. Objects (except very simple types) are explicitly
|
|
904 marked with their type, as in dynamic typing; but there is a hierarchy
|
|
905 of types and functions are declared to accept only certain types, thus
|
|
906 providing the increased compile-time error-checking of static typing.
|
|
907 @end enumerate
|
|
908
|
|
909 @node XEmacs From the Perspective of Building, XEmacs From the Inside, The Lisp Language, Top
|
|
910 @chapter XEmacs From the Perspective of Building
|
|
911
|
|
912 The heart of XEmacs is the Lisp environment, which is written in C.
|
|
913 This is contained in the @file{src/} subdirectory. Underneath
|
|
914 @file{src/} are two subdirectories of header files: @file{s/} (header
|
|
915 files for particular operating systems) and @file{m/} (header files for
|
|
916 particular machine types). In practice the distinction between the two
|
|
917 types of header files is blurred. These header files define or undefine
|
|
918 certain preprocessor constants and macros to indicate particular
|
|
919 characteristics of the associated machine or operating system. As part
|
|
920 of the configure process, one @file{s/} file and one @file{m/} file is
|
|
921 identified for the particular environment in which XEmacs is being
|
|
922 built.
|
|
923
|
|
924 XEmacs also contains a great deal of Lisp code. This implements the
|
|
925 operations that make XEmacs useful as an editor as well as just a
|
|
926 Lisp environment, and also contains many add-on packages that allow
|
|
927 XEmacs to browse directories, act as a mail and Usenet news reader,
|
116
|
928 compile Lisp code, etc. There is actually more Lisp code than
|
0
|
929 C code associated with XEmacs, but much of the Lisp code is
|
|
930 peripheral to the actual operation of the editor. The Lisp code
|
|
931 all lies in subdirectories underneath the @file{lisp/} directory.
|
|
932
|
|
933 The @file{lwlib/} directory contains C code that implements a
|
|
934 generalized interface onto different X widget toolkits and also
|
|
935 implements some widgets of its own that behave like Motif widgets but
|
|
936 are faster, free, and in some cases more powerful. The code in this
|
|
937 directory compiles into a library and is mostly independent from XEmacs.
|
|
938
|
|
939 The @file{etc/} directory contains various data files associated with
|
|
940 XEmacs. Some of them are actually read by XEmacs at startup; others
|
|
941 merely contain useful information of various sorts.
|
|
942
|
|
943 The @file{lib-src/} directory contains C code for various auxiliary
|
|
944 programs that are used in connection with XEmacs. Some of them are used
|
|
945 during the build process; others are used to perform certain functions
|
|
946 that cannot conveniently be placed in the XEmacs executable (e.g. the
|
116
|
947 @file{movemail} program for fetching mail out of @file{/var/spool/mail},
|
|
948 which must be setgid to @file{mail} on many systems; and the
|
|
949 @file{gnuclient} program, which allows an external script to communicate
|
|
950 with a running XEmacs process).
|
0
|
951
|
|
952 The @file{man/} directory contains the sources for the XEmacs
|
|
953 documentation. It is mostly in a form called Texinfo, which can be
|
116
|
954 converted into either a printed document (by passing it through @TeX{})
|
|
955 or into on-line documentation called @dfn{info files}.
|
0
|
956
|
|
957 The @file{info/} directory contains the results of formatting the
|
|
958 XEmacs documentation as @dfn{info files}, for on-line use. These files
|
|
959 are used when you enter the Info system using @kbd{C-h i} or through the
|
|
960 Help menu.
|
|
961
|
|
962 The @file{dynodump/} directory contains auxiliary code used to build
|
|
963 XEmacs on Solaris platforms.
|
|
964
|
|
965 The other directories contain various miscellaneous code and
|
|
966 information that is not normally used or needed.
|
|
967
|
|
968 The first step of building involves running the @file{configure}
|
|
969 program and passing it various parameters to specify any optional
|
|
970 features you want and compiler arguments and such, as described in the
|
|
971 @file{INSTALL} file. This determines what the build environment is,
|
|
972 chooses the appropriate @file{s/} and @file{m/} file, and runs a series
|
|
973 of tests to determine many details about your environment, such as which
|
|
974 library functions are available and exactly how they work. (The
|
|
975 @file{s/} and @file{m/} files only contain information that cannot be
|
|
976 conveniently detected in this fashion.) The reason for running these
|
|
977 tests is that it allows XEmacs to be compiled on a much wider variety of
|
|
978 platforms than those that the XEmacs developers happen to be familiar
|
|
979 with, including various sorts of hybrid platforms. This is especially
|
|
980 important now that many operating systems give you a great deal of
|
|
981 control over exactly what features you want installed, and allow for
|
|
982 easy upgrading of parts of a system without upgrading the rest. It
|
|
983 would be impossible to pre-determine and pre-specify the information for
|
|
984 all possible configurations.
|
|
985
|
|
986 When configure is done running, it generates @file{Makefile}s and the
|
272
|
987 file @file{src/config.h} (which describes the features of your system)
|
|
988 from template files. You then run @file{make}, which compiles the
|
|
989 auxiliary code and programs in @file{lib-src/} and @file{lwlib/} and the
|
|
990 main XEmacs executable in @file{src/}. The result of compiling and
|
|
991 linking is an executable called @file{temacs}, which is @emph{not} the
|
|
992 final XEmacs executable. @file{temacs} by itself is not intended to
|
|
993 function as an editor or even display any windows on the screen, and if
|
|
994 you simply run it, it will exit immediately. The @file{Makefile} runs
|
|
995 @file{temacs} with certain options that cause it to initialize itself,
|
|
996 read in a number of basic Lisp files, and then dump itself out into a
|
|
997 new executable called @file{xemacs}. This new executable has been
|
|
998 pre-initialized and contains pre-digested Lisp code that is necessary
|
|
999 for the editor to function (this includes most basic Lisp functions,
|
|
1000 e.g. @code{not}, that can be defined in terms of other Lisp primitives;
|
|
1001 some initialization code that is called when certain objects, such as
|
|
1002 frames, are created; and all of the standard keybindings and code for
|
|
1003 the actions they result in). This executable, @file{xemacs}, is the
|
|
1004 executable that you run to use the XEmacs editor.
|
|
1005
|
|
1006 Although @file{temacs} is not intended to be run as an editor, it can,
|
|
1007 by using the incantation @code{temacs -batch -l loadup.el run-temacs}.
|
|
1008 This is useful when the dumping procedure described above is broken, or
|
|
1009 when using certain program debugging tools such as Purify. These tools
|
|
1010 get mighty confused by the tricks played by the XEmacs build process,
|
|
1011 such as allocation memory in one process, and freeing it in the next.
|
0
|
1012
|
|
1013 @node XEmacs From the Inside, The XEmacs Object System (Abstractly Speaking), XEmacs From the Perspective of Building, Top
|
|
1014 @chapter XEmacs From the Inside
|
|
1015
|
|
1016 Internally, XEmacs is quite complex, and can be very confusing. To
|
|
1017 simplify things, it can be useful to think of XEmacs as containing an
|
|
1018 event loop that ``drives'' everything, and a number of other subsystems,
|
116
|
1019 such as a Lisp engine and a redisplay mechanism. Each of these other
|
0
|
1020 subsystems exists simultaneously in XEmacs, and each has a certain
|
|
1021 state. The flow of control continually passes in and out of these
|
|
1022 different subsystems in the course of normal operation of the editor.
|
|
1023
|
|
1024 It is important to keep in mind that, most of the time, the editor is
|
|
1025 ``driven'' by the event loop. Except during initialization and batch
|
|
1026 mode, all subsystems are entered directly or indirectly through the
|
|
1027 event loop, and ultimately, control exits out of all subsystems back up
|
|
1028 to the event loop. This cycle of entering a subsystem, exiting back out
|
|
1029 to the event loop, and starting another iteration of the event loop
|
|
1030 occurs once each keystroke, mouse motion, etc.
|
|
1031
|
|
1032 If you're trying to understand a particular subsystem (other than the
|
|
1033 event loop), think of it as a ``daemon'' process or ``servant'' that is
|
|
1034 responsible for one particular aspect of a larger system, and
|
|
1035 periodically receives commands or environment changes that cause it to
|
|
1036 do something. Ultimately, these commands and environment changes are
|
|
1037 always triggered by the event loop. For example:
|
|
1038
|
|
1039 @itemize @bullet
|
|
1040 @item
|
|
1041 The window and frame mechanism is responsible for keeping track of what
|
|
1042 windows and frames exist, what buffers are in them, etc. It is
|
|
1043 periodically given commands (usually from the user) to make a change to
|
|
1044 the current window/frame state: i.e. create a new frame, delete a
|
|
1045 window, etc.
|
|
1046
|
|
1047 @item
|
|
1048 The buffer mechanism is responsible for keeping track of what buffers
|
|
1049 exist and what text is in them. It is periodically given commands
|
|
1050 (usually from the user) to insert or delete text, create a buffer, etc.
|
116
|
1051 When it receives a text-change command, it notifies the redisplay
|
|
1052 mechanism.
|
0
|
1053
|
|
1054 @item
|
|
1055 The redisplay mechanism is responsible for making sure that windows and
|
|
1056 frames are displayed correctly. It is periodically told (by the event
|
|
1057 loop) to actually ``do its job'', i.e. snoop around and see what the
|
|
1058 current state of the environment (mostly of the currently-existing
|
|
1059 windows, frames, and buffers) is, and make sure that that state matches
|
|
1060 what's actually displayed. It keeps lots and lots of information around
|
|
1061 (such as what is actually being displayed currently, and what the
|
|
1062 environment was last time it checked) so that it can minimize the work
|
|
1063 it has to do. It is also helped along in that whenever a relevant
|
|
1064 change to the environment occurs, the redisplay mechanism is told about
|
|
1065 this, so it has a pretty good idea of where it has to look to find
|
|
1066 possible changes and doesn't have to look everywhere.
|
|
1067
|
|
1068 @item
|
|
1069 The Lisp engine is responsible for executing the Lisp code in which most
|
|
1070 user commands are written. It is entered through a call to @code{eval}
|
|
1071 or @code{funcall}, which occurs as a result of dispatching an event from
|
|
1072 the event loop. The functions it calls issue commands to the buffer
|
|
1073 mechanism, the window/frame subsystem, etc.
|
|
1074
|
|
1075 @item
|
|
1076 The Lisp allocation subsystem is responsible for keeping track of Lisp
|
|
1077 objects. It is given commands from the Lisp engine to allocate objects,
|
|
1078 garbage collect, etc.
|
|
1079 @end itemize
|
|
1080
|
|
1081 etc.
|
|
1082
|
|
1083 The important idea here is that there are a number of independent
|
2
|
1084 subsystems each with its own responsibility and persistent state, just
|
0
|
1085 like different employees in a company, and each subsystem is
|
|
1086 periodically given commands from other subsystems. Commands can flow
|
|
1087 from any one subsystem to any other, but there is usually some sort of
|
|
1088 hierarchy, with all commands originating from the event subsystem.
|
|
1089
|
|
1090 XEmacs is entered in @code{main()}, which is in @file{emacs.c}. When
|
|
1091 this is called the first time (in a properly-invoked @file{temacs}), it
|
|
1092 does the following:
|
|
1093
|
|
1094 @enumerate
|
|
1095 @item
|
|
1096 It does some very basic environment initializations, such as determining
|
|
1097 where it and its directories (e.g. @file{lisp/} and @file{etc/}) reside
|
|
1098 and setting up signal handlers.
|
|
1099 @item
|
|
1100 It initializes the entire Lisp interpreter.
|
|
1101 @item
|
|
1102 It sets the initial values of many built-in variables (including many
|
|
1103 variables that are visible to Lisp programs), such as the global keymap
|
|
1104 object and the built-in faces (a face is an object that describes the
|
|
1105 display characteristics of text). This involves creating Lisp objects
|
|
1106 and thus is dependent on step (2).
|
|
1107 @item
|
|
1108 It performs various other initializations that are relevant to the
|
|
1109 particular environment it is running in, such as retrieving environment
|
|
1110 variables, determining the current date and the user who is running the
|
|
1111 program, examining its standard input, creating any necessary file
|
|
1112 descriptors, etc.
|
|
1113 @item
|
|
1114 At this point, the C initialization is complete. A Lisp program that
|
|
1115 was specified on the command line (usually @file{loadup.el}) is called
|
|
1116 (temacs is normally invoked as @code{temacs -batch -l loadup.el dump}).
|
|
1117 @file{loadup.el} loads all of the other Lisp files that are needed for
|
|
1118 the operation of the editor, calls the @code{dump-emacs} function to
|
|
1119 write out @file{xemacs}, and then kills the temacs process.
|
|
1120 @end enumerate
|
|
1121
|
|
1122 When @file{xemacs} is then run, it only redoes steps (1) and (4)
|
|
1123 above; all variables already contain the values they were set to when
|
|
1124 the executable was dumped, and all memory that was allocated with
|
|
1125 @code{malloc()} is still around. (XEmacs knows whether it is being run
|
|
1126 as @file{xemacs} or @file{temacs} because it sets the global variable
|
|
1127 @code{initialized} to 1 after step (4) above.) At this point,
|
|
1128 @file{xemacs} calls a Lisp function to do any further initialization,
|
|
1129 which includes parsing the command-line (the C code can only do limited
|
|
1130 command-line parsing, which includes looking for the @samp{-batch} and
|
|
1131 @samp{-l} flags and a few other flags that it needs to know about before
|
|
1132 initialization is complete), creating the first frame (or @dfn{window}
|
|
1133 in standard window-system parlance), running the user's init file
|
|
1134 (usually the file @file{.emacs} in the user's home directory), etc. The
|
|
1135 function to do this is usually called @code{normal-top-level};
|
|
1136 @file{loadup.el} tells the C code about this function by setting its
|
|
1137 name as the value of the Lisp variable @code{top-level}.
|
|
1138
|
|
1139 When the Lisp initialization code is done, the C code enters the event
|
|
1140 loop, and stays there for the duration of the XEmacs process. The code
|
|
1141 for the event loop is contained in @file{keyboard.c}, and is called
|
|
1142 @code{Fcommand_loop_1()}. Note that this event loop could very well be
|
|
1143 written in Lisp, and in fact a Lisp version exists; but apparently,
|
|
1144 doing this makes XEmacs run noticeably slower.
|
|
1145
|
|
1146 Notice how much of the initialization is done in Lisp, not in C.
|
|
1147 In general, XEmacs tries to move as much code as is possible
|
|
1148 into Lisp. Code that remains in C is code that implements the
|
|
1149 Lisp interpreter itself, or code that needs to be very fast, or
|
|
1150 code that needs to do system calls or other such stuff that
|
|
1151 needs to be done in C, or code that needs to have access to
|
|
1152 ``forbidden'' structures. (One conscious aspect of the design of
|
|
1153 Lisp under XEmacs is a clean separation between the external
|
|
1154 interface to a Lisp object's functionality and its internal
|
|
1155 implementation. Part of this design is that Lisp programs
|
|
1156 are forbidden from accessing the contents of the object other
|
|
1157 than through using a standard API. In this respect, XEmacs Lisp
|
|
1158 is similar to modern Lisp dialects but differs from GNU Emacs,
|
|
1159 which tends to expose the implementation and allow Lisp
|
|
1160 programs to look at it directly. The major advantage of
|
|
1161 hiding the implementation is that it allows the implementation
|
|
1162 to be redesigned without affecting any Lisp programs, including
|
|
1163 those that might want to be ``clever'' by looking directly at
|
|
1164 the object's contents and possibly manipulating them.)
|
|
1165
|
|
1166 Moving code into Lisp makes the code easier to debug and maintain and
|
|
1167 makes it much easier for people who are not XEmacs developers to
|
|
1168 customize XEmacs, because they can make a change with much less chance
|
|
1169 of obscure and unwanted interactions occurring than if they were to
|
|
1170 change the C code.
|
|
1171
|
|
1172 @node The XEmacs Object System (Abstractly Speaking), How Lisp Objects Are Represented in C, XEmacs From the Inside, Top
|
|
1173 @chapter The XEmacs Object System (Abstractly Speaking)
|
|
1174
|
|
1175 At the heart of the Lisp interpreter is its management of objects.
|
|
1176 XEmacs Lisp contains many built-in objects, some of which are
|
|
1177 simple and others of which can be very complex; and some of which
|
|
1178 are very common, and others of which are rarely used or are only
|
|
1179 used internally. (Since the Lisp allocation system, with its
|
|
1180 automatic reclamation of unused storage, is so much more convenient
|
|
1181 than @code{malloc()} and @code{free()}, the C code makes extensive use of it
|
|
1182 in its internal operations.)
|
|
1183
|
|
1184 The basic Lisp objects are
|
|
1185
|
|
1186 @table @code
|
|
1187 @item integer
|
|
1188 28 bits of precision, or 60 bits on 64-bit machines; the reason for this
|
|
1189 is described below when the internal Lisp object representation is
|
|
1190 described.
|
|
1191 @item float
|
|
1192 Same precision as a double in C.
|
|
1193 @item cons
|
|
1194 A simple container for two Lisp objects, used to implement lists and
|
|
1195 most other data structures in Lisp.
|
|
1196 @item char
|
|
1197 An object representing a single character of text; chars behave like
|
|
1198 integers in many ways but are logically considered text rather than
|
|
1199 numbers and have a different read syntax. (the read syntax for a char
|
|
1200 contains the char itself or some textual encoding of it -- for example,
|
|
1201 a Japanese Kanji character might be encoded as @samp{^[$(B#&^[(B} using the
|
|
1202 ISO-2022 encoding standard -- rather than the numerical representation
|
|
1203 of the char; this way, if the mapping between chars and integers
|
|
1204 changes, which is quite possible for Kanji characters and other extended
|
|
1205 characters, the same character will still be created. Note that some
|
|
1206 primitives confuse chars and integers. The worst culprit is @code{eq},
|
|
1207 which makes a special exception and considers a char to be @code{eq} to
|
|
1208 its integer equivalent, even though in no other case are objects of two
|
|
1209 different types @code{eq}. The reason for this monstrosity is
|
|
1210 compatibility with existing code; the separation of char from integer
|
|
1211 came fairly recently.)
|
|
1212 @item symbol
|
|
1213 An object that contains Lisp objects and is referred to by name;
|
|
1214 symbols are used to implement variables and named functions
|
|
1215 and to provide the equivalent of preprocessor constants in C.
|
|
1216 @item vector
|
|
1217 A one-dimensional array of Lisp objects providing constant-time access
|
|
1218 to any of the objects; access to an arbitrary object in a vector is
|
|
1219 faster than for lists, but the operations that can be done on a vector
|
|
1220 are more limited.
|
|
1221 @item string
|
|
1222 Self-explanatory; behaves much like a vector of chars
|
|
1223 but has a different read syntax and is stored and manipulated
|
|
1224 more compactly and efficiently.
|
|
1225 @item bit-vector
|
|
1226 A vector of bits; similar to a string in spirit.
|
|
1227 @item compiled-function
|
|
1228 An object describing compiled Lisp code, known as @dfn{byte code}.
|
|
1229 @item subr
|
|
1230 An object describing a Lisp primitive.
|
|
1231 @end table
|
|
1232
|
|
1233 @cindex closure
|
|
1234 Note that there is no basic ``function'' type, as in more powerful
|
|
1235 versions of Lisp (where it's called a @dfn{closure}). XEmacs Lisp does
|
|
1236 not provide the closure semantics implemented by Common Lisp and Scheme.
|
|
1237 The guts of a function in XEmacs Lisp are represented in one of four
|
|
1238 ways: a symbol specifying another function (when one function is an
|
|
1239 alias for another), a list containing the function's source code, a
|
|
1240 bytecode object, or a subr object. (In other words, given a symbol
|
|
1241 specifying the name of a function, calling @code{symbol-function} to
|
|
1242 retrieve the contents of the symbol's function cell will return one of
|
|
1243 these types of objects.)
|
|
1244
|
|
1245 XEmacs Lisp also contains numerous specialized objects used to
|
|
1246 implement the editor:
|
|
1247
|
116
|
1248 @table @code
|
0
|
1249 @item buffer
|
|
1250 Stores text like a string, but is optimized for insertion and deletion
|
|
1251 and has certain other properties that can be set.
|
|
1252 @item frame
|
|
1253 An object with various properties whose displayable representation is a
|
|
1254 @dfn{window} in window-system parlance.
|
|
1255 @item window
|
|
1256 A section of a frame that displays the contents of a buffer;
|
|
1257 often called a @dfn{pane} in window-system parlance.
|
|
1258 @item window-configuration
|
|
1259 An object that represents a saved configuration of windows in a frame.
|
|
1260 @item device
|
|
1261 An object representing a screen on which frames can be displayed;
|
|
1262 equivalent to a @dfn{display} in the X Window System and a @dfn{TTY} in
|
|
1263 character mode.
|
|
1264 @item face
|
|
1265 An object specifying the appearance of text or graphics; it contains
|
|
1266 characteristics such as font, foreground color, and background color.
|
|
1267 @item marker
|
|
1268 An object that refers to a particular position in a buffer and moves
|
|
1269 around as text is inserted and deleted to stay in the same relative
|
|
1270 position to the text around it.
|
|
1271 @item extent
|
|
1272 Similar to a marker but covers a range of text in a buffer; can also
|
|
1273 specify properties of the text, such as a face in which the text is to
|
|
1274 be displayed, whether the text is invisible or unmodifiable, etc.
|
|
1275 @item event
|
|
1276 Generated by calling @code{next-event} and contains information
|
|
1277 describing a particular event happening in the system, such as the user
|
|
1278 pressing a key or a process terminating.
|
|
1279 @item keymap
|
|
1280 An object that maps from events (described using lists, vectors, and
|
|
1281 symbols rather than with an event object because the mapping is for
|
|
1282 classes of events, rather than individual events) to functions to
|
|
1283 execute or other events to recursively look up; the functions are
|
|
1284 described by name, using a symbol, or using lists to specify the
|
|
1285 function's code.
|
|
1286 @item glyph
|
|
1287 An object that describes the appearance of an image (e.g. pixmap) on
|
|
1288 the screen; glyphs can be attached to the beginning or end of extents
|
|
1289 and in some future version of XEmacs will be able to be inserted
|
|
1290 directly into a buffer.
|
|
1291 @item process
|
|
1292 An object that describes a connection to an externally-running process.
|
|
1293 @end table
|
|
1294
|
|
1295 There are some other, less-commonly-encountered general objects:
|
|
1296
|
116
|
1297 @table @code
|
0
|
1298 @item hashtable
|
|
1299 An object that maps from an arbitrary Lisp object to another arbitrary
|
|
1300 Lisp object, using hashing for fast lookup.
|
|
1301 @item obarray
|
|
1302 A limited form of hashtable that maps from strings to symbols; obarrays
|
|
1303 are used to look up a symbol given its name and are not actually their
|
|
1304 own object type but are kludgily represented using vectors with hidden
|
|
1305 fields (this representation derives from GNU Emacs).
|
|
1306 @item specifier
|
|
1307 A complex object used to specify the value of a display property; a
|
|
1308 default value is given and different values can be specified for
|
|
1309 particular frames, buffers, windows, devices, or classes of device.
|
|
1310 @item char-table
|
|
1311 An object that maps from chars or classes of chars to arbitrary Lisp
|
|
1312 objects; internally char tables use a complex nested-vector
|
|
1313 representation that is optimized to the way characters are represented
|
|
1314 as integers.
|
|
1315 @item range-table
|
|
1316 An object that maps from ranges of integers to arbitrary Lisp objects.
|
|
1317 @end table
|
|
1318
|
|
1319 And some strange special-purpose objects:
|
|
1320
|
116
|
1321 @table @code
|
0
|
1322 @item charset
|
|
1323 @itemx coding-system
|
|
1324 Objects used when MULE, or multi-lingual/Asian-language, support is
|
|
1325 enabled.
|
|
1326 @item color-instance
|
|
1327 @itemx font-instance
|
|
1328 @itemx image-instance
|
|
1329 An object that encapsulates a window-system resource; instances are
|
|
1330 mostly used internally but are exposed on the Lisp level for cleanness
|
|
1331 of the specifier model and because it's occasionally useful for Lisp
|
|
1332 program to create or query the properties of instances.
|
|
1333 @item subwindow
|
|
1334 An object that encapsulate a @dfn{subwindow} resource, i.e. a
|
|
1335 window-system child window that is drawn into by an external process;
|
|
1336 this object should be integrated into the glyph system but isn't yet,
|
|
1337 and may change form when this is done.
|
|
1338 @item tooltalk-message
|
|
1339 @itemx tooltalk-pattern
|
|
1340 Objects that represent resources used in the ToolTalk interprocess
|
|
1341 communication protocol.
|
|
1342 @item toolbar-button
|
|
1343 An object used in conjunction with the toolbar.
|
|
1344 @item x-resource
|
|
1345 An object that encapsulates certain miscellaneous resources in the X
|
|
1346 window system, used only when Epoch support is enabled.
|
|
1347 @end table
|
|
1348
|
|
1349 And objects that are only used internally:
|
|
1350
|
|
1351 @table @asis
|
|
1352 @item opaque
|
|
1353 A generic object for encapsulating arbitrary memory; this allows you the
|
|
1354 generality of @code{malloc()} and the convenience of the Lisp object
|
|
1355 system.
|
|
1356 @item lstream
|
|
1357 A buffering I/O stream, used to provide a unified interface to anything
|
|
1358 that can accept output or provide input, such as a file descriptor, a
|
|
1359 stdio stream, a chunk of memory, a Lisp buffer, a Lisp string, etc.;
|
|
1360 it's a Lisp object to make its memory management more convenient.
|
|
1361 @item char-table-entry
|
|
1362 Subsidiary objects in the internal char-table representation.
|
|
1363 @item extent-auxiliary
|
|
1364 @itemx menubar-data
|
|
1365 @itemx toolbar-data
|
|
1366 Various special-purpose objects that are basically just used to
|
|
1367 encapsulate memory for particular subsystems, similar to the more
|
|
1368 general ``opaque'' object.
|
|
1369 @item symbol-value-forward
|
|
1370 @itemx symbol-value-buffer-local
|
|
1371 @itemx symbol-value-varalias
|
|
1372 @itemx symbol-value-lisp-magic
|
|
1373 Special internal-only objects that are placed in the value cell of a
|
|
1374 symbol to indicate that there is something special with this variable --
|
|
1375 e.g. it has no value, it mirrors another variable, or it mirrors some C
|
|
1376 variable; there is really only one kind of object, called a
|
|
1377 @dfn{symbol-value-magic}, but it is sort-of halfway kludged into
|
|
1378 semi-different object types.
|
|
1379 @end table
|
|
1380
|
|
1381 @cindex permanent objects
|
|
1382 @cindex temporary objects
|
|
1383 Some types of objects are @dfn{permanent}, meaning that once created,
|
|
1384 they do not disappear until explicitly destroyed, using a function such
|
|
1385 as @code{delete-buffer}, @code{delete-window}, @code{delete-frame}, etc.
|
|
1386 Others will disappear once they are not longer used, through the garbage
|
|
1387 collection mechanism. Buffers, frames, windows, devices, and processes
|
|
1388 are among the objects that are permanent. Note that some objects can go
|
|
1389 both ways: Faces can be created either way; extents are normally
|
|
1390 permanent, but detached extents (extents not referring to any text, as
|
|
1391 happens to some extents when the text they are referring to is deleted)
|
|
1392 are temporary. Note that some permanent objects, such as faces and
|
|
1393 coding systems, cannot be deleted. Note also that windows are unique in
|
|
1394 that they can be @emph{undeleted} after having previously been
|
|
1395 deleted. (This happens as a result of restoring a window configuration.)
|
|
1396
|
|
1397 @cindex read syntax
|
|
1398 Note that many types of objects have a @dfn{read syntax}, i.e. a way of
|
|
1399 specifying an object of that type in Lisp code. When you load a Lisp
|
|
1400 file, or type in code to be evaluated, what really happens is that the
|
|
1401 function @code{read} is called, which reads some text and creates an object
|
|
1402 based on the syntax of that text; then @code{eval} is called, which
|
|
1403 possibly does something special; then this loop repeats until there's
|
|
1404 no more text to read. (@code{eval} only actually does something special
|
|
1405 with symbols, which causes the symbol's value to be returned,
|
|
1406 similar to referencing a variable; and with conses [i.e. lists],
|
|
1407 which cause a function invocation. All other values are returned
|
|
1408 unchanged.)
|
|
1409
|
|
1410 The read syntax
|
|
1411
|
|
1412 @example
|
|
1413 17297
|
|
1414 @end example
|
|
1415
|
|
1416 converts to an integer whose value is 17297.
|
|
1417
|
|
1418 @example
|
|
1419 1.983e-4
|
|
1420 @end example
|
|
1421
|
371
|
1422 converts to a float whose value is 1983.23e-4, or .0001983.
|
0
|
1423
|
|
1424 @example
|
|
1425 ?b
|
|
1426 @end example
|
|
1427
|
|
1428 converts to a char that represents the lowercase letter b.
|
|
1429
|
|
1430 @example
|
|
1431 ?^[$(B#&^[(B
|
|
1432 @end example
|
|
1433
|
|
1434 (where @samp{^[} actually is an @samp{ESC} character) converts to a
|
116
|
1435 particular Kanji character when using an ISO2022-based coding system for
|
|
1436 input. (To decode this gook: @samp{ESC} begins an escape sequence;
|
|
1437 @samp{ESC $ (} is a class of escape sequences meaning ``switch to a
|
|
1438 94x94 character set''; @samp{ESC $ ( B} means ``switch to Japanese
|
|
1439 Kanji''; @samp{#} and @samp{&} collectively index into a 94-by-94 array
|
|
1440 of characters [subtract 33 from the ASCII value of each character to get
|
|
1441 the corresponding index]; @samp{ESC (} is a class of escape sequences
|
|
1442 meaning ``switch to a 94 character set''; @samp{ESC (B} means ``switch
|
|
1443 to US ASCII''. It is a coincidence that the letter @samp{B} is used to
|
|
1444 denote both Japanese Kanji and US ASCII. If the first @samp{B} were
|
|
1445 replaced with an @samp{A}, you'd be requesting a Chinese Hanzi character
|
|
1446 from the GB2312 character set.)
|
0
|
1447
|
|
1448 @example
|
|
1449 "foobar"
|
|
1450 @end example
|
|
1451
|
|
1452 converts to a string.
|
|
1453
|
|
1454 @example
|
|
1455 foobar
|
|
1456 @end example
|
|
1457
|
|
1458 converts to a symbol whose name is @code{"foobar"}. This is done by
|
|
1459 looking up the string equivalent in the global variable
|
|
1460 @code{obarray}, whose contents should be an obarray. If no symbol
|
|
1461 is found, a new symbol with the name @code{"foobar"} is automatically
|
272
|
1462 created and added to @code{obarray}; this process is called
|
|
1463 @dfn{interning} the symbol.
|
0
|
1464 @cindex interning
|
|
1465
|
|
1466 @example
|
|
1467 (foo . bar)
|
|
1468 @end example
|
|
1469
|
|
1470 converts to a cons cell containing the symbols @code{foo} and @code{bar}.
|
|
1471
|
|
1472 @example
|
|
1473 (1 a 2.5)
|
|
1474 @end example
|
|
1475
|
|
1476 converts to a three-element list containing the specified objects
|
|
1477 (note that a list is actually a set of nested conses; see the
|
|
1478 XEmacs Lisp Reference).
|
|
1479
|
|
1480 @example
|
|
1481 [1 a 2.5]
|
|
1482 @end example
|
|
1483
|
|
1484 converts to a three-element vector containing the specified objects.
|
|
1485
|
|
1486 @example
|
|
1487 #[... ... ... ...]
|
|
1488 @end example
|
|
1489
|
|
1490 converts to a compiled-function object (the actual contents are not
|
|
1491 shown since they are not relevant here; look at a file that ends with
|
|
1492 @file{.elc} for examples).
|
|
1493
|
|
1494 @example
|
|
1495 #*01110110
|
|
1496 @end example
|
|
1497
|
|
1498 converts to a bit-vector.
|
|
1499
|
|
1500 @example
|
|
1501 #s(range-table ... ...)
|
|
1502 @end example
|
|
1503
|
|
1504 converts to a range table (the actual contents are not shown).
|
|
1505
|
|
1506 @example
|
|
1507 #s(char-table ... ...)
|
|
1508 @end example
|
|
1509
|
|
1510 converts to a char table (the actual contents are not shown).
|
|
1511 (Note that the #s syntax is the general syntax for structures,
|
|
1512 which are not really implemented in XEmacs Lisp but should be.)
|
|
1513
|
|
1514 When an object is printed out (using @code{print} or a related
|
|
1515 function), the read syntax is used, so that the same object can be read
|
|
1516 in again.
|
|
1517
|
|
1518 The other objects do not have read syntaxes, usually because it does
|
|
1519 not really make sense to create them in this fashion (i.e. processes,
|
|
1520 where it doesn't make sense to have a subprocess created as a side
|
|
1521 effect of reading some Lisp code), or because they can't be created at
|
|
1522 all (e.g. subrs). Permanent objects, as a rule, do not have a read
|
|
1523 syntax; nor do most complex objects, which contain too much state to be
|
|
1524 easily initialized through a read syntax.
|
|
1525
|
|
1526 @node How Lisp Objects Are Represented in C, Rules When Writing New C Code, The XEmacs Object System (Abstractly Speaking), Top
|
|
1527 @chapter How Lisp Objects Are Represented in C
|
|
1528
|
|
1529 Lisp objects are represented in C using a 32- or 64-bit machine word
|
|
1530 (depending on the processor; i.e. DEC Alphas use 64-bit Lisp objects and
|
|
1531 most other processors use 32-bit Lisp objects). The representation
|
|
1532 stuffs a pointer together with a tag, as follows:
|
|
1533
|
|
1534 @example
|
|
1535 [ 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ]
|
|
1536 [ 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 ]
|
|
1537
|
|
1538 ^ <---> <------------------------------------------------------>
|
|
1539 | tag a pointer to a structure, or an integer
|
|
1540 |
|
|
1541 `---> mark bit
|
|
1542 @end example
|
|
1543
|
|
1544 The tag describes the type of the Lisp object. For integers and
|
|
1545 chars, the lower 28 bits contain the value of the integer or char; for
|
|
1546 all others, the lower 28 bits contain a pointer. The mark bit is used
|
|
1547 during garbage-collection, and is always 0 when garbage collection is
|
|
1548 not happening. Many macros that extract out parts of a Lisp object
|
|
1549 expect that the mark bit is 0, and will produce incorrect results if
|
|
1550 it's not. (The way that garbage collection works, basically, is that it
|
|
1551 loops over all places where Lisp objects could exist -- this includes
|
|
1552 all global variables in C that contain Lisp objects [including
|
|
1553 @code{Vobarray}, the C equivalent of @code{obarray}; through this, all
|
|
1554 Lisp variables will get marked], plus various other places -- and
|
|
1555 recursively scans through the Lisp objects, marking each object it finds
|
|
1556 by setting the mark bit. Then it goes through the lists of all objects
|
|
1557 allocated, freeing the ones that are not marked and turning off the
|
|
1558 mark bit of the ones that are marked.)
|
|
1559
|
|
1560 Lisp objects use the typedef @code{Lisp_Object}, but the actual C type
|
|
1561 used for the Lisp object can vary. It can be either a simple type
|
|
1562 (@code{long} on the DEC Alpha, @code{int} on other machines) or a
|
272
|
1563 structure whose fields are bit fields that line up properly (actually, a
|
|
1564 union of structures that's used). Generally the simple integral type is
|
|
1565 preferable because it ensures that the compiler will actually use a
|
|
1566 machine word to represent the object (some compilers will use more
|
0
|
1567 general and less efficient code for unions and structs even if they can
|
|
1568 fit in a machine word). The union type, however, has the advantage of
|
|
1569 stricter type checking (if you accidentally pass an integer where a Lisp
|
|
1570 object is desired, you get a compile error), and it makes it easier to
|
|
1571 decode Lisp objects when debugging. The choice of which type to use is
|
|
1572 determined by the presence or absence of the preprocessor constant
|
272
|
1573 @code{USE_UNION_TYPE}.
|
0
|
1574
|
|
1575 @cindex record type
|
|
1576 Note that there are only eight types that the tag can represent,
|
|
1577 but many more actual types than this. This is handled by having
|
116
|
1578 one of the tag types specify a meta-type called a @dfn{record};
|
0
|
1579 for all such objects, the first four bytes of the pointed-to
|
|
1580 structure indicate what the actual type is.
|
|
1581
|
|
1582 Note also that having 28 bits for pointers and integers restricts a
|
|
1583 lot of things to 256 megabytes of memory. (Basically, enough pointers
|
|
1584 and indices and whatnot get stuffed into Lisp objects that the total
|
|
1585 amount of memory used by XEmacs can't grow above 256 megabytes. In
|
|
1586 older versions of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, the tag was 5 bits wide,
|
|
1587 allowing for 32 types, which was more than the actual number of types
|
|
1588 that existed at the time, and no ``record'' type was necessary.
|
|
1589 However, this limited the editor to 64 megabytes total, which some users
|
|
1590 who edited large files might conceivably exceed.)
|
|
1591
|
|
1592 Also, note that there is an implicit assumption here that all pointers
|
|
1593 are low enough that the top bits are all zero and can just be chopped
|
|
1594 off. On standard machines that allocate memory from the bottom up (and
|
|
1595 give each process its own address space), this works fine. Some
|
|
1596 machines, however, put the data space somewhere else in memory
|
|
1597 (e.g. beginning at 0x80000000). Those machines cope by defining
|
|
1598 @code{DATA_SEG_BITS} in the corresponding @file{m/} or @file{s/} file to
|
|
1599 the proper mask. Then, pointers retrieved from Lisp objects are
|
|
1600 automatically OR'ed with this value prior to being used.
|
|
1601
|
116
|
1602 A corollary of the previous paragraph is that @strong{(pointers to)
|
|
1603 stack-allocated structures cannot be put into Lisp objects}. The stack
|
|
1604 is generally located near the top of memory; if you put such a pointer
|
|
1605 into a Lisp object, it will get its top bits chopped off, and you will
|
|
1606 lose.
|
0
|
1607
|
|
1608 Various macros are used to construct Lisp objects and extract the
|
|
1609 components. Macros of the form @code{XINT()}, @code{XCHAR()},
|
|
1610 @code{XSTRING()}, @code{XSYMBOL()}, etc. mask out the pointer/integer
|
|
1611 field and cast it to the appropriate type. All of the macros that
|
|
1612 construct pointers will @code{OR} with @code{DATA_SEG_BITS} if
|
|
1613 necessary. @code{XINT()} needs to be a bit tricky so that negative
|
|
1614 numbers are properly sign-extended: Usually it does this by shifting the
|
|
1615 number four bits to the left and then four bits to the right. This
|
|
1616 assumes that the right-shift operator does an arithmetic shift (i.e. it
|
|
1617 leaves the most-significant bit as-is rather than shifting in a zero, so
|
|
1618 that it mimics a divide-by-two even for negative numbers). Not all
|
|
1619 machines/compilers do this, and on the ones that don't, a more
|
|
1620 complicated definition is selected by defining
|
|
1621 @code{EXPLICIT_SIGN_EXTEND}.
|
|
1622
|
|
1623 Note that when @code{ERROR_CHECK_TYPECHECK} is defined, the extractor
|
|
1624 macros become more complicated -- they check the tag bits and/or the
|
|
1625 type field in the first four bytes of a record type to ensure that the
|
|
1626 object is really of the correct type. This is great for catching places
|
|
1627 where an incorrect type is being dereferenced -- this typically results
|
|
1628 in a pointer being dereferenced as the wrong type of structure, with
|
|
1629 unpredictable (and sometimes not easily traceable) results.
|
|
1630
|
116
|
1631 There are similar @code{XSET@var{TYPE}()} macros that construct a Lisp object.
|
|
1632 These macros are of the form @code{XSET@var{TYPE} (@var{lvalue}, @var{result})},
|
0
|
1633 i.e. they have to be a statement rather than just used in an expression.
|
|
1634 The reason for this is that standard C doesn't let you ``construct'' a
|
|
1635 structure (but GCC does). Granted, this sometimes isn't too convenient;
|
|
1636 for the case of integers, at least, you can use the function
|
272
|
1637 @code{make_int()}, which constructs and @emph{returns} an integer
|
116
|
1638 Lisp object. Note that the @code{XSET@var{TYPE}()} macros are also
|
|
1639 affected by @code{ERROR_CHECK_TYPECHECK} and make sure that the
|
|
1640 structure is of the right type in the case of record types, where the
|
|
1641 type is contained in the structure.
|
0
|
1642
|
|
1643 @node Rules When Writing New C Code, A Summary of the Various XEmacs Modules, How Lisp Objects Are Represented in C, Top
|
|
1644 @chapter Rules When Writing New C Code
|
|
1645
|
|
1646 The XEmacs C Code is extremely complex and intricate, and there are
|
|
1647 many rules that are more or less consistently followed throughout the code.
|
|
1648 Many of these rules are not obvious, so they are explained here. It is
|
|
1649 of the utmost importance that you follow them. If you don't, you may get
|
|
1650 something that appears to work, but which will crash in odd situations,
|
|
1651 often in code far away from where the actual breakage is.
|
|
1652
|
|
1653 @menu
|
|
1654 * General Coding Rules::
|
|
1655 * Writing Lisp Primitives::
|
|
1656 * Adding Global Lisp Variables::
|
2
|
1657 * Techniques for XEmacs Developers::
|
0
|
1658 @end menu
|
|
1659
|
|
1660 @node General Coding Rules
|
|
1661 @section General Coding Rules
|
|
1662
|
|
1663 Almost every module contains a @code{syms_of_*()} function and a
|
|
1664 @code{vars_of_*()} function. The former declares any Lisp primitives
|
|
1665 you have defined and defines any symbols you will be using. The latter
|
|
1666 declares any global Lisp variables you have added and initializes global
|
|
1667 C variables in the module. For each such function, declare it in
|
|
1668 @file{symsinit.h} and make sure it's called in the appropriate place in
|
116
|
1669 @file{emacs.c}. @strong{Important}: There are stringent requirements on
|
0
|
1670 exactly what can go into these functions. See the comment in
|
116
|
1671 @file{emacs.c}. The reason for this is to avoid obscure unwanted
|
0
|
1672 interactions during initialization. If you don't follow these rules,
|
|
1673 you'll be sorry! If you want to do anything that isn't allowed, create
|
|
1674 a @code{complex_vars_of_*()} function for it. Doing this is tricky,
|
|
1675 though: You have to make sure your function is called at the right time
|
|
1676 so that all the initialization dependencies work out.
|
|
1677
|
|
1678 Every module includes @file{<config.h>} (angle brackets so that
|
116
|
1679 @samp{--srcdir} works correctly; @file{config.h} may or may not be in
|
|
1680 the same directory as the C sources) and @file{lisp.h}. @file{config.h}
|
0
|
1681 should always be included before any other header files (including
|
|
1682 system header files) to ensure that certain tricks played by various
|
|
1683 @file{s/} and @file{m/} files work out correctly.
|
|
1684
|
|
1685 @strong{All global and static variables that are to be modifiable must
|
|
1686 be declared uninitialized.} This means that you may not use the ``declare
|
|
1687 with initializer'' form for these variables, such as @code{int
|
|
1688 some_variable = 0;}. The reason for this has to do with some kludges
|
|
1689 done during the dumping process: If possible, the initialized data
|
|
1690 segment is re-mapped so that it becomes part of the (unmodifiable) code
|
|
1691 segment in the dumped executable. This allows this memory to be shared
|
|
1692 among multiple running XEmacs processes. XEmacs is careful to place as
|
|
1693 much constant data as possible into initialized variables (in
|
|
1694 particular, into what's called the @dfn{pure space} -- see below) during
|
|
1695 the @file{temacs} phase.
|
|
1696
|
|
1697 @cindex copy-on-write
|
298
|
1698 @strong{Please note:} This kludge only works on a few systems
|
|
1699 nowadays, and is rapidly becoming irrelevant because most modern
|
|
1700 operating systems provide @dfn{copy-on-write} semantics. All data is
|
|
1701 initially shared between processes, and a private copy is automatically
|
|
1702 made (on a page-by-page basis) when a process first attempts to write to
|
|
1703 a page of memory.
|
0
|
1704
|
|
1705 Formerly, there was a requirement that static variables not be
|
|
1706 declared inside of functions. This had to do with another hack along
|
|
1707 the same vein as what was just described: old USG systems put
|
|
1708 statically-declared variables in the initialized data space, so those
|
|
1709 header files had a @code{#define static} declaration. (That way, the
|
|
1710 data-segment remapping described above could still work.) This fails
|
|
1711 badly on static variables inside of functions, which suddenly become
|
|
1712 automatic variables; therefore, you weren't supposed to have any of
|
|
1713 them. This awful kludge has been removed in XEmacs because
|
|
1714
|
|
1715 @enumerate
|
|
1716 @item
|
|
1717 almost all of the systems that used this kludge ended up having
|
|
1718 to disable the data-segment remapping anyway;
|
|
1719 @item
|
|
1720 the only systems that didn't were extremely outdated ones;
|
|
1721 @item
|
|
1722 this hack completely messed up inline functions.
|
|
1723 @end enumerate
|
|
1724
|
|
1725 @node Writing Lisp Primitives
|
|
1726 @section Writing Lisp Primitives
|
|
1727
|
|
1728 Lisp primitives are Lisp functions implemented in C. The details of
|
|
1729 interfacing the C function so that Lisp can call it are handled by a few
|
|
1730 C macros. The only way to really understand how to write new C code is
|
|
1731 to read the source, but we can explain some things here.
|
|
1732
|
|
1733 An example of a special form is the definition of @code{or}, from
|
|
1734 @file{eval.c}. (An ordinary function would have the same general
|
|
1735 appearance.)
|
|
1736
|
|
1737 @cindex garbage collection protection
|
|
1738 @smallexample
|
|
1739 @group
|
44
|
1740 DEFUN ("or", For, 0, UNEVALLED, 0, /*
|
0
|
1741 Eval args until one of them yields non-nil, then return that value.
|
|
1742 The remaining args are not evalled at all.
|
|
1743 If all args return nil, return nil.
|
44
|
1744 */
|
|
1745 (args))
|
0
|
1746 @{
|
|
1747 /* This function can GC */
|
265
|
1748 Lisp_Object val = Qnil;
|
0
|
1749 struct gcpro gcpro1;
|
44
|
1750
|
265
|
1751 GCPRO1 (args);
|
|
1752
|
|
1753 while (!NILP (args))
|
0
|
1754 @{
|
265
|
1755 val = Feval (XCAR (args));
|
0
|
1756 if (!NILP (val))
|
371
|
1757 break;
|
265
|
1758 args = XCDR (args);
|
0
|
1759 @}
|
44
|
1760
|
0
|
1761 UNGCPRO;
|
|
1762 return val;
|
|
1763 @}
|
|
1764 @end group
|
|
1765 @end smallexample
|
|
1766
|
|
1767 Let's start with a precise explanation of the arguments to the
|
|
1768 @code{DEFUN} macro. Here is a template for them:
|
|
1769
|
|
1770 @example
|
116
|
1771 DEFUN (@var{lname}, @var{fname}, @var{min}, @var{max}, @var{interactive}, /*
|
44
|
1772 @var{docstring}
|
|
1773 */
|
|
1774 (@var{arglist}) )
|
0
|
1775 @end example
|
|
1776
|
|
1777 @table @var
|
|
1778 @item lname
|
116
|
1779 This string is the name of the Lisp symbol to define as the function
|
|
1780 name; in the example above, it is @code{"or"}.
|
0
|
1781
|
|
1782 @item fname
|
44
|
1783 This is the C function name for this function. This is the name that is
|
|
1784 used in C code for calling the function. The name is, by convention,
|
|
1785 @samp{F} prepended to the Lisp name, with all dashes (@samp{-}) in the
|
|
1786 Lisp name changed to underscores. Thus, to call this function from C
|
|
1787 code, call @code{For}. Remember that the arguments are of type
|
|
1788 @code{Lisp_Object}; various macros and functions for creating values of
|
|
1789 type @code{Lisp_Object} are declared in the file @file{lisp.h}.
|
0
|
1790
|
|
1791 Primitives whose names are special characters (e.g. @code{+} or
|
|
1792 @code{<}) are named by spelling out, in some fashion, the special
|
|
1793 character: e.g. @code{Fplus()} or @code{Flss()}. Primitives whose names
|
|
1794 begin with normal alphanumeric characters but also contain special
|
|
1795 characters are spelled out in some creative way, e.g. @code{let*}
|
|
1796 becomes @code{FletX()}.
|
|
1797
|
44
|
1798 Each function also has an associated structure that holds the data for
|
0
|
1799 the subr object that represents the function in Lisp. This structure
|
|
1800 conveys the Lisp symbol name to the initialization routine that will
|
44
|
1801 create the symbol and store the subr object as its definition. The C
|
|
1802 variable name of this structure is always @samp{S} prepended to the
|
|
1803 @var{fname}. You hardly ever need to be aware of the existence of this
|
|
1804 structure.
|
0
|
1805
|
|
1806 @item min
|
|
1807 This is the minimum number of arguments that the function requires. The
|
|
1808 function @code{or} allows a minimum of zero arguments.
|
|
1809
|
|
1810 @item max
|
|
1811 This is the maximum number of arguments that the function accepts, if
|
|
1812 there is a fixed maximum. Alternatively, it can be @code{UNEVALLED},
|
|
1813 indicating a special form that receives unevaluated arguments, or
|
|
1814 @code{MANY}, indicating an unlimited number of evaluated arguments (the
|
|
1815 equivalent of @code{&rest}). Both @code{UNEVALLED} and @code{MANY} are
|
|
1816 macros. If @var{max} is a number, it may not be less than @var{min} and
|
44
|
1817 it may not be greater than 8. (If you need to add a function with
|
|
1818 more than 8 arguments, either use the @code{MANY} form or edit the
|
0
|
1819 definition of @code{DEFUN} in @file{lisp.h}. If you do the latter,
|
|
1820 make sure to also add another clause to the switch statement in
|
|
1821 @code{primitive_funcall().})
|
|
1822
|
|
1823 @item interactive
|
|
1824 This is an interactive specification, a string such as might be used as
|
|
1825 the argument of @code{interactive} in a Lisp function. In the case of
|
|
1826 @code{or}, it is 0 (a null pointer), indicating that @code{or} cannot be
|
|
1827 called interactively. A value of @code{""} indicates a function that
|
|
1828 should receive no arguments when called interactively.
|
|
1829
|
44
|
1830 @item docstring
|
0
|
1831 This is the documentation string. It is written just like a
|
44
|
1832 documentation string for a function defined in Lisp; in particular, the
|
|
1833 first line should be a single sentence. Note how the documentation
|
|
1834 string is enclosed in a comment, none of the documentation is placed on
|
|
1835 the same lines as the comment-start and comment-end characters, and the
|
|
1836 comment-start characters are on the same line as the interactive
|
0
|
1837 specification. @file{make-docfile}, which scans the C files for
|
44
|
1838 documentation strings, is very particular about what it looks for, and
|
116
|
1839 will not properly extract the doc string if it's not in this exact format.
|
44
|
1840
|
|
1841 You are free to put the various arguments to @code{DEFUN} on separate
|
0
|
1842 lines to avoid overly long lines. However, make sure to put the
|
|
1843 comment-start characters for the doc string on the same line as the
|
44
|
1844 interactive specification, and put a newline directly after them (and
|
|
1845 before the comment-end characters).
|
|
1846
|
|
1847 @item arglist
|
|
1848 This is the comma-separated list of arguments to the C function. For a
|
|
1849 function with a fixed maximum number of arguments, provide a C argument
|
|
1850 for each Lisp argument. In this case, unlike regular C functions, the
|
|
1851 types of the arguments are not declared; they are simply always of type
|
|
1852 @code{Lisp_Object}.
|
|
1853
|
|
1854 The names of the C arguments will be used as the names of the arguments
|
|
1855 to the Lisp primitive as displayed in its documentation, modulo the same
|
|
1856 concerns described above for @code{F...} names (in particular,
|
0
|
1857 underscores in the C arguments become dashes in the Lisp arguments).
|
173
|
1858
|
|
1859 There is one additional kludge: A trailing `_' on the C argument is
|
|
1860 discarded when forming the Lisp argument. This allows C language
|
|
1861 reserved words (like @code{default}) or global symbols (like
|
|
1862 @code{dirname}) to be used as argument names without compiler warnings
|
|
1863 or errors.
|
0
|
1864
|
44
|
1865 A Lisp function with @w{@var{max} = @code{UNEVALLED}} is a
|
|
1866 @w{@dfn{special form}}; its arguments are not evaluated. Instead it
|
|
1867 receives one argument of type @code{Lisp_Object}, a (Lisp) list of the
|
|
1868 unevaluated arguments, conventionally named @code{(args)}.
|
|
1869
|
|
1870 When a Lisp function has no upper limit on the number of arguments,
|
|
1871 specify @w{@var{max} = @code{MANY}}. In this case its implementation in
|
|
1872 C actually receives exactly two arguments: the number of Lisp arguments
|
|
1873 (an @code{int}) and the address of a block containing their values (a
|
|
1874 @w{@code{Lisp_Object *}}). In this case only are the C types specified
|
|
1875 in the @var{arglist}: @w{@code{(int nargs, Lisp_Object *args)}}.
|
|
1876
|
|
1877 @end table
|
0
|
1878
|
|
1879 Within the function @code{For} itself, note the use of the macros
|
|
1880 @code{GCPRO1} and @code{UNGCPRO}. @code{GCPRO1} is used to ``protect''
|
|
1881 a variable from garbage collection---to inform the garbage collector
|
|
1882 that it must look in that variable and regard its contents as an
|
|
1883 accessible object. This is necessary whenever you call @code{Feval} or
|
|
1884 anything that can directly or indirectly call @code{Feval} (this
|
|
1885 includes the @code{QUIT} macro!). At such a time, any Lisp object that
|
|
1886 you intend to refer to again must be protected somehow. @code{UNGCPRO}
|
|
1887 cancels the protection of the variables that are protected in the
|
|
1888 current function. It is necessary to do this explicitly.
|
|
1889
|
|
1890 The macro @code{GCPRO1} protects just one local variable. If you want
|
|
1891 to protect two, use @code{GCPRO2} instead; repeating @code{GCPRO1} will
|
|
1892 not work. Macros @code{GCPRO3} and @code{GCPRO4} also exist.
|
|
1893
|
|
1894 These macros implicitly use local variables such as @code{gcpro1}; you
|
|
1895 must declare these explicitly, with type @code{struct gcpro}. Thus, if
|
|
1896 you use @code{GCPRO2}, you must declare @code{gcpro1} and @code{gcpro2}.
|
|
1897
|
|
1898 @cindex caller-protects (@code{GCPRO} rule)
|
|
1899 Note also that the general rule is @dfn{caller-protects}; i.e. you
|
|
1900 are only responsible for protecting those Lisp objects that you create.
|
|
1901 Any objects passed to you as parameters should have been protected
|
|
1902 by whoever created them, so you don't in general have to protect them.
|
|
1903 @code{For} is an exception; it protects its parameters to provide
|
|
1904 extra assurance against Lisp primitives elsewhere that are incorrectly
|
|
1905 written, and against malicious self-modifying code. There are a few
|
|
1906 other standard functions that also do this.
|
|
1907
|
|
1908 @code{GCPRO}ing is perhaps the trickiest and most error-prone part
|
|
1909 of XEmacs coding. It is @strong{extremely} important that you get this
|
|
1910 right and use a great deal of discipline when writing this code.
|
|
1911 @xref{GCPROing, ,@code{GCPRO}ing}, for full details on how to do this.
|
|
1912
|
|
1913 What @code{DEFUN} actually does is declare a global structure of
|
116
|
1914 type @code{Lisp_Subr} whose name begins with capital @samp{SF} and
|
0
|
1915 which contains information about the primitive (e.g. a pointer to the
|
|
1916 function, its minimum and maximum allowed arguments, a string describing
|
|
1917 its Lisp name); @code{DEFUN} then begins a normal C function
|
|
1918 declaration using the @code{F...} name. The Lisp subr object that is
|
|
1919 the function definition of a primitive (i.e. the object in the function
|
|
1920 slot of the symbol that names the primitive) actually points to this
|
116
|
1921 @samp{SF} structure; when @code{Feval} encounters a subr, it looks in the
|
0
|
1922 structure to find out how to call the C function.
|
|
1923
|
|
1924 Defining the C function is not enough to make a Lisp primitive
|
|
1925 available; you must also create the Lisp symbol for the primitive (the
|
|
1926 symbol is @dfn{interned}; @pxref{Obarrays}) and store a suitable subr
|
|
1927 object in its function cell. (If you don't do this, the primitive won't
|
|
1928 be seen by Lisp code.) The code looks like this:
|
|
1929
|
|
1930 @example
|
116
|
1931 DEFSUBR (@var{fname});
|
0
|
1932 @end example
|
|
1933
|
116
|
1934 @noindent
|
|
1935 Here @var{fname} is the name you used as the second argument to
|
|
1936 @code{DEFUN}.
|
|
1937
|
|
1938 This call to @code{DEFSUBR} should go in the @code{syms_of_*()}
|
0
|
1939 function at the end of the module. If no such function exists, create
|
|
1940 it and make sure to also declare it in @file{symsinit.h} and call it
|
|
1941 from the appropriate spot in @code{main()}. @xref{General Coding
|
|
1942 Rules}.
|
|
1943
|
|
1944 Note that C code cannot call functions by name unless they are defined
|
116
|
1945 in C. The way to call a function written in Lisp from C is to use
|
0
|
1946 @code{Ffuncall}, which embodies the Lisp function @code{funcall}. Since
|
|
1947 the Lisp function @code{funcall} accepts an unlimited number of
|
|
1948 arguments, in C it takes two: the number of Lisp-level arguments, and a
|
|
1949 one-dimensional array containing their values. The first Lisp-level
|
|
1950 argument is the Lisp function to call, and the rest are the arguments to
|
|
1951 pass to it. Since @code{Ffuncall} can call the evaluator, you must
|
|
1952 protect pointers from garbage collection around the call to
|
|
1953 @code{Ffuncall}. (However, @code{Ffuncall} explicitly protects all of
|
|
1954 its parameters, so you don't have to protect any pointers passed
|
|
1955 as parameters to it.)
|
|
1956
|
|
1957 The C functions @code{call0}, @code{call1}, @code{call2}, and so on,
|
|
1958 provide handy ways to call a Lisp function conveniently with a fixed
|
|
1959 number of arguments. They work by calling @code{Ffuncall}.
|
|
1960
|
|
1961 @file{eval.c} is a very good file to look through for examples;
|
|
1962 @file{lisp.h} contains the definitions for some important macros and
|
|
1963 functions.
|
|
1964
|
|
1965 @node Adding Global Lisp Variables
|
|
1966 @section Adding Global Lisp Variables
|
|
1967
|
|
1968 Global variables whose names begin with @samp{Q} are constants whose
|
|
1969 value is a symbol of a particular name. The name of the variable should
|
|
1970 be derived from the name of the symbol using the same rules as for Lisp
|
|
1971 primitives. These variables are initialized using a call to
|
|
1972 @code{defsymbol()} in the @code{syms_of_*()} function. (This call
|
|
1973 interns a symbol, sets the C variable to the resulting Lisp object, and
|
|
1974 calls @code{staticpro()} on the C variable to tell the
|
|
1975 garbage-collection mechanism about this variable. What
|
|
1976 @code{staticpro()} does is add a pointer to the variable to a large
|
|
1977 global array; when garbage-collection happens, all pointers listed in
|
|
1978 the array are used as starting points for marking Lisp objects. This is
|
|
1979 important because it's quite possible that the only current reference to
|
|
1980 the object is the C variable. In the case of symbols, the
|
|
1981 @code{staticpro()} doesn't matter all that much because the symbol is
|
|
1982 contained in @code{obarray}, which is itself @code{staticpro()}ed.
|
|
1983 However, it's possible that a naughty user could do something like
|
|
1984 uninterning the symbol out of @code{obarray} or even setting
|
|
1985 @code{obarray} to a different value [although this is likely to make
|
|
1986 XEmacs crash!].)
|
|
1987
|
298
|
1988 @strong{Please note:} It is potentially deadly if you declare a
|
|
1989 @samp{Q...} variable in two different modules. The two calls to
|
|
1990 @code{defsymbol()} are no problem, but some linkers will complain about
|
|
1991 multiply-defined symbols. The most insidious aspect of this is that
|
|
1992 often the link will succeed anyway, but then the resulting executable
|
|
1993 will sometimes crash in obscure ways during certain operations! To
|
|
1994 avoid this problem, declare any symbols with common names (such as
|
|
1995 @code{text}) that are not obviously associated with this particular
|
|
1996 module in the module @file{general.c}.
|
0
|
1997
|
|
1998 Global variables whose names begin with @samp{V} are variables that
|
|
1999 contain Lisp objects. The convention here is that all global variables
|
|
2000 of type @code{Lisp_Object} begin with @samp{V}, and all others don't
|
|
2001 (including integer and boolean variables that have Lisp
|
|
2002 equivalents). Most of the time, these variables have equivalents in
|
|
2003 Lisp, but some don't. Those that do are declared this way by a call to
|
|
2004 @code{DEFVAR_LISP()} in the @code{vars_of_*()} initializer for the
|
|
2005 module. What this does is create a special @dfn{symbol-value-forward}
|
|
2006 Lisp object that contains a pointer to the C variable, intern a symbol
|
|
2007 whose name is as specified in the call to @code{DEFVAR_LISP()}, and set
|
|
2008 its value to the symbol-value-forward Lisp object; it also calls
|
|
2009 @code{staticpro()} on the C variable to tell the garbage-collection
|
|
2010 mechanism about the variable. When @code{eval} (or actually
|
|
2011 @code{symbol-value}) encounters this special object in the process of
|
|
2012 retrieving a variable's value, it follows the indirection to the C
|
|
2013 variable and gets its value. @code{setq} does similar things so that
|
|
2014 the C variable gets changed.
|
|
2015
|
|
2016 Whether or not you @code{DEFVAR_LISP()} a variable, you need to
|
|
2017 initialize it in the @code{vars_of_*()} function; otherwise it will end
|
|
2018 up as all zeroes, which is the integer 0 (@emph{not} @code{nil}), and
|
|
2019 this is probably not what you want. Also, if the variable is not
|
|
2020 @code{DEFVAR_LISP()}ed, @strong{you must call} @code{staticpro()} on the
|
|
2021 C variable in the @code{vars_of_*()} function. Otherwise, the
|
|
2022 garbage-collection mechanism won't know that the object in this variable
|
|
2023 is in use, and will happily collect it and reuse its storage for another
|
|
2024 Lisp object, and you will be the one who's unhappy when you can't figure
|
|
2025 out how your variable got overwritten.
|
|
2026
|
2
|
2027 @node Techniques for XEmacs Developers
|
|
2028 @section Techniques for XEmacs Developers
|
|
2029
|
|
2030 To make a quantified XEmacs, do: @code{make quantmacs}.
|
|
2031
|
|
2032 You simply can't dump Quantified and Purified images. Run the image
|
|
2033 like so: @code{quantmacs -batch -l loadup.el run-temacs -q}.
|
|
2034
|
|
2035 Before you go through the trouble, are you compiling with all
|
|
2036 debugging and error-checking off? If not try that first. Be warned
|
|
2037 that while Quantify is directly responsible for quite a few
|
|
2038 optimizations which have been made to XEmacs, doing a run which
|
|
2039 generates results which can be acted upon is not necessarily a trivial
|
|
2040 task.
|
|
2041
|
|
2042 Also, if you're still willing to do some runs make sure you configure
|
|
2043 with the @samp{--quantify} flag. That will keep Quantify from starting
|
|
2044 to record data until after the loadup is completed and will shut off
|
|
2045 recording right before it shuts down (which generates enough bogus data
|
|
2046 to throw most results off). It also enables three additional elisp
|
|
2047 commands: @code{quantify-start-recording-data},
|
|
2048 @code{quantify-stop-recording-data} and @code{quantify-clear-data}.
|
|
2049
|
|
2050 To get started debugging XEmacs, take a look at the @file{gdbinit} and
|
282
|
2051 @file{dbxrc} files in the @file{src} directory.
|
298
|
2052 @xref{Q2.1.15 - How to Debug an XEmacs problem with a debugger,,,
|
282
|
2053 xemacs-faq, XEmacs FAQ}.
|
|
2054
|
|
2055
|
|
2056 Here are things to know when you create a new source file:
|
|
2057
|
|
2058 @itemize @bullet
|
|
2059 @item
|
|
2060 All .c files should @code{#include <config.h>} first. Almost all .c
|
|
2061 files should @code{#include "lisp.h"} second.
|
|
2062
|
|
2063 @item
|
|
2064 Generated header files should be included using the @code{<>} syntax,
|
|
2065 not the @code{""} syntax. The generated headers are:
|
|
2066
|
|
2067 config.h puresize-adjust.h sheap-adjust.h paths.h Emacs.ad.h
|
|
2068
|
|
2069 The basic rule is that you should assume builds using @code{--srcdir}
|
|
2070 and the @code{<>} syntax needs to be used when the to-be-included
|
|
2071 generated file is in a potentially different directory
|
|
2072 @emph{at compile time}.
|
|
2073
|
|
2074 @item
|
|
2075 Header files should not include <config.h> and "lisp.h". It is the
|
|
2076 responsibility of the .c files that use it to do so.
|
|
2077
|
|
2078 @item
|
|
2079 If the header uses INLINE, either directly or though DECLARE_LRECORD,
|
|
2080 then it must be added to inline.c's includes.
|
|
2081
|
|
2082 @item
|
|
2083 Try compiling at least once with
|
|
2084
|
|
2085 @example
|
|
2086 gcc --with-mule --with-union-type --error-checking=all
|
|
2087 @end example
|
|
2088 @end itemize
|
2
|
2089
|
0
|
2090 @node A Summary of the Various XEmacs Modules, Allocation of Objects in XEmacs Lisp, Rules When Writing New C Code, Top
|
|
2091 @chapter A Summary of the Various XEmacs Modules
|
|
2092
|
|
2093 This is accurate as of XEmacs 20.0.
|
|
2094
|
|
2095 @menu
|
|
2096 * Low-Level Modules::
|
|
2097 * Basic Lisp Modules::
|
|
2098 * Modules for Standard Editing Operations::
|
|
2099 * Editor-Level Control Flow Modules::
|
|
2100 * Modules for the Basic Displayable Lisp Objects::
|
|
2101 * Modules for other Display-Related Lisp Objects::
|
|
2102 * Modules for the Redisplay Mechanism::
|
|
2103 * Modules for Interfacing with the File System::
|
|
2104 * Modules for Other Aspects of the Lisp Interpreter and Object System::
|
|
2105 * Modules for Interfacing with the Operating System::
|
|
2106 * Modules for Interfacing with X Windows::
|
|
2107 * Modules for Internationalization::
|
|
2108 @end menu
|
|
2109
|
|
2110 @node Low-Level Modules
|
|
2111 @section Low-Level Modules
|
|
2112
|
|
2113 @example
|
|
2114 size name
|
|
2115 ------- ---------------------
|
|
2116 18150 config.h
|
|
2117 @end example
|
|
2118
|
|
2119 This is automatically generated from @file{config.h.in} based on the
|
|
2120 results of configure tests and user-selected optional features and
|
|
2121 contains preprocessor definitions specifying the nature of the
|
|
2122 environment in which XEmacs is being compiled.
|
|
2123
|
|
2124
|
|
2125
|
|
2126 @example
|
|
2127 2347 paths.h
|
|
2128 @end example
|
|
2129
|
|
2130 This is automatically generated from @file{paths.h.in} based on supplied
|
|
2131 configure values, and allows for non-standard installed configurations
|
|
2132 of the XEmacs directories. It's currently broken, though.
|
|
2133
|
|
2134
|
|
2135
|
|
2136 @example
|
|
2137 47878 emacs.c
|
|
2138 20239 signal.c
|
|
2139 @end example
|
|
2140
|
|
2141 @file{emacs.c} contains @code{main()} and other code that performs the most
|
|
2142 basic environment initializations and handles shutting down the XEmacs
|
|
2143 process (this includes @code{kill-emacs}, the normal way that XEmacs is
|
|
2144 exited; @code{dump-emacs}, which is used during the build process to
|
|
2145 write out the XEmacs executable; @code{run-emacs-from-temacs}, which can
|
|
2146 be used to start XEmacs directly when temacs has finished loading all
|
|
2147 the Lisp code; and emergency code to handle crashes [XEmacs tries to
|
|
2148 auto-save all files before it crashes]).
|
|
2149
|
|
2150 Low-level code that directly interacts with the Unix signal mechanism,
|
|
2151 however, is in @file{signal.c}. Note that this code does not handle system
|
|
2152 dependencies in interfacing to signals; that is handled using the
|
|
2153 @file{syssignal.h} header file, described in section J below.
|
|
2154
|
|
2155
|
|
2156
|
|
2157 @example
|
|
2158 23458 unexaix.c
|
|
2159 9893 unexalpha.c
|
|
2160 11302 unexapollo.c
|
|
2161 16544 unexconvex.c
|
|
2162 31967 unexec.c
|
|
2163 30959 unexelf.c
|
|
2164 35791 unexelfsgi.c
|
|
2165 3207 unexencap.c
|
|
2166 7276 unexenix.c
|
|
2167 20539 unexfreebsd.c
|
|
2168 1153 unexfx2800.c
|
|
2169 13432 unexhp9k3.c
|
|
2170 11049 unexhp9k800.c
|
|
2171 9165 unexmips.c
|
|
2172 8981 unexnext.c
|
|
2173 1673 unexsol2.c
|
|
2174 19261 unexsunos4.c
|
|
2175 @end example
|
|
2176
|
|
2177 These modules contain code dumping out the XEmacs executable on various
|
|
2178 different systems. (This process is highly machine-specific and
|
|
2179 requires intimate knowledge of the executable format and the memory map
|
|
2180 of the process.) Only one of these modules is actually used; this is
|
|
2181 chosen by @file{configure}.
|
|
2182
|
|
2183
|
|
2184
|
|
2185 @example
|
|
2186 15715 crt0.c
|
|
2187 1484 lastfile.c
|
|
2188 1115 pre-crt0.c
|
|
2189 @end example
|
|
2190
|
|
2191 These modules are used in conjunction with the dump mechanism. On some
|
|
2192 systems, an alternative version of the C startup code (the actual code
|
|
2193 that receives control from the operating system when the process is
|
|
2194 started, and which calls @code{main()}) is required so that the dumping
|
|
2195 process works properly; @file{crt0.c} provides this.
|
|
2196
|
|
2197 @file{pre-crt0.c} and @file{lastfile.c} should be the very first and
|
|
2198 very last file linked, respectively. (Actually, this is not really true.
|
|
2199 @file{lastfile.c} should be after all Emacs modules whose initialized
|
|
2200 data should be made constant, and before all other Emacs files and all
|
|
2201 libraries. In particular, the allocation modules @file{gmalloc.c},
|
|
2202 @file{alloca.c}, etc. are normally placed past @file{lastfile.c}, and
|
|
2203 all of the files that implement Xt widget classes @emph{must} be placed
|
|
2204 after @file{lastfile.c} because they contain various structures that
|
|
2205 must be statically initialized and into which Xt writes at various
|
|
2206 times.) @file{pre-crt0.c} and @file{lastfile.c} contain exported symbols
|
116
|
2207 that are used to determine the start and end of XEmacs' initialized
|
0
|
2208 data space when dumping.
|
|
2209
|
|
2210
|
|
2211
|
|
2212 @example
|
|
2213 14786 alloca.c
|
|
2214 16678 free-hook.c
|
|
2215 1692 getpagesize.h
|
|
2216 41936 gmalloc.c
|
|
2217 25141 malloc.c
|
|
2218 3802 mem-limits.h
|
|
2219 39011 ralloc.c
|
|
2220 3436 vm-limit.c
|
|
2221 @end example
|
|
2222
|
|
2223 These handle basic C allocation of memory. @file{alloca.c} is an emulation of
|
|
2224 the stack allocation function @code{alloca()} on machines that lack
|
|
2225 this. (XEmacs makes extensive use of @code{alloca()} in its code.)
|
|
2226
|
|
2227 @file{gmalloc.c} and @file{malloc.c} are two implementations of the standard C
|
|
2228 functions @code{malloc()}, @code{realloc()} and @code{free()}. They are
|
|
2229 often used in place of the standard system-provided @code{malloc()}
|
|
2230 because they usually provide a much faster implementation, at the
|
|
2231 expense of additional memory use. @file{gmalloc.c} is a newer implementation
|
|
2232 that is much more memory-efficient for large allocations than @file{malloc.c},
|
|
2233 and should always be preferred if it works. (At one point, @file{gmalloc.c}
|
|
2234 didn't work on some systems where @file{malloc.c} worked; but this should be
|
|
2235 fixed now.)
|
|
2236
|
|
2237 @cindex relocating allocator
|
|
2238 @file{ralloc.c} is the @dfn{relocating allocator}. It provides functions
|
|
2239 similar to @code{malloc()}, @code{realloc()} and @code{free()} that allocate
|
|
2240 memory that can be dynamically relocated in memory. The advantage of
|
|
2241 this is that allocated memory can be shuffled around to place all the
|
|
2242 free memory at the end of the heap, and the heap can then be shrunk,
|
|
2243 releasing the memory back to the operating system. The use of this can
|
|
2244 be controlled with the configure option @code{--rel-alloc}; if enabled, memory allocated for
|
|
2245 buffers will be relocatable, so that if a very large file is visited and
|
|
2246 the buffer is later killed, the memory can be released to the operating
|
|
2247 system. (The disadvantage of this mechanism is that it can be very
|
|
2248 slow. On systems with the @code{mmap()} system call, the XEmacs version
|
|
2249 of @file{ralloc.c} uses this to move memory around without actually having to
|
|
2250 block-copy it, which can speed things up; but it can still cause
|
|
2251 noticeable performance degradation.)
|
|
2252
|
|
2253 @file{free-hook.c} contains some debugging functions for checking for invalid
|
|
2254 arguments to @code{free()}.
|
|
2255
|
|
2256 @file{vm-limit.c} contains some functions that warn the user when memory is
|
|
2257 getting low. These are callback functions that are called by @file{gmalloc.c}
|
|
2258 and @file{malloc.c} at appropriate times.
|
|
2259
|
|
2260 @file{getpagesize.h} provides a uniform interface for retrieving the size of a
|
|
2261 page in virtual memory. @file{mem-limits.h} provides a uniform interface for
|
|
2262 retrieving the total amount of available virtual memory. Both are
|
|
2263 similar in spirit to the @file{sys*.h} files described in section J, below.
|
|
2264
|
|
2265
|
|
2266
|
|
2267 @example
|
|
2268 2659 blocktype.c
|
|
2269 1410 blocktype.h
|
|
2270 7194 dynarr.c
|
|
2271 2671 dynarr.h
|
|
2272 @end example
|
|
2273
|
|
2274 These implement a couple of basic C data types to facilitate memory
|
|
2275 allocation. The @code{Blocktype} type efficiently manages the
|
|
2276 allocation of fixed-size blocks by minimizing the number of times that
|
|
2277 @code{malloc()} and @code{free()} are called. It allocates memory in
|
|
2278 large chunks, subdivides the chunks into blocks of the proper size, and
|
|
2279 returns the blocks as requested. When blocks are freed, they are placed
|
|
2280 onto a linked list, so they can be efficiently reused. This data type
|
|
2281 is not much used in XEmacs currently, because it's a fairly new
|
|
2282 addition.
|
|
2283
|
|
2284 @cindex dynamic array
|
|
2285 The @code{Dynarr} type implements a @dfn{dynamic array}, which is
|
|
2286 similar to a standard C array but has no fixed limit on the number of
|
|
2287 elements it can contain. Dynamic arrays can hold elements of any type,
|
|
2288 and when you add a new element, the array automatically resizes itself
|
|
2289 if it isn't big enough. Dynarrs are extensively used in the redisplay
|
|
2290 mechanism.
|
|
2291
|
|
2292
|
|
2293
|
|
2294 @example
|
|
2295 2058 inline.c
|
|
2296 @end example
|
|
2297
|
|
2298 This module is used in connection with inline functions (available in
|
|
2299 some compilers). Often, inline functions need to have a corresponding
|
|
2300 non-inline function that does the same thing. This module is where they
|
|
2301 reside. It contains no actual code, but defines some special flags that
|
|
2302 cause inline functions defined in header files to be rendered as actual
|
|
2303 functions. It then includes all header files that contain any inline
|
|
2304 function definitions, so that each one gets a real function equivalent.
|
|
2305
|
|
2306
|
|
2307
|
|
2308 @example
|
|
2309 6489 debug.c
|
|
2310 2267 debug.h
|
|
2311 @end example
|
|
2312
|
|
2313 These functions provide a system for doing internal consistency checks
|
|
2314 during code development. This system is not currently used; instead the
|
|
2315 simpler @code{assert()} macro is used along with the various checks
|
|
2316 provided by the @samp{--error-check-*} configuration options.
|
|
2317
|
|
2318
|
|
2319
|
|
2320 @example
|
|
2321 1643 prefix-args.c
|
|
2322 @end example
|
|
2323
|
|
2324 This is actually the source for a small, self-contained program
|
|
2325 used during building.
|
|
2326
|
|
2327
|
|
2328 @example
|
|
2329 904 universe.h
|
|
2330 @end example
|
|
2331
|
|
2332 This is not currently used.
|
|
2333
|
|
2334
|
|
2335
|
|
2336 @node Basic Lisp Modules
|
|
2337 @section Basic Lisp Modules
|
|
2338
|
|
2339 @example
|
|
2340 size name
|
|
2341 ------- ---------------------
|
|
2342 70167 emacsfns.h
|
|
2343 6305 lisp-disunion.h
|
|
2344 7086 lisp-union.h
|
|
2345 54929 lisp.h
|
|
2346 14235 lrecord.h
|
|
2347 10728 symsinit.h
|
|
2348 @end example
|
|
2349
|
|
2350 These are the basic header files for all XEmacs modules. Each module
|
|
2351 includes @file{lisp.h}, which brings the other header files in.
|
|
2352 @file{lisp.h} contains the definitions of the structures and extractor
|
|
2353 and constructor macros for the basic Lisp objects and various other
|
|
2354 basic definitions for the Lisp environment, as well as some
|
|
2355 general-purpose definitions (e.g. @code{min()} and @code{max()}).
|
|
2356 @file{lisp.h} includes either @file{lisp-disunion.h} or
|
272
|
2357 @file{lisp-union.h}, depending on whether @code{USE_UNION_TYPE} is
|
0
|
2358 defined. These files define the typedef of the Lisp object itself (as
|
|
2359 described above) and the low-level macros that hide the actual
|
|
2360 implementation of the Lisp object. All extractor and constructor macros
|
|
2361 for particular types of Lisp objects are defined in terms of these
|
|
2362 low-level macros.
|
|
2363
|
|
2364 As a general rule, all typedefs should go into the typedefs section of
|
|
2365 @file{lisp.h} rather than into a module-specific header file even if the
|
|
2366 structure is defined elsewhere. This allows function prototypes that
|
|
2367 use the typedef to be placed into @file{emacsfns.h}. Forward structure
|
|
2368 declarations (i.e. a simple declaration like @code{struct foo;} where
|
|
2369 the structure itself is defined elsewhere) should be placed into the
|
|
2370 typedefs section as necessary.
|
|
2371
|
|
2372 @file{lrecord.h} contains the basic structures and macros that implement
|
|
2373 all record-type Lisp objects -- i.e. all objects whose type is a field
|
|
2374 in their C structure, which includes all objects except the few most
|
|
2375 basic ones.
|
|
2376
|
|
2377 @file{emacsfns.h} contains prototypes for most of the exported functions
|
|
2378 in the various modules. (In particular, prototypes for Lisp primitives
|
2
|
2379 should always go into this header file. Prototypes for other functions
|
0
|
2380 can either go here or in a module-specific header file, depending on how
|
|
2381 general-purpose the function is and whether it has special-purpose
|
|
2382 argument types requiring definitions not in @file{lisp.h}.) All
|
|
2383 initialization functions are prototyped in @file{symsinit.h}.
|
|
2384
|
|
2385
|
|
2386
|
|
2387 @example
|
|
2388 120478 alloc.c
|
|
2389 1029 pure.c
|
|
2390 2506 puresize.h
|
|
2391 @end example
|
|
2392
|
|
2393 The large module @file{alloc.c} implements all of the basic allocation and
|
|
2394 garbage collection for Lisp objects. The most commonly used Lisp
|
|
2395 objects are allocated in chunks, similar to the Blocktype data type
|
|
2396 described above; others are allocated in individually @code{malloc()}ed
|
|
2397 blocks. This module provides the foundation on which all other aspects
|
|
2398 of the Lisp environment sit, and is the first module initialized at
|
|
2399 startup.
|
|
2400
|
|
2401 Note that @file{alloc.c} provides a series of generic functions that are
|
|
2402 not dependent on any particular object type, and interfaces to
|
|
2403 particular types of objects using a standardized interface of
|
|
2404 type-specific methods. This scheme is a fundamental principle of
|
|
2405 object-oriented programming and is heavily used throughout XEmacs. The
|
|
2406 great advantage of this is that it allows for a clean separation of
|
|
2407 functionality into different modules -- new classes of Lisp objects, new
|
|
2408 event interfaces, new device types, new stream interfaces, etc. can be
|
|
2409 added transparently without affecting code anywhere else in XEmacs.
|
|
2410 Because the different subsystems are divided into general and specific
|
|
2411 code, adding a new subtype within a subsystem will in general not
|
|
2412 require changes to the generic subsystem code or affect any of the other
|
|
2413 subtypes in the subsystem; this provides a great deal of robustness to
|
|
2414 the XEmacs code.
|
|
2415
|
|
2416 @cindex pure space
|
|
2417 @file{pure.c} contains the declaration of the @dfn{purespace} array.
|
|
2418 Pure space is a hack used to place some constant Lisp data into the code
|
|
2419 segment of the XEmacs executable, even though the data needs to be
|
|
2420 initialized through function calls. (See above in section VIII for more
|
|
2421 info about this.) During startup, certain sorts of data is
|
|
2422 automatically copied into pure space, and other data is copied manually
|
|
2423 in some of the basic Lisp files by calling the function @code{purecopy},
|
|
2424 which copies the object if possible (this only works in temacs, of
|
|
2425 course) and returns the new object. In particular, while temacs is
|
|
2426 executing, the Lisp reader automatically copies all compiled-function
|
|
2427 objects that it reads into pure space. Since compiled-function objects
|
|
2428 are large, are never modified, and typically comprise the majority of
|
|
2429 the contents of a compiled-Lisp file, this works well. While XEmacs is
|
|
2430 running, any attempt to modify an object that resides in pure space
|
|
2431 causes an error. Objects in pure space are never garbage collected --
|
|
2432 almost all of the time, they're intended to be permanent, and in any
|
|
2433 case you can't write into pure space to set the mark bits.
|
|
2434
|
|
2435 @file{puresize.h} contains the declaration of the size of the pure space
|
|
2436 array. This depends on the optional features that are compiled in, any
|
|
2437 extra purespace requested by the user at compile time, and certain other
|
|
2438 factors (e.g. 64-bit machines need more pure space because their Lisp
|
|
2439 objects are larger). The smallest size that suffices should be used, so
|
|
2440 that there's no wasted space. If there's not enough pure space, you
|
|
2441 will get an error during the build process, specifying how much more
|
|
2442 pure space is needed.
|
|
2443
|
|
2444
|
|
2445
|
|
2446 @example
|
|
2447 122243 eval.c
|
|
2448 2305 backtrace.h
|
|
2449 @end example
|
|
2450
|
|
2451 This module contains all of the functions to handle the flow of control.
|
|
2452 This includes the mechanisms of defining functions, calling functions,
|
|
2453 traversing stack frames, and binding variables; the control primitives
|
|
2454 and other special forms such as @code{while}, @code{if}, @code{eval},
|
|
2455 @code{let}, @code{and}, @code{or}, @code{progn}, etc.; handling of
|
|
2456 non-local exits, unwind-protects, and exception handlers; entering the
|
|
2457 debugger; methods for the subr Lisp object type; etc. It does
|
|
2458 @emph{not} include the @code{read} function, the @code{print} function,
|
|
2459 or the handling of symbols and obarrays.
|
|
2460
|
|
2461 @file{backtrace.h} contains some structures related to stack frames and the
|
|
2462 flow of control.
|
|
2463
|
|
2464
|
|
2465
|
|
2466 @example
|
|
2467 64949 lread.c
|
|
2468 @end example
|
|
2469
|
|
2470 This module implements the Lisp reader and the @code{read} function,
|
|
2471 which converts text into Lisp objects, according to the read syntax of
|
|
2472 the objects, as described above. This is similar to the parser that is
|
|
2473 a part of all compilers.
|
|
2474
|
|
2475
|
|
2476
|
|
2477 @example
|
|
2478 40900 print.c
|
|
2479 @end example
|
|
2480
|
|
2481 This module implements the Lisp print mechanism and the @code{print}
|
|
2482 function and related functions. This is the inverse of the Lisp reader
|
|
2483 -- it converts Lisp objects to a printed, textual representation.
|
|
2484 (Hopefully something that can be read back in using @code{read} to get
|
|
2485 an equivalent object.)
|
|
2486
|
|
2487
|
|
2488
|
|
2489 @example
|
|
2490 4518 general.c
|
|
2491 60220 symbols.c
|
|
2492 9966 symeval.h
|
|
2493 @end example
|
|
2494
|
|
2495 @file{symbols.c} implements the handling of symbols, obarrays, and
|
|
2496 retrieving the values of symbols. Much of the code is devoted to
|
|
2497 handling the special @dfn{symbol-value-magic} objects that define
|
|
2498 special types of variables -- this includes buffer-local variables,
|
|
2499 variable aliases, variables that forward into C variables, etc. This
|
|
2500 module is initialized extremely early (right after @file{alloc.c}),
|
|
2501 because it is here that the basic symbols @code{t} and @code{nil} are
|
|
2502 created, and those symbols are used everywhere throughout XEmacs.
|
|
2503
|
|
2504 @file{symeval.h} contains the definitions of symbol structures and the
|
|
2505 @code{DEFVAR_LISP()} and related macros for declaring variables.
|
|
2506
|
|
2507
|
|
2508
|
|
2509 @example
|
|
2510 48973 data.c
|
|
2511 25694 floatfns.c
|
|
2512 71049 fns.c
|
|
2513 @end example
|
|
2514
|
|
2515 These modules implement the methods and standard Lisp primitives for all
|
|
2516 the basic Lisp object types other than symbols (which are described
|
|
2517 above). @file{data.c} contains all the predicates (primitives that return
|
|
2518 whether an object is of a particular type); the integer arithmetic
|
|
2519 functions; and the basic accessor and mutator primitives for the various
|
|
2520 object types. @file{fns.c} contains all the standard predicates for working
|
|
2521 with sequences (where, abstractly speaking, a sequence is an ordered set
|
|
2522 of objects, and can be represented by a list, string, vector, or
|
|
2523 bit-vector); it also contains @code{equal}, perhaps on the grounds that
|
|
2524 bulk of the operation of @code{equal} is comparing sequences.
|
|
2525 @file{floatfns.c} contains methods and primitives for floats and floating-point
|
|
2526 arithmetic.
|
|
2527
|
|
2528
|
|
2529
|
|
2530 @example
|
|
2531 23555 bytecode.c
|
|
2532 3358 bytecode.h
|
|
2533 @end example
|
|
2534
|
|
2535 @file{bytecode.c} implements the byte-code interpreter, and @file{bytecode.h} contains
|
|
2536 associated structures. Note that the byte-code @emph{compiler} is
|
|
2537 written in Lisp.
|
|
2538
|
|
2539
|
|
2540
|
|
2541
|
|
2542 @node Modules for Standard Editing Operations
|
|
2543 @section Modules for Standard Editing Operations
|
|
2544
|
|
2545 @example
|
|
2546 size name
|
|
2547 ------- ---------------------
|
|
2548 82900 buffer.c
|
|
2549 60964 buffer.h
|
|
2550 6059 bufslots.h
|
|
2551 @end example
|
|
2552
|
2
|
2553 @file{buffer.c} implements the @dfn{buffer} Lisp object type. This
|
|
2554 includes functions that create and destroy buffers; retrieve buffers by
|
|
2555 name or by other properties; manipulate lists of buffers (remember that
|
|
2556 buffers are permanent objects and stored in various ordered lists);
|
|
2557 retrieve or change buffer properties; etc. It also contains the
|
|
2558 definitions of all the built-in buffer-local variables (which can be
|
|
2559 viewed as buffer properties). It does @emph{not} contain code to
|
|
2560 manipulate buffer-local variables (that's in @file{symbols.c}, described
|
|
2561 above); or code to manipulate the text in a buffer.
|
0
|
2562
|
|
2563 @file{buffer.h} defines the structures associated with a buffer and the various
|
|
2564 macros for retrieving text from a buffer and special buffer positions
|
|
2565 (e.g. @code{point}, the default location for text insertion). It also
|
|
2566 contains macros for working with buffer positions and converting between
|
|
2567 their representations as character offsets and as byte offsets (under
|
|
2568 MULE, they are different, because characters can be multi-byte). It is
|
|
2569 one of the largest header files.
|
|
2570
|
|
2571 @file{bufslots.h} defines the fields in the buffer structure that correspond to
|
|
2572 the built-in buffer-local variables. It is its own header file because
|
|
2573 it is included many times in @file{buffer.c}, as a way of iterating over all
|
|
2574 the built-in buffer-local variables.
|
|
2575
|
|
2576
|
|
2577
|
|
2578 @example
|
|
2579 79888 insdel.c
|
|
2580 6103 insdel.h
|
|
2581 @end example
|
|
2582
|
|
2583 @file{insdel.c} contains low-level functions for inserting and deleting text in
|
|
2584 a buffer, keeping track of changed regions for use by redisplay, and
|
|
2585 calling any before-change and after-change functions that may have been
|
|
2586 registered for the buffer. It also contains the actual functions that
|
|
2587 convert between byte offsets and character offsets.
|
|
2588
|
|
2589 @file{insdel.h} contains associated headers.
|
|
2590
|
|
2591
|
|
2592
|
|
2593 @example
|
|
2594 10975 marker.c
|
|
2595 @end example
|
|
2596
|
2
|
2597 This module implements the @dfn{marker} Lisp object type, which
|
|
2598 conceptually is a pointer to a text position in a buffer that moves
|
|
2599 around as text is inserted and deleted, so as to remain in the same
|
|
2600 relative position. This module doesn't actually move the markers around
|
|
2601 -- that's handled in @file{insdel.c}. This module just creates them and
|
|
2602 implements the primitives for working with them. As markers are simple
|
|
2603 objects, this does not entail much.
|
0
|
2604
|
|
2605 Note that the standard arithmetic primitives (e.g. @code{+}) accept
|
|
2606 markers in place of integers and automatically substitute the value of
|
|
2607 @code{marker-position} for the marker, i.e. an integer describing the
|
|
2608 current buffer position of the marker.
|
|
2609
|
|
2610
|
|
2611
|
|
2612 @example
|
|
2613 193714 extents.c
|
|
2614 15686 extents.h
|
|
2615 @end example
|
|
2616
|
2
|
2617 This module implements the @dfn{extent} Lisp object type, which is like
|
|
2618 a marker that works over a range of text rather than a single position.
|
0
|
2619 Extents are also much more complex and powerful than markers and have a
|
|
2620 more efficient (and more algorithmically complex) implementation. The
|
|
2621 implementation is described in detail in comments in @file{extents.c}.
|
|
2622
|
|
2623 The code in @file{extents.c} works closely with @file{insdel.c} so that
|
|
2624 extents are properly moved around as text is inserted and deleted.
|
|
2625 There is also code in @file{extents.c} that provides information needed
|
|
2626 by the redisplay mechanism for efficient operation. (Remember that
|
|
2627 extents can have display properties that affect [sometimes drastically,
|
|
2628 as in the @code{invisible} property] the display of the text they
|
|
2629 cover.)
|
|
2630
|
|
2631
|
|
2632
|
|
2633 @example
|
|
2634 60155 editfns.c
|
|
2635 @end example
|
|
2636
|
|
2637 @file{editfns.c} contains the standard Lisp primitives for working with
|
|
2638 a buffer's text, and calls the low-level functions in @file{insdel.c}.
|
|
2639 It also contains primitives for working with @code{point} (the default
|
|
2640 buffer insertion location).
|
|
2641
|
|
2642 @file{editfns.c} also contains functions for retrieving various
|
|
2643 characteristics from the external environment: the current time, the
|
|
2644 process ID of the running XEmacs process, the name of the user who ran
|
|
2645 this XEmacs process, etc. It's not clear why this code is in
|
|
2646 @file{editfns.c}.
|
|
2647
|
|
2648
|
|
2649
|
|
2650 @example
|
|
2651 26081 callint.c
|
|
2652 12577 cmds.c
|
|
2653 2749 commands.h
|
|
2654 @end example
|
|
2655
|
|
2656 @cindex interactive
|
|
2657 These modules implement the basic @dfn{interactive} commands,
|
|
2658 i.e. user-callable functions. Commands, as opposed to other functions,
|
|
2659 have special ways of getting their parameters interactively (by querying
|
|
2660 the user), as opposed to having them passed in a normal function
|
|
2661 invocation. Many commands are not really meant to be called from other
|
|
2662 Lisp functions, because they modify global state in a way that's often
|
|
2663 undesired as part of other Lisp functions.
|
|
2664
|
|
2665 @file{callint.c} implements the mechanism for querying the user for
|
|
2666 parameters and calling interactive commands. The bulk of this module is
|
|
2667 code that parses the interactive spec that is supplied with an
|
|
2668 interactive command.
|
|
2669
|
|
2670 @file{cmds.c} implements the basic, most commonly used editing commands:
|
|
2671 commands to move around the current buffer and insert and delete
|
|
2672 characters. These commands are implemented using the Lisp primitives
|
|
2673 defined in @file{editfns.c}.
|
|
2674
|
|
2675 @file{commands.h} contains associated structure definitions and prototypes.
|
|
2676
|
|
2677
|
|
2678
|
|
2679 @example
|
|
2680 194863 regex.c
|
|
2681 18968 regex.h
|
|
2682 79800 search.c
|
|
2683 @end example
|
|
2684
|
|
2685 @file{search.c} implements the Lisp primitives for searching for text in
|
|
2686 a buffer, and some of the low-level algorithms for doing this. In
|
|
2687 particular, the fast fixed-string Boyer-Moore search algorithm is
|
|
2688 implemented in @file{search.c}. The low-level algorithms for doing
|
|
2689 regular-expression searching, however, are implemented in @file{regex.c}
|
|
2690 and @file{regex.h}. These two modules are largely independent of
|
|
2691 XEmacs, and are similar to (and based upon) the regular-expression
|
|
2692 routines used in @file{grep} and other GNU utilities.
|
|
2693
|
|
2694
|
|
2695
|
|
2696 @example
|
|
2697 20476 doprnt.c
|
|
2698 @end example
|
|
2699
|
|
2700 @file{doprnt.c} implements formatted-string processing, similar to
|
|
2701 @code{printf()} command in C.
|
|
2702
|
|
2703
|
|
2704
|
|
2705 @example
|
|
2706 15372 undo.c
|
|
2707 @end example
|
|
2708
|
|
2709 This module implements the undo mechanism for tracking buffer changes.
|
|
2710 Most of this could be implemented in Lisp.
|
|
2711
|
|
2712
|
|
2713
|
|
2714 @node Editor-Level Control Flow Modules
|
|
2715 @section Editor-Level Control Flow Modules
|
|
2716
|
|
2717 @example
|
|
2718 size name
|
|
2719 ------- ---------------------
|
|
2720 84546 event-Xt.c
|
|
2721 121483 event-stream.c
|
|
2722 6658 event-tty.c
|
|
2723 49271 events.c
|
|
2724 14459 events.h
|
|
2725 @end example
|
|
2726
|
|
2727 These implement the handling of events (user input and other system
|
|
2728 notifications).
|
|
2729
|
2
|
2730 @file{events.c} and @file{events.h} define the @dfn{event} Lisp object
|
|
2731 type and primitives for manipulating it.
|
0
|
2732
|
|
2733 @file{event-stream.c} implements the basic functions for working with
|
|
2734 event queues, dispatching an event by looking it up in relevant keymaps
|
|
2735 and such, and handling timeouts; this includes the primitives
|
|
2736 @code{next-event} and @code{dispatch-event}, as well as related
|
|
2737 primitives such as @code{sit-for}, @code{sleep-for}, and
|
|
2738 @code{accept-process-output}. (@file{event-stream.c} is one of the
|
|
2739 hairiest and trickiest modules in XEmacs. Beware! You can easily mess
|
|
2740 things up here.)
|
|
2741
|
|
2742 @file{event-Xt.c} and @file{event-tty.c} implement the low-level
|
|
2743 interfaces onto retrieving events from Xt (the X toolkit) and from TTY's
|
|
2744 (using @code{read()} and @code{select()}), respectively. The event
|
|
2745 interface enforces a clean separation between the specific code for
|
|
2746 interfacing with the operating system and the generic code for working
|
|
2747 with events, by defining an API of basic, low-level event methods;
|
|
2748 @file{event-Xt.c} and @file{event-tty.c} are two different
|
|
2749 implementations of this API. To add support for a new operating system
|
|
2750 (e.g. NeXTstep), one merely needs to provide another implementation of
|
|
2751 those API functions.
|
|
2752
|
|
2753 Note that the choice of whether to use @file{event-Xt.c} or
|
|
2754 @file{event-tty.c} is made at compile time! Or at the very latest, it
|
|
2755 is made at startup time. @file{event-Xt.c} handles events for
|
|
2756 @emph{both} X and TTY frames; @file{event-tty.c} is only used when X
|
|
2757 support is not compiled into XEmacs. The reason for this is that there
|
|
2758 is only one event loop in XEmacs: thus, it needs to be able to receive
|
|
2759 events from all different kinds of frames.
|
|
2760
|
|
2761
|
|
2762
|
|
2763 @example
|
|
2764 129583 keymap.c
|
|
2765 2621 keymap.h
|
|
2766 @end example
|
|
2767
|
2
|
2768 @file{keymap.c} and @file{keymap.h} define the @dfn{keymap} Lisp object
|
|
2769 type and associated methods and primitives. (Remember that keymaps are
|
0
|
2770 objects that associate event descriptions with functions to be called to
|
|
2771 ``execute'' those events; @code{dispatch-event} looks up events in the
|
|
2772 relevant keymaps.)
|
|
2773
|
|
2774
|
|
2775
|
|
2776 @example
|
|
2777 25212 keyboard.c
|
|
2778 @end example
|
|
2779
|
|
2780 @file{keyboard.c} contains functions that implement the actual editor
|
|
2781 command loop -- i.e. the event loop that cyclically retrieves and
|
|
2782 dispatches events. This code is also rather tricky, just like
|
|
2783 @file{event-stream.c}.
|
|
2784
|
|
2785
|
|
2786
|
|
2787 @example
|
|
2788 9973 macros.c
|
|
2789 1397 macros.h
|
|
2790 @end example
|
|
2791
|
|
2792 These two modules contain the basic code for defining keyboard macros.
|
|
2793 These functions don't actually do much; most of the code that handles keyboard
|
|
2794 macros is mixed in with the event-handling code in @file{event-stream.c}.
|
|
2795
|
|
2796
|
|
2797
|
|
2798 @example
|
|
2799 23234 minibuf.c
|
|
2800 @end example
|
|
2801
|
|
2802 This contains some miscellaneous code related to the minibuffer (most of
|
|
2803 the minibuffer code was moved into Lisp by Richard Mlynarik). This
|
|
2804 includes the primitives for completion (although filename completion is
|
|
2805 in @file{dired.c}), the lowest-level interface to the minibuffer (if the
|
|
2806 command loop were cleaned up, this too could be in Lisp), and code for
|
|
2807 dealing with the echo area (this, too, was mostly moved into Lisp, and
|
|
2808 the only code remaining is code to call out to Lisp or provide simple
|
|
2809 bootstrapping implementations early in temacs, before the echo-area Lisp
|
|
2810 code is loaded).
|
|
2811
|
|
2812
|
|
2813
|
|
2814 @node Modules for the Basic Displayable Lisp Objects
|
|
2815 @section Modules for the Basic Displayable Lisp Objects
|
|
2816
|
|
2817 @example
|
|
2818 size name
|
|
2819 ------- ---------------------
|
|
2820 985 device-ns.h
|
|
2821 6454 device-stream.c
|
|
2822 1196 device-stream.h
|
|
2823 9526 device-tty.c
|
|
2824 8660 device-tty.h
|
|
2825 43798 device-x.c
|
|
2826 11667 device-x.h
|
|
2827 26056 device.c
|
|
2828 22993 device.h
|
|
2829 @end example
|
|
2830
|
2
|
2831 These modules implement the @dfn{device} Lisp object type. This
|
|
2832 abstracts a particular screen or connection on which frames are
|
|
2833 displayed. As with Lisp objects, event interfaces, and other
|
|
2834 subsystems, the device code is separated into a generic component that
|
|
2835 contains a standardized interface (in the form of a set of methods) onto
|
|
2836 particular device types.
|
0
|
2837
|
|
2838 The device subsystem defines all the methods and provides method
|
|
2839 services for not only device operations but also for the frame, window,
|
|
2840 menubar, scrollbar, toolbar, and other displayable-object subsystems.
|
|
2841 The reason for this is that all of these subsystems have the same
|
|
2842 subtypes (X, TTY, NeXTstep, Microsoft Windows, etc.) as devices do.
|
|
2843
|
|
2844
|
|
2845
|
|
2846 @example
|
|
2847 934 frame-ns.h
|
|
2848 2303 frame-tty.c
|
|
2849 69205 frame-x.c
|
|
2850 5976 frame-x.h
|
|
2851 68175 frame.c
|
|
2852 15080 frame.h
|
|
2853 @end example
|
|
2854
|
|
2855 Each device contains one or more frames in which objects (e.g. text) are
|
|
2856 displayed. A frame corresponds to a window in the window system;
|
|
2857 usually this is a top-level window but it could potentially be one of a
|
|
2858 number of overlapping child windows within a top-level window, using the
|
|
2859 MDI (Multiple Document Interface) protocol in Microsoft Windows or a
|
|
2860 similar scheme.
|
|
2861
|
2
|
2862 The @file{frame-*} files implement the @dfn{frame} Lisp object type and
|
|
2863 provide the generic and device-type-specific operations on frames
|
|
2864 (e.g. raising, lowering, resizing, moving, etc.).
|
0
|
2865
|
|
2866
|
|
2867
|
|
2868 @example
|
|
2869 160783 window.c
|
|
2870 15974 window.h
|
|
2871 @end example
|
|
2872
|
|
2873 @cindex window (in Emacs)
|
|
2874 @cindex pane
|
|
2875 Each frame consists of one or more non-overlapping @dfn{windows} (better
|
|
2876 known as @dfn{panes} in standard window-system terminology) in which a
|
|
2877 buffer's text can be displayed. Windows can also have scrollbars
|
|
2878 displayed around their edges.
|
|
2879
|
2
|
2880 @file{window.c} and @file{window.h} implement the @dfn{window} Lisp
|
|
2881 object type and provide code to manage windows. Since windows have no
|
0
|
2882 associated resources in the window system (the window system knows only
|
|
2883 about the frame; no child windows or anything are used for XEmacs
|
|
2884 windows), there is no device-type-specific code here; all of that code
|
|
2885 is part of the redisplay mechanism or the code for particular object
|
|
2886 types such as scrollbars.
|
|
2887
|
|
2888
|
|
2889
|
|
2890 @node Modules for other Display-Related Lisp Objects
|
|
2891 @section Modules for other Display-Related Lisp Objects
|
|
2892
|
|
2893 @example
|
|
2894 size name
|
|
2895 ------- ---------------------
|
|
2896 54397 faces.c
|
|
2897 15173 faces.h
|
|
2898 @end example
|
|
2899
|
|
2900
|
|
2901
|
|
2902 @example
|
|
2903 4961 bitmaps.h
|
|
2904 954 glyphs-ns.h
|
|
2905 105345 glyphs-x.c
|
|
2906 4288 glyphs-x.h
|
|
2907 72102 glyphs.c
|
|
2908 16356 glyphs.h
|
|
2909 @end example
|
|
2910
|
|
2911
|
|
2912
|
|
2913 @example
|
|
2914 952 objects-ns.h
|
|
2915 9971 objects-tty.c
|
|
2916 1465 objects-tty.h
|
|
2917 32326 objects-x.c
|
|
2918 2806 objects-x.h
|
|
2919 31944 objects.c
|
|
2920 6809 objects.h
|
|
2921 @end example
|
|
2922
|
|
2923
|
|
2924
|
|
2925 @example
|
|
2926 57511 menubar-x.c
|
|
2927 11243 menubar.c
|
|
2928 @end example
|
|
2929
|
|
2930
|
|
2931
|
|
2932 @example
|
|
2933 25012 scrollbar-x.c
|
|
2934 2554 scrollbar-x.h
|
|
2935 26954 scrollbar.c
|
|
2936 2778 scrollbar.h
|
|
2937 @end example
|
|
2938
|
|
2939
|
|
2940
|
|
2941 @example
|
|
2942 23117 toolbar-x.c
|
|
2943 43456 toolbar.c
|
|
2944 4280 toolbar.h
|
|
2945 @end example
|
|
2946
|
|
2947
|
|
2948
|
|
2949 @example
|
|
2950 25070 font-lock.c
|
|
2951 @end example
|
|
2952
|
|
2953 This file provides C support for syntax highlighting -- i.e.
|
|
2954 highlighting different syntactic constructs of a source file in
|
|
2955 different colors, for easy reading. The C support is provided so that
|
|
2956 this is fast.
|
|
2957
|
|
2958
|
|
2959
|
|
2960 @example
|
|
2961 32180 dgif_lib.c
|
|
2962 3999 gif_err.c
|
|
2963 10697 gif_lib.h
|
|
2964 9371 gifalloc.c
|
|
2965 @end example
|
|
2966
|
|
2967 These modules decode GIF-format image files, for use with glyphs.
|
|
2968
|
|
2969
|
|
2970
|
|
2971 @node Modules for the Redisplay Mechanism
|
|
2972 @section Modules for the Redisplay Mechanism
|
|
2973
|
|
2974 @example
|
|
2975 size name
|
|
2976 ------- ---------------------
|
|
2977 38692 redisplay-output.c
|
|
2978 40835 redisplay-tty.c
|
|
2979 65069 redisplay-x.c
|
|
2980 234142 redisplay.c
|
|
2981 17026 redisplay.h
|
|
2982 @end example
|
|
2983
|
|
2984 These files provide the redisplay mechanism. As with many other
|
|
2985 subsystems in XEmacs, there is a clean separation between the general
|
|
2986 and device-specific support.
|
|
2987
|
|
2988 @file{redisplay.c} contains the bulk of the redisplay engine. These
|
|
2989 functions update the redisplay structures (which describe how the screen
|
|
2990 is to appear) to reflect any changes made to the state of any
|
|
2991 displayable objects (buffer, frame, window, etc.) since the last time
|
|
2992 that redisplay was called. These functions are highly optimized to
|
|
2993 avoid doing more work than necessary (since redisplay is called
|
|
2994 extremely often and is potentially a huge time sink), and depend heavily
|
|
2995 on notifications from the objects themselves that changes have occurred,
|
|
2996 so that redisplay doesn't explicitly have to check each possible object.
|
|
2997 The redisplay mechanism also contains a great deal of caching to further
|
|
2998 speed things up; some of this caching is contained within the various
|
|
2999 displayable objects.
|
|
3000
|
|
3001 @file{redisplay-output.c} goes through the redisplay structures and converts
|
|
3002 them into calls to device-specific methods to actually output the screen
|
|
3003 changes.
|
|
3004
|
|
3005 @file{redisplay-x.c} and @file{redisplay-tty.c} are two implementations
|
|
3006 of these redisplay output methods, for X frames and TTY frames,
|
|
3007 respectively.
|
|
3008
|
|
3009
|
|
3010
|
|
3011 @example
|
|
3012 14129 indent.c
|
|
3013 @end example
|
|
3014
|
|
3015 This module contains various functions and Lisp primitives for
|
|
3016 converting between buffer positions and screen positions. These
|
|
3017 functions call the redisplay mechanism to do most of the work, and then
|
|
3018 examine the redisplay structures to get the necessary information. This
|
|
3019 module needs work.
|
|
3020
|
|
3021
|
|
3022
|
|
3023 @example
|
|
3024 14754 termcap.c
|
|
3025 2141 terminfo.c
|
|
3026 7253 tparam.c
|
|
3027 @end example
|
|
3028
|
|
3029 These files contain functions for working with the termcap (BSD-style)
|
|
3030 and terminfo (System V style) databases of terminal capabilities and
|
|
3031 escape sequences, used when XEmacs is displaying in a TTY.
|
|
3032
|
|
3033
|
|
3034
|
|
3035 @example
|
|
3036 10869 cm.c
|
|
3037 5876 cm.h
|
|
3038 @end example
|
|
3039
|
|
3040 These files provide some miscellaneous TTY-output functions and should
|
|
3041 probably be merged into @file{redisplay-tty.c}.
|
|
3042
|
|
3043
|
|
3044
|
|
3045 @node Modules for Interfacing with the File System
|
|
3046 @section Modules for Interfacing with the File System
|
|
3047
|
|
3048 @example
|
|
3049 size name
|
|
3050 ------- ---------------------
|
|
3051 43362 lstream.c
|
|
3052 14240 lstream.h
|
|
3053 @end example
|
|
3054
|
2
|
3055 These modules implement the @dfn{stream} Lisp object type. This is an
|
0
|
3056 internal-only Lisp object that implements a generic buffering stream.
|
|
3057 The idea is to provide a uniform interface onto all sources and sinks of
|
|
3058 data, including file descriptors, stdio streams, chunks of memory, Lisp
|
|
3059 buffers, Lisp strings, etc. That way, I/O functions can be written to
|
|
3060 the stream interface and can transparently handle all possible sources
|
|
3061 and sinks. (For example, the @code{read} function can read data from a
|
|
3062 file, a string, a buffer, or even a function that is called repeatedly
|
|
3063 to return data, without worrying about where the data is coming from or
|
|
3064 what-size chunks it is returned in.)
|
|
3065
|
|
3066 @cindex lstream
|
|
3067 Note that in the C code, streams are called @dfn{lstreams} (for ``Lisp
|
|
3068 streams'') to distinguish them from other kinds of streams, e.g. stdio
|
|
3069 streams and C++ I/O streams.
|
|
3070
|
|
3071 Similar to other subsystems in XEmacs, lstreams are separated into
|
|
3072 generic functions and a set of methods for the different types of
|
|
3073 lstreams. @file{lstream.c} provides implementations of many different
|
|
3074 types of streams; others are provided, e.g., in @file{mule-coding.c}.
|
|
3075
|
|
3076
|
|
3077
|
|
3078 @example
|
|
3079 126926 fileio.c
|
|
3080 @end example
|
|
3081
|
|
3082 This implements the basic primitives for interfacing with the file
|
|
3083 system. This includes primitives for reading files into buffers,
|
|
3084 writing buffers into files, checking for the presence or accessibility
|
|
3085 of files, canonicalizing file names, etc. Note that these primitives
|
|
3086 are usually not invoked directly by the user: There is a great deal of
|
|
3087 higher-level Lisp code that implements the user commands such as
|
|
3088 @code{find-file} and @code{save-buffer}. This is similar to the
|
|
3089 distinction between the lower-level primitives in @file{editfns.c} and
|
|
3090 the higher-level user commands in @file{commands.c} and
|
|
3091 @file{simple.el}.
|
|
3092
|
|
3093
|
|
3094
|
|
3095 @example
|
|
3096 10960 filelock.c
|
|
3097 @end example
|
|
3098
|
|
3099 This file provides functions for detecting clashes between different
|
|
3100 processes (e.g. XEmacs and some external process, or two different
|
|
3101 XEmacs processes) modifying the same file. (XEmacs can optionally use
|
|
3102 the @file{lock/} subdirectory to provide a form of ``locking'' between
|
|
3103 different XEmacs processes.) This module is also used by the low-level
|
|
3104 functions in @file{insdel.c} to ensure that, if the first modification
|
|
3105 is being made to a buffer whose corresponding file has been externally
|
|
3106 modified, the user is made aware of this so that the buffer can be
|
|
3107 synched up with the external changes if necessary.
|
|
3108
|
|
3109
|
|
3110 @example
|
|
3111 4527 filemode.c
|
|
3112 @end example
|
|
3113
|
|
3114 This file provides some miscellaneous functions that construct a
|
|
3115 @samp{rwxr-xr-x}-type permissions string (as might appear in an
|
|
3116 @file{ls}-style directory listing) given the information returned by the
|
|
3117 @code{stat()} system call.
|
|
3118
|
|
3119
|
|
3120
|
|
3121 @example
|
|
3122 22855 dired.c
|
|
3123 2094 ndir.h
|
|
3124 @end example
|
|
3125
|
|
3126 These files implement the XEmacs interface to directory searching. This
|
|
3127 includes a number of primitives for determining the files in a directory
|
|
3128 and for doing filename completion. (Remember that generic completion is
|
|
3129 handled by a different mechanism, in @file{minibuf.c}.)
|
|
3130
|
|
3131 @file{ndir.h} is a header file used for the directory-searching
|
|
3132 emulation functions provided in @file{sysdep.c} (see section J below),
|
|
3133 for systems that don't provide any directory-searching functions. (On
|
|
3134 those systems, directories can be read directly as files, and parsed.)
|
|
3135
|
|
3136
|
|
3137
|
|
3138 @example
|
|
3139 4311 realpath.c
|
|
3140 @end example
|
|
3141
|
|
3142 This file provides an implementation of the @code{realpath()} function
|
|
3143 for expanding symbolic links, on systems that don't implement it or have
|
|
3144 a broken implementation.
|
|
3145
|
|
3146
|
|
3147
|
|
3148 @node Modules for Other Aspects of the Lisp Interpreter and Object System
|
|
3149 @section Modules for Other Aspects of the Lisp Interpreter and Object System
|
|
3150
|
|
3151 @example
|
|
3152 size name
|
|
3153 ------- ---------------------
|
|
3154 22290 elhash.c
|
|
3155 2454 elhash.h
|
|
3156 12169 hash.c
|
|
3157 3369 hash.h
|
|
3158 @end example
|
|
3159
|
2
|
3160 These files implement the @dfn{hashtable} Lisp object type.
|
|
3161 @file{hash.c} and @file{hash.h} provide a generic C implementation of
|
|
3162 hash tables (which can stand independently of XEmacs), and
|
|
3163 @file{elhash.c} and @file{elhash.h} provide a Lisp interface onto the C
|
|
3164 hash tables using the hashtable Lisp object type.
|
0
|
3165
|
|
3166
|
|
3167
|
|
3168 @example
|
|
3169 95691 specifier.c
|
|
3170 11167 specifier.h
|
|
3171 @end example
|
|
3172
|
2
|
3173 This module implements the @dfn{specifier} Lisp object type. This is
|
0
|
3174 primarily used for displayable properties, and allows for values that
|
|
3175 are specific to a particular buffer, window, frame, device, or device
|
|
3176 class, as well as a default value existing. This is used, for example,
|
|
3177 to control the height of the horizontal scrollbar or the appearance of
|
|
3178 the @code{default}, @code{bold}, or other faces. The specifier object
|
|
3179 consists of a number of specifications, each of which maps from a
|
|
3180 buffer, window, etc. to a value. The function @code{specifier-instance}
|
|
3181 looks up a value given a window (from which a buffer, frame, and device
|
|
3182 can be derived).
|
|
3183
|
|
3184
|
|
3185 @example
|
|
3186 43058 chartab.c
|
|
3187 6503 chartab.h
|
|
3188 9918 casetab.c
|
|
3189 @end example
|
|
3190
|
116
|
3191 @file{chartab.c} and @file{chartab.h} implement the @dfn{char table}
|
|
3192 Lisp object type, which maps from characters or certain sorts of
|
|
3193 character ranges to Lisp objects. The implementation of this object
|
|
3194 type is optimized for the internal representation of characters. Char
|
|
3195 tables come in different types, which affect the allowed object types to
|
|
3196 which a character can be mapped and also dictate certain other
|
|
3197 properties of the char table.
|
0
|
3198
|
|
3199 @cindex case table
|
|
3200 @file{casetab.c} implements one sort of char table, the @dfn{case
|
|
3201 table}, which maps characters to other characters of possibly different
|
|
3202 case. These are used by XEmacs to implement case-changing primitives
|
|
3203 and to do case-insensitive searching.
|
|
3204
|
|
3205
|
|
3206
|
|
3207 @example
|
|
3208 49593 syntax.c
|
|
3209 10200 syntax.h
|
|
3210 @end example
|
|
3211
|
|
3212 @cindex scanner
|
116
|
3213 This module implements @dfn{syntax tables}, another sort of char table
|
|
3214 that maps characters into syntax classes that define the syntax of these
|
|
3215 characters (e.g. a parenthesis belongs to a class of @samp{open}
|
|
3216 characters that have corresponding @samp{close} characters and can be
|
|
3217 nested). This module also implements the Lisp @dfn{scanner}, a set of
|
|
3218 primitives for scanning over text based on syntax tables. This is used,
|
|
3219 for example, to find the matching parenthesis in a command such as
|
0
|
3220 @code{forward-sexp}, and by @file{font-lock.c} to locate quoted strings,
|
|
3221 comments, etc.
|
|
3222
|
|
3223
|
|
3224
|
|
3225 @example
|
|
3226 10438 casefiddle.c
|
|
3227 @end example
|
|
3228
|
|
3229 This module implements various Lisp primitives for upcasing, downcasing
|
|
3230 and capitalizing strings or regions of buffers.
|
|
3231
|
|
3232
|
|
3233
|
|
3234 @example
|
|
3235 20234 rangetab.c
|
|
3236 @end example
|
|
3237
|
2
|
3238 This module implements the @dfn{range table} Lisp object type, which
|
|
3239 provides for a mapping from ranges of integers to arbitrary Lisp
|
|
3240 objects.
|
0
|
3241
|
|
3242
|
|
3243
|
|
3244 @example
|
|
3245 3201 opaque.c
|
|
3246 2206 opaque.h
|
|
3247 @end example
|
|
3248
|
2
|
3249 This module implements the @dfn{opaque} Lisp object type, an
|
|
3250 internal-only Lisp object that encapsulates an arbitrary block of memory
|
|
3251 so that it can be managed by the Lisp allocation system. To create an
|
|
3252 opaque object, you call @code{make_opaque()}, passing a pointer to a
|
|
3253 block of memory. An object is created that is big enough to hold the
|
|
3254 memory, which is copied into the object's storage. The object will then
|
|
3255 stick around as long as you keep pointers to it, after which it will be
|
0
|
3256 automatically reclaimed.
|
|
3257
|
|
3258 @cindex mark method
|
|
3259 Opaque objects can also have an arbitrary @dfn{mark method} associated
|
|
3260 with them, in case the block of memory contains other Lisp objects that
|
|
3261 need to be marked for garbage-collection purposes. (If you need other
|
|
3262 object methods, such as a finalize method, you should just go ahead and
|
|
3263 create a new Lisp object type -- it's not hard.)
|
|
3264
|
|
3265
|
|
3266
|
|
3267 @example
|
|
3268 8783 abbrev.c
|
|
3269 @end example
|
|
3270
|
|
3271 This function provides a few primitives for doing dynamic abbreviation
|
|
3272 expansion. In XEmacs, most of the code for this has been moved into
|
|
3273 Lisp. Some C code remains for speed and because the primitive
|
|
3274 @code{self-insert-command} (which is executed for all self-inserting
|
|
3275 characters) hooks into the abbrev mechanism. (@code{self-insert-command}
|
|
3276 is itself in C only for speed.)
|
|
3277
|
|
3278
|
|
3279
|
|
3280 @example
|
|
3281 21934 doc.c
|
|
3282 @end example
|
|
3283
|
|
3284 This function provides primitives for retrieving the documentation
|
|
3285 strings of functions and variables. These documentation strings contain
|
|
3286 certain special markers that get dynamically expanded (e.g. a
|
|
3287 reverse-lookup is performed on some named functions to retrieve their
|
|
3288 current key bindings). Some documentation strings (in particular, for
|
|
3289 the built-in primitives and pre-loaded Lisp functions) are stored
|
|
3290 externally in a file @file{DOC} in the @file{lib-src/} directory and
|
|
3291 need to be fetched from that file. (Part of the build stage involves
|
|
3292 building this file, and another part involves constructing an index for
|
|
3293 this file and embedding it into the executable, so that the functions in
|
|
3294 @file{doc.c} do not have to search the entire @file{DOC} file to find
|
|
3295 the appropriate documentation string.)
|
|
3296
|
|
3297
|
|
3298
|
|
3299 @example
|
|
3300 13197 md5.c
|
|
3301 @end example
|
|
3302
|
|
3303 This function provides a Lisp primitive that implements the MD5 secure
|
|
3304 hashing scheme, used to create a large hash value of a string of data such that
|
|
3305 the data cannot be derived from the hash value. This is used for
|
|
3306 various security applications on the Internet.
|
|
3307
|
|
3308
|
|
3309
|
|
3310
|
|
3311 @node Modules for Interfacing with the Operating System
|
|
3312 @section Modules for Interfacing with the Operating System
|
|
3313
|
|
3314 @example
|
|
3315 size name
|
|
3316 ------- ---------------------
|
|
3317 33533 callproc.c
|
|
3318 89697 process.c
|
|
3319 4663 process.h
|
|
3320 @end example
|
|
3321
|
|
3322 These modules allow XEmacs to spawn and communicate with subprocesses
|
|
3323 and network connections.
|
|
3324
|
|
3325 @cindex synchronous subprocesses
|
|
3326 @cindex subprocesses, synchronous
|
|
3327 @file{callproc.c} implements (through the @code{call-process}
|
|
3328 primitive) what are called @dfn{synchronous subprocesses}. This means
|
|
3329 that XEmacs runs a program, waits till it's done, and retrieves its
|
|
3330 output. A typical example might be calling the @file{ls} program to get
|
|
3331 a directory listing.
|
|
3332
|
|
3333 @cindex asynchronous subprocesses
|
|
3334 @cindex subprocesses, asynchronous
|
|
3335 @file{process.c} and @file{process.h} implement @dfn{asynchronous
|
|
3336 subprocesses}. This means that XEmacs starts a program and then
|
|
3337 continues normally, not waiting for the process to finish. Data can be
|
|
3338 sent to the process or retrieved from it as it's running. This is used
|
|
3339 for the @code{shell} command (which provides a front end onto a shell
|
|
3340 program such as @file{csh}), the mail and news readers implemented in
|
|
3341 XEmacs, etc. The result of calling @code{start-process} to start a
|
|
3342 subprocess is a process object, a particular kind of object used to
|
|
3343 communicate with the subprocess. You can send data to the process by
|
|
3344 passing the process object and the data to @code{send-process}, and you
|
|
3345 can specify what happens to data retrieved from the process by setting
|
|
3346 properties of the process object. (When the process sends data, XEmacs
|
|
3347 receives a process event, which says that there is data ready. When
|
|
3348 @code{dispatch-event} is called on this event, it reads the data from
|
|
3349 the process and does something with it, as specified by the process
|
|
3350 object's properties. Typically, this means inserting the data into a
|
|
3351 buffer or calling a function.) Another property of the process object is
|
|
3352 called the @dfn{sentinel}, which is a function that is called when the
|
|
3353 process terminates.
|
|
3354
|
|
3355 @cindex network connections
|
|
3356 Process objects are also used for network connections (connections to a
|
|
3357 process running on another machine). Network connections are started
|
|
3358 with @code{open-network-stream} but otherwise work just like
|
|
3359 subprocesses.
|
|
3360
|
|
3361
|
|
3362
|
|
3363 @example
|
|
3364 136029 sysdep.c
|
|
3365 5986 sysdep.h
|
|
3366 @end example
|
|
3367
|
|
3368 These modules implement most of the low-level, messy operating-system
|
|
3369 interface code. This includes various device control (ioctl) operations
|
|
3370 for file descriptors, TTY's, pseudo-terminals, etc. (usually this stuff
|
|
3371 is fairly system-dependent; thus the name of this module), and emulation
|
|
3372 of standard library functions and system calls on systems that don't
|
|
3373 provide them or have broken versions.
|
|
3374
|
|
3375
|
|
3376
|
|
3377 @example
|
|
3378 3605 sysdir.h
|
|
3379 6708 sysfile.h
|
|
3380 2027 sysfloat.h
|
|
3381 2918 sysproc.h
|
|
3382 745 syspwd.h
|
|
3383 7643 syssignal.h
|
|
3384 6892 systime.h
|
|
3385 12477 systty.h
|
|
3386 3487 syswait.h
|
|
3387 @end example
|
|
3388
|
|
3389 These header files provide consistent interfaces onto system-dependent
|
|
3390 header files and system calls. The idea is that, instead of including a
|
|
3391 standard header file like @file{<sys/param.h>} (which may or may not
|
|
3392 exist on various systems) or having to worry about whether all system
|
|
3393 provide a particular preprocessor constant, or having to deal with the
|
|
3394 four different paradigms for manipulating signals, you just include the
|
|
3395 appropriate @file{sys*.h} header file, which includes all the right
|
|
3396 system header files, defines and missing preprocessor constants,
|
|
3397 provides a uniform interface onto system calls, etc.
|
|
3398
|
|
3399 @file{sysdir.h} provides a uniform interface onto directory-querying
|
|
3400 functions. (In some cases, this is in conjunction with emulation
|
|
3401 functions in @file{sysdep.c}.)
|
|
3402
|
|
3403 @file{sysfile.h} includes all the necessary header files for standard
|
|
3404 system calls (e.g. @code{read()}), ensures that all necessary
|
|
3405 @code{open()} and @code{stat()} preprocessor constants are defined, and
|
|
3406 possibly (usually) substitutes sugared versions of @code{read()},
|
|
3407 @code{write()}, etc. that automatically restart interrupted I/O
|
|
3408 operations.
|
|
3409
|
|
3410 @file{sysfloat.h} includes the necessary header files for floating-point
|
|
3411 operations.
|
|
3412
|
|
3413 @file{sysproc.h} includes the necessary header files for calling
|
|
3414 @code{select()}, @code{fork()}, @code{execve()}, socket operations, and
|
|
3415 the like, and ensures that the @code{FD_*()} macros for descriptor-set
|
|
3416 manipulations are available.
|
|
3417
|
|
3418 @file{syspwd.h} includes the necessary header files for obtaining
|
|
3419 information from @file{/etc/passwd} (the functions are emulated under
|
|
3420 VMS).
|
|
3421
|
|
3422 @file{syssignal.h} includes the necessary header files for
|
|
3423 signal-handling and provides a uniform interface onto the different
|
|
3424 signal-handling and signal-blocking paradigms.
|
|
3425
|
|
3426 @file{systime.h} includes the necessary header files and provides
|
|
3427 uniform interfaces for retrieving the time of day, setting file
|
|
3428 access/modification times, getting the amount of time used by the XEmacs
|
|
3429 process, etc.
|
|
3430
|
|
3431 @file{systty.h} buffers against the infinitude of different ways of
|
|
3432 controlling TTY's.
|
|
3433
|
|
3434 @file{syswait.h} provides a uniform way of retrieving the exit status
|
|
3435 from a @code{wait()}ed-on process (some systems use a union, others use
|
|
3436 an int).
|
|
3437
|
|
3438
|
|
3439
|
|
3440 @example
|
|
3441 7940 hpplay.c
|
|
3442 10920 libsst.c
|
|
3443 1480 libsst.h
|
|
3444 3260 libst.h
|
|
3445 15355 linuxplay.c
|
|
3446 15849 nas.c
|
|
3447 19133 sgiplay.c
|
|
3448 15411 sound.c
|
|
3449 7358 sunplay.c
|
|
3450 @end example
|
|
3451
|
|
3452 These files implement the ability to play various sounds on some types
|
|
3453 of computers. You have to configure your XEmacs with sound support in
|
|
3454 order to get this capability.
|
|
3455
|
|
3456 @file{sound.c} provides the generic interface. It implements various
|
|
3457 Lisp primitives and variables that let you specify which sounds should
|
|
3458 be played in certain conditions. (The conditions are identified by
|
|
3459 symbols, which are passed to @code{ding} to make a sound. Various
|
|
3460 standard functions call this function at certain times; if sound support
|
|
3461 does not exist, a simple beep results.
|
|
3462
|
|
3463 @cindex native sound
|
|
3464 @cindex sound, native
|
|
3465 @file{sgiplay.c}, @file{sunplay.c}, @file{hpplay.c}, and
|
|
3466 @file{linuxplay.c} interface to the machine's speaker for various
|
|
3467 different kind of machines. This is called @dfn{native} sound.
|
|
3468
|
|
3469 @cindex sound, network
|
|
3470 @cindex network sound
|
|
3471 @cindex NAS
|
|
3472 @file{nas.c} interfaces to a computer somewhere else on the network
|
|
3473 using the NAS (Network Audio Server) protocol, playing sounds on that
|
|
3474 machine. This allows you to run XEmacs on a remote machine, with its
|
|
3475 display set to your local machine, and have the sounds be made on your
|
|
3476 local machine, provided that you have a NAS server running on your local
|
|
3477 machine.
|
|
3478
|
|
3479 @file{libsst.c}, @file{libsst.h}, and @file{libst.h} provide some
|
|
3480 additional functions for playing sound on a Sun SPARC but are not
|
|
3481 currently in use.
|
|
3482
|
|
3483
|
|
3484
|
|
3485 @example
|
|
3486 44368 tooltalk.c
|
|
3487 2137 tooltalk.h
|
|
3488 @end example
|
|
3489
|
|
3490 These two modules implement an interface to the ToolTalk protocol, which
|
|
3491 is an interprocess communication protocol implemented on some versions
|
|
3492 of Unix. ToolTalk is a high-level protocol that allows processes to
|
|
3493 register themselves as providers of particular services; other processes
|
|
3494 can then request a service without knowing or caring exactly who is
|
|
3495 providing the service. It is similar in spirit to the DDE protocol
|
|
3496 provided under Microsoft Windows. ToolTalk is a part of the new CDE
|
|
3497 (Common Desktop Environment) specification and is used to connect the
|
|
3498 parts of the SPARCWorks development environment.
|
|
3499
|
|
3500
|
|
3501
|
|
3502 @example
|
|
3503 22695 getloadavg.c
|
|
3504 @end example
|
|
3505
|
|
3506 This module provides the ability to retrieve the system's current load
|
|
3507 average. (The way to do this is highly system-specific, unfortunately,
|
|
3508 and requires a lot of special-case code.)
|
|
3509
|
|
3510
|
|
3511
|
|
3512 @example
|
|
3513 148520 energize.c
|
|
3514 6896 energize.h
|
|
3515 @end example
|
|
3516
|
|
3517 This module provides code to interface to an Energize server (when
|
|
3518 XEmacs is used as part of Lucid's Energize development environment) and
|
|
3519 provides some other Energize-specific functions. Much of the code in
|
|
3520 this module should be made more general-purpose and moved elsewhere, but
|
|
3521 is no longer very relevant now that Lucid is defunct. It also hasn't
|
|
3522 worked since version 19.12, since nobody has been maintaining it.
|
|
3523
|
|
3524
|
|
3525
|
|
3526 @example
|
|
3527 2861 sunpro.c
|
|
3528 @end example
|
|
3529
|
|
3530 This module provides a small amount of code used internally at Sun to
|
|
3531 keep statistics on the usage of XEmacs.
|
|
3532
|
|
3533
|
|
3534
|
|
3535 @example
|
|
3536 5548 broken-sun.h
|
|
3537 3468 strcmp.c
|
|
3538 2179 strcpy.c
|
|
3539 1650 sunOS-fix.c
|
|
3540 @end example
|
|
3541
|
|
3542 These files provide replacement functions and prototypes to fix numerous
|
|
3543 bugs in early releases of SunOS 4.1.
|
|
3544
|
|
3545
|
|
3546
|
|
3547 @example
|
|
3548 11669 hftctl.c
|
|
3549 @end example
|
|
3550
|
|
3551 This module provides some terminal-control code necessary on versions of
|
|
3552 AIX prior to 4.1.
|
|
3553
|
|
3554
|
|
3555
|
|
3556 @example
|
|
3557 1776 acldef.h
|
|
3558 1602 chpdef.h
|
|
3559 9032 uaf.h
|
|
3560 105 vlimit.h
|
|
3561 7145 vms-pp.c
|
|
3562 1158 vms-pwd.h
|
|
3563 26532 vmsfns.c
|
|
3564 6038 vmsmap.c
|
|
3565 695 vmspaths.h
|
|
3566 17482 vmsproc.c
|
|
3567 469 vmsproc.h
|
|
3568 @end example
|
|
3569
|
|
3570 All of these files are used for VMS support, which has never worked in
|
|
3571 XEmacs.
|
|
3572
|
|
3573
|
|
3574
|
|
3575 @example
|
|
3576 28316 msdos.c
|
|
3577 1472 msdos.h
|
|
3578 @end example
|
|
3579
|
|
3580 These modules are used for MS-DOS support, which does not work in
|
|
3581 XEmacs.
|
|
3582
|
|
3583
|
|
3584
|
|
3585 @node Modules for Interfacing with X Windows
|
|
3586 @section Modules for Interfacing with X Windows
|
|
3587
|
|
3588 @example
|
|
3589 size name
|
|
3590 ------- ---------------------
|
|
3591 3196 Emacs.ad.h
|
|
3592 @end example
|
|
3593
|
|
3594 A file generated from @file{Emacs.ad}, which contains XEmacs-supplied
|
|
3595 fallback resources (so that XEmacs has pretty defaults).
|
|
3596
|
|
3597
|
|
3598
|
|
3599 @example
|
|
3600 24242 EmacsFrame.c
|
|
3601 6979 EmacsFrame.h
|
|
3602 3351 EmacsFrameP.h
|
|
3603 @end example
|
|
3604
|
|
3605 These modules implement an Xt widget class that encapsulates a frame.
|
|
3606 This is for ease in integrating with Xt. The EmacsFrame widget covers
|
|
3607 the entire X window except for the menubar; the scrollbars are
|
|
3608 positioned on top of the EmacsFrame widget.
|
|
3609
|
|
3610 @strong{Warning:} Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. This code took
|
|
3611 an ungodly amount of time to get right, and is likely to fall apart
|
|
3612 mercilessly at the slightest change. Such is life under Xt.
|
|
3613
|
|
3614
|
|
3615
|
|
3616 @example
|
|
3617 8178 EmacsManager.c
|
|
3618 1967 EmacsManager.h
|
|
3619 1895 EmacsManagerP.h
|
|
3620 @end example
|
|
3621
|
|
3622 These modules implement a simple Xt manager (i.e. composite) widget
|
|
3623 class that simply lets its children set whatever geometry they want.
|
|
3624 It's amazing that Xt doesn't provide this standardly, but on second
|
|
3625 thought, it makes sense, considering how amazingly broken Xt is.
|
|
3626
|
|
3627
|
|
3628 @example
|
|
3629 13188 EmacsShell-sub.c
|
|
3630 4588 EmacsShell.c
|
|
3631 2180 EmacsShell.h
|
|
3632 3133 EmacsShellP.h
|
|
3633 @end example
|
|
3634
|
|
3635 These modules implement two Xt widget classes that are subclasses of
|
|
3636 the TopLevelShell and TransientShell classes. This is necessary to deal
|
|
3637 with more brokenness that Xt has sadistically thrust onto the backs of
|
|
3638 developers.
|
|
3639
|
|
3640
|
|
3641
|
|
3642 @example
|
|
3643 9673 xgccache.c
|
|
3644 1111 xgccache.h
|
|
3645 @end example
|
|
3646
|
|
3647 These modules provide functions for maintenance and caching of GC's
|
|
3648 (graphics contexts) under the X Window System. This code is junky and
|
|
3649 needs to be rewritten.
|
|
3650
|
|
3651
|
|
3652
|
|
3653 @example
|
|
3654 69181 xselect.c
|
|
3655 @end example
|
|
3656
|
|
3657 @cindex selections
|
|
3658 This module provides an interface to the X Window System's concept of
|
|
3659 @dfn{selections}, the standard way for X applications to communicate
|
|
3660 with each other.
|
|
3661
|
|
3662
|
|
3663
|
|
3664 @example
|
|
3665 929 xintrinsic.h
|
|
3666 1038 xintrinsicp.h
|
|
3667 1579 xmmanagerp.h
|
|
3668 1585 xmprimitivep.h
|
|
3669 @end example
|
|
3670
|
|
3671 These header files are similar in spirit to the @file{sys*.h} files and buffer
|
|
3672 against different implementations of Xt and Motif.
|
|
3673
|
|
3674 @itemize @bullet
|
|
3675 @item
|
|
3676 @file{xintrinsic.h} should be included in place of @file{<Intrinsic.h>}.
|
|
3677 @item
|
|
3678 @file{xintrinsicp.h} should be included in place of @file{<IntrinsicP.h>}.
|
|
3679 @item
|
|
3680 @file{xmmanagerp.h} should be included in place of @file{<XmManagerP.h>}.
|
|
3681 @item
|
|
3682 @file{xmprimitivep.h} should be included in place of @file{<XmPrimitiveP.h>}.
|
|
3683 @end itemize
|
|
3684
|
|
3685
|
|
3686
|
|
3687 @example
|
|
3688 16930 xmu.c
|
|
3689 936 xmu.h
|
|
3690 @end example
|
|
3691
|
|
3692 These files provide an emulation of the Xmu library for those systems
|
|
3693 (i.e. HPUX) that don't provide it as a standard part of X.
|
|
3694
|
|
3695
|
|
3696
|
|
3697 @example
|
|
3698 4201 ExternalClient-Xlib.c
|
|
3699 18083 ExternalClient.c
|
|
3700 2035 ExternalClient.h
|
|
3701 2104 ExternalClientP.h
|
|
3702 22684 ExternalShell.c
|
|
3703 1709 ExternalShell.h
|
|
3704 1971 ExternalShellP.h
|
|
3705 2478 extw-Xlib.c
|
|
3706 1481 extw-Xlib.h
|
|
3707 6565 extw-Xt.c
|
|
3708 1430 extw-Xt.h
|
|
3709 @end example
|
|
3710
|
|
3711 @cindex external widget
|
|
3712 These files provide the @dfn{external widget} interface, which allows an
|
|
3713 XEmacs frame to appear as a widget in another application. To do this,
|
|
3714 you have to configure with @samp{--external-widget}.
|
|
3715
|
|
3716 @file{ExternalShell*} provides the server (XEmacs) side of the
|
|
3717 connection.
|
|
3718
|
|
3719 @file{ExternalClient*} provides the client (other application) side of
|
|
3720 the connection. These files are not compiled into XEmacs but are
|
|
3721 compiled into libraries that are then linked into your application.
|
|
3722
|
|
3723 @file{extw-*} is common code that is used for both the client and server.
|
|
3724
|
|
3725 Don't touch this code; something is liable to break if you do.
|
|
3726
|
|
3727
|
|
3728
|
|
3729 @example
|
|
3730 31014 epoch.c
|
|
3731 @end example
|
|
3732
|
|
3733 This file provides some additional, Epoch-compatible, functionality for
|
|
3734 interfacing to the X Window System.
|
|
3735
|
|
3736
|
|
3737
|
|
3738 @node Modules for Internationalization
|
|
3739 @section Modules for Internationalization
|
|
3740
|
|
3741 @example
|
|
3742 size name
|
|
3743 ------- ---------------------
|
|
3744 42836 mule-canna.c
|
|
3745 16737 mule-ccl.c
|
|
3746 41080 mule-charset.c
|
|
3747 30176 mule-charset.h
|
|
3748 146844 mule-coding.c
|
|
3749 16588 mule-coding.h
|
|
3750 6996 mule-mcpath.c
|
|
3751 2899 mule-mcpath.h
|
|
3752 57158 mule-wnnfns.c
|
|
3753 3351 mule.c
|
|
3754 @end example
|
|
3755
|
|
3756 These files implement the MULE (Asian-language) support. Note that MULE
|
|
3757 actually provides a general interface for all sorts of languages, not
|
|
3758 just Asian languages (although they are generally the most complicated
|
|
3759 to support). This code is still in beta.
|
|
3760
|
|
3761 @file{mule-charset.*} and @file{mule-coding.*} provide the heart of the
|
2
|
3762 XEmacs MULE support. @file{mule-charset.*} implements the @dfn{charset}
|
|
3763 Lisp object type, which encapsulates a character set (an ordered one- or
|
|
3764 two-dimensional set of characters, such as US ASCII or JISX0208 Japanese
|
|
3765 Kanji).
|
|
3766
|
|
3767 @file{mule-coding.*} implements the @dfn{coding-system} Lisp object
|
|
3768 type, which encapsulates a method of converting between different
|
116
|
3769 encodings. An encoding is a representation of a stream of characters,
|
|
3770 possibly from multiple character sets, using a stream of bytes or words,
|
|
3771 and defines (e.g.) which escape sequences are used to specify particular
|
2
|
3772 character sets, how the indices for a character are converted into bytes
|
|
3773 (sometimes this involves setting the high bit; sometimes complicated
|
|
3774 rearranging of the values takes place, as in the Shift-JIS encoding),
|
|
3775 etc.
|
0
|
3776
|
|
3777 @file{mule-ccl.c} provides the CCL (Code Conversion Language)
|
|
3778 interpreter. CCL is similar in spirit to Lisp byte code and is used to
|
|
3779 implement converters for custom encodings.
|
|
3780
|
|
3781 @file{mule-canna.c} and @file{mule-wnnfns.c} implement interfaces to
|
|
3782 external programs used to implement the Canna and WNN input methods,
|
116
|
3783 respectively. This is currently in beta.
|
44
|
3784
|
|
3785 @file{mule-mcpath.c} provides some functions to allow for pathnames
|
|
3786 containing extended characters. This code is fragmentary, obsolete, and
|
|
3787 completely non-working. Instead, @var{pathname-coding-system} is used
|
|
3788 to specify conversions of names of files and directories. The standard
|
|
3789 C I/O functions like @samp{open()} are wrapped so that conversion occurs
|
|
3790 automatically.
|
0
|
3791
|
|
3792 @file{mule.c} provides a few miscellaneous things that should probably
|
|
3793 be elsewhere.
|
|
3794
|
|
3795
|
|
3796
|
|
3797 @example
|
|
3798 9400 intl.c
|
|
3799 @end example
|
|
3800
|
|
3801 This provides some miscellaneous internationalization code for
|
|
3802 implementing message translation and interfacing to the Ximp input
|
|
3803 method. None of this code is currently working.
|
|
3804
|
|
3805
|
|
3806
|
|
3807 @example
|
|
3808 1764 iso-wide.h
|
|
3809 @end example
|
|
3810
|
|
3811 This contains leftover code from an earlier implementation of
|
|
3812 Asian-language support, and is not currently used.
|
|
3813
|
|
3814
|
|
3815
|
|
3816
|
|
3817 @node Allocation of Objects in XEmacs Lisp, Events and the Event Loop, A Summary of the Various XEmacs Modules, Top
|
|
3818 @chapter Allocation of Objects in XEmacs Lisp
|
|
3819
|
|
3820 @menu
|
|
3821 * Introduction to Allocation::
|
|
3822 * Garbage Collection::
|
|
3823 * GCPROing::
|
|
3824 * Integers and Characters::
|
|
3825 * Allocation from Frob Blocks::
|
|
3826 * lrecords::
|
|
3827 * Low-level allocation::
|
|
3828 * Pure Space::
|
|
3829 * Cons::
|
|
3830 * Vector::
|
|
3831 * Bit Vector::
|
|
3832 * Symbol::
|
|
3833 * Marker::
|
|
3834 * String::
|
|
3835 * Bytecode::
|
|
3836 @end menu
|
|
3837
|
|
3838 @node Introduction to Allocation
|
|
3839 @section Introduction to Allocation
|
|
3840
|
|
3841 Emacs Lisp, like all Lisps, has garbage collection. This means that
|
|
3842 the programmer never has to explicitly free (destroy) an object; it
|
|
3843 happens automatically when the object becomes inaccessible. Most
|
|
3844 experts agree that garbage collection is a necessity in a modern,
|
|
3845 high-level language. Its omission from C stems from the fact that C was
|
|
3846 originally designed to be a nice abstract layer on top of assembly
|
|
3847 language, for writing kernels and basic system utilities rather than
|
|
3848 large applications.
|
|
3849
|
|
3850 Lisp objects can be created by any of a number of Lisp primitives.
|
|
3851 Most object types have one or a small number of basic primitives
|
|
3852 for creating objects. For conses, the basic primitive is @code{cons};
|
|
3853 for vectors, the primitives are @code{make-vector} and @code{vector}; for
|
|
3854 symbols, the primitives are @code{make-symbol} and @code{intern}; etc.
|
|
3855 Some Lisp objects, especially those that are primarily used internally,
|
|
3856 have no corresponding Lisp primitives. Every Lisp object, though,
|
|
3857 has at least one C primitive for creating it.
|
|
3858
|
|
3859 Recall from section (VII) that a Lisp object, as stored in a 32-bit
|
|
3860 or 64-bit word, has a mark bit, a few tag bits, and a ``value'' that
|
|
3861 occupies the remainder of the bits. We can separate the different
|
|
3862 Lisp object types into four broad categories:
|
|
3863
|
|
3864 @itemize @bullet
|
|
3865 @item
|
|
3866 (a) Those for whom the value directly represents the contents of the
|
|
3867 Lisp object. Only two types are in this category: integers and
|
|
3868 characters. No special allocation or garbage collection is necessary
|
116
|
3869 for such objects. Lisp objects of these types do not need to be
|
|
3870 @code{GCPRO}ed.
|
0
|
3871 @end itemize
|
|
3872
|
|
3873 In the remaining three categories, the value is a pointer to a
|
|
3874 structure.
|
|
3875
|
|
3876 @itemize @bullet
|
|
3877 @item
|
|
3878 @cindex frob block
|
|
3879 (b) Those for whom the tag directly specifies the type. Recall that
|
|
3880 there are only three tag bits; this means that at most five types can be
|
|
3881 specified this way. The most commonly-used types are stored in this
|
|
3882 format; this includes conses, strings, vectors, and sometimes symbols.
|
|
3883 With the exception of vectors, objects in this category are allocated in
|
|
3884 @dfn{frob blocks}, i.e. large blocks of memory that are subdivided into
|
|
3885 individual objects. This saves a lot on malloc overhead, since there
|
|
3886 are typically quite a lot of these objects around, and the objects are
|
|
3887 small. (A cons, for example, occupies 8 bytes on 32-bit machines -- 4
|
|
3888 bytes for each of the two objects it contains.) Vectors are individually
|
|
3889 @code{malloc()}ed since they are of variable size. (It would be
|
|
3890 possible, and desirable, to allocate vectors of certain small sizes out
|
|
3891 of frob blocks, but it isn't currently done.) Strings are handled
|
|
3892 specially: Each string is allocated in two parts, a fixed size structure
|
|
3893 containing a length and a data pointer, and the actual data of the
|
|
3894 string. The former structure is allocated in frob blocks as usual, and
|
|
3895 the latter data is stored in @dfn{string chars blocks} and is relocated
|
|
3896 during garbage collection to eliminate holes.
|
|
3897 @end itemize
|
|
3898
|
|
3899 In the remaining two categories, the type is stored in the object
|
|
3900 itself. The tag for all such objects is the generic @dfn{lrecord}
|
|
3901 (Lisp_Record) tag. The first four bytes (or eight, for 64-bit machines)
|
|
3902 of the object's structure are a pointer to a structure that describes
|
|
3903 the object's type, which includes method pointers and a pointer to a
|
|
3904 string naming the type. Note that it's possible to save some space by
|
|
3905 using a one- or two-byte tag, rather than a four- or eight-byte pointer
|
|
3906 to store the type, but it's not clear it's worth making the change.
|
|
3907
|
|
3908 @itemize @bullet
|
|
3909 @item
|
|
3910 (c) Those lrecords that are allocated in frob blocks (see above). This
|
|
3911 includes the objects that are most common and relatively small, and
|
|
3912 includes floats, bytecodes, symbols (when not in category (b)), extents,
|
|
3913 events, and markers. With the cleanup of frob blocks done in 19.12,
|
|
3914 it's not terribly hard to add more objects to this category, but it's a
|
|
3915 bit trickier than adding an object type to type (d) (esp. if the object
|
|
3916 needs a finalization method), and is not likely to save much space
|
|
3917 unless the object is small and there are many of them. (In fact, if
|
|
3918 there are very few of them, it might actually waste space.)
|
|
3919 @item
|
|
3920 (d) Those lrecords that are individually @code{malloc()}ed. These are
|
|
3921 called @dfn{lcrecords}. All other types are in this category. Adding a
|
|
3922 new type to this category is comparatively easy, and all types added
|
|
3923 since 19.8 (when the current allocation scheme was devised, by Richard
|
|
3924 Mlynarik), with the exception of the character type, have been in this
|
|
3925 category.
|
|
3926 @end itemize
|
|
3927
|
|
3928 Note that bit vectors are a bit of a special case. They are
|
|
3929 simple lrecords as in category (c), but are individually @code{malloc()}ed
|
|
3930 like vectors. You can basically view them as exactly like vectors
|
|
3931 except that their type is stored in lrecord fashion rather than
|
|
3932 in directly-tagged fashion.
|
|
3933
|
|
3934 Note that FSF Emacs redesigned their object system in 19.29 to follow
|
|
3935 a similar scheme. However, given RMS's expressed dislike for data
|
|
3936 abstraction, the FSF scheme is not nearly as clean or as easy to
|
|
3937 extend. (FSF calls items of type (c) @code{Lisp_Misc} and items of type
|
|
3938 (d) @code{Lisp_Vectorlike}, with separate tags for each, although
|
|
3939 @code{Lisp_Vectorlike} is also used for vectors.)
|
|
3940
|
|
3941 @node Garbage Collection
|
|
3942 @section Garbage Collection
|
|
3943 @cindex garbage collection
|
|
3944
|
|
3945 @cindex mark and sweep
|
|
3946 Garbage collection is simple in theory but tricky to implement.
|
|
3947 Emacs Lisp uses the oldest garbage collection method, called
|
|
3948 @dfn{mark and sweep}. Garbage collection begins by starting with
|
|
3949 all accessible locations (i.e. all variables and other slots where
|
|
3950 Lisp objects might occur) and recursively traversing all objects
|
|
3951 accessible from those slots, marking each one that is found.
|
|
3952 We then go through all of memory and free each object that is
|
|
3953 not marked, and unmarking each object that is marked. Note
|
|
3954 that ``all of memory'' means all currently allocated objects.
|
|
3955 Traversing all these objects means traversing all frob blocks,
|
|
3956 all vectors (which are chained in one big list), and all
|
|
3957 lcrecords (which are likewise chained).
|
|
3958
|
|
3959 Note that, when an object is marked, the mark has to occur
|
|
3960 inside of the object's structure, rather than in the 32-bit
|
|
3961 @code{Lisp_Object} holding the object's pointer; i.e. you can't just
|
|
3962 set the pointer's mark bit. This is because there may be many
|
|
3963 pointers to the same object. This means that the method of
|
|
3964 marking an object can differ depending on the type. The
|
|
3965 different marking methods are approximately as follows:
|
|
3966
|
|
3967 @enumerate
|
|
3968 @item
|
|
3969 For conses, the mark bit of the car is set.
|
|
3970 @item
|
|
3971 For strings, the mark bit of the string's plist is set.
|
|
3972 @item
|
|
3973 For symbols when not lrecords, the mark bit of the
|
|
3974 symbol's plist is set.
|
|
3975 @item
|
|
3976 For vectors, the length is negated after adding 1.
|
|
3977 @item
|
|
3978 For lrecords, the pointer to the structure describing
|
|
3979 the type is changed (see below).
|
|
3980 @item
|
|
3981 Integers and characters do not need to be marked, since
|
|
3982 no allocation occurs for them.
|
|
3983 @end enumerate
|
|
3984
|
|
3985 The details of this are in the @code{mark_object()} function.
|
|
3986
|
|
3987 Note that any code that operates during garbage collection has
|
|
3988 to be especially careful because of the fact that some objects
|
|
3989 may be marked and as such may not look like they normally do.
|
|
3990 In particular:
|
|
3991
|
|
3992 @itemize @bullet
|
|
3993 Some object pointers may have their mark bit set. This will make
|
|
3994 @code{FOOBARP()} predicates fail. Use @code{GC_FOOBARP()} to deal with
|
|
3995 this.
|
|
3996 @item
|
|
3997 Even if you clear the mark bit, @code{FOOBARP()} will still fail
|
|
3998 for lrecords because the implementation pointer has been
|
|
3999 changed (see below). @code{GC_FOOBARP()} will correctly deal with
|
|
4000 this.
|
|
4001 @item
|
|
4002 Vectors have their size field munged, so anything that
|
|
4003 looks at this field will fail.
|
|
4004 @item
|
|
4005 Note that @code{XFOOBAR()} macros @emph{will} work correctly on object
|
|
4006 pointers with their mark bit set, because the logical shift operations
|
|
4007 that remove the tag also remove the mark bit.
|
|
4008 @end itemize
|
|
4009
|
|
4010 Finally, note that garbage collection can be invoked explicitly
|
|
4011 by calling @code{garbage-collect} but is also called automatically
|
|
4012 by @code{eval}, once a certain amount of memory has been allocated
|
|
4013 since the last garbage collection (according to @code{gc-cons-threshold}).
|
|
4014
|
|
4015 @node GCPROing
|
|
4016 @section @code{GCPRO}ing
|
|
4017
|
|
4018 @code{GCPRO}ing is one of the ugliest and trickiest parts of Emacs
|
|
4019 internals. The basic idea is that whenever garbage collection
|
|
4020 occurs, all in-use objects must be reachable somehow or
|
|
4021 other from one of the roots of accessibility. The roots
|
|
4022 of accessibility are:
|
|
4023
|
|
4024 @enumerate
|
|
4025 @item
|
|
4026 All objects that have been @code{staticpro()}d. This is used for
|
|
4027 any global C variables that hold Lisp objects. A call to
|
|
4028 @code{staticpro()} happens implicitly as a result of any symbols
|
|
4029 declared with @code{defsymbol()} and any variables declared with
|
|
4030 @code{DEFVAR_FOO()}. You need to explicitly call @code{staticpro()}
|
|
4031 (in the @code{vars_of_foo()} method of a module) for other global
|
|
4032 C variables holding Lisp objects. (This typically includes
|
|
4033 internal lists and such things.)
|
|
4034
|
|
4035 Note that @code{obarray} is one of the @code{staticpro()}d things.
|
|
4036 Therefore, all functions and variables get marked through this.
|
|
4037 @item
|
272
|
4038 Any shadowed bindings that are sitting on the @code{specpdl} stack.
|
0
|
4039 @item
|
116
|
4040 Any objects sitting in currently active (Lisp) stack frames,
|
0
|
4041 catches, and condition cases.
|
|
4042 @item
|
|
4043 A couple of special-case places where active objects are
|
|
4044 located.
|
|
4045 @item
|
|
4046 Anything currently marked with @code{GCPRO}.
|
|
4047 @end enumerate
|
|
4048
|
|
4049 Marking with @code{GCPRO} is necessary because some C functions (quite
|
|
4050 a lot, in fact), allocate objects during their operation. Quite
|
|
4051 frequently, there will be no other pointer to the object while the
|
|
4052 function is running, and if a garbage collection occurs and the object
|
|
4053 needs to be referenced again, bad things will happen. The solution is
|
|
4054 to mark those objects with @code{GCPRO}. Unfortunately this is easy to
|
|
4055 forget, and there is basically no way around this problem. Here are
|
|
4056 some rules, though:
|
|
4057
|
|
4058 @enumerate
|
|
4059 @item
|
|
4060 For every @code{GCPRO@var{n}}, there have to be declarations of
|
|
4061 @code{struct gcpro gcpro1, gcpro2}, etc.
|
|
4062
|
|
4063 @item
|
|
4064 You @emph{must} @code{UNGCPRO} anything that's @code{GCPRO}ed, and you
|
|
4065 @emph{must not} @code{UNGCPRO} if you haven't @code{GCPRO}ed. Getting
|
|
4066 either of these wrong will lead to crashes, often in completely random
|
|
4067 places unrelated to where the problem lies.
|
|
4068
|
|
4069 @item
|
|
4070 The way this actually works is that all currently active @code{GCPRO}s
|
|
4071 are chained through the @code{struct gcpro} local variables, with the
|
|
4072 variable @samp{gcprolist} pointing to the head of the list and the nth
|
|
4073 local @code{gcpro} variable pointing to the first @code{gcpro} variable
|
|
4074 in the next enclosing stack frame. Each @code{GCPRO}ed thing is an
|
|
4075 lvalue, and the @code{struct gcpro} local variable contains a pointer to
|
|
4076 this lvalue. This is why things will mess up badly if you don't pair up
|
|
4077 the @code{GCPRO}s and @code{UNGCPRO}s -- you will end up with
|
|
4078 @code{gcprolist}s containing pointers to @code{struct gcpro}s or local
|
|
4079 @code{Lisp_Object} variables in no-longer-active stack frames.
|
|
4080
|
|
4081 @item
|
|
4082 It is actually possible for a single @code{struct gcpro} to
|
|
4083 protect a contiguous array of any number of values, rather than
|
|
4084 just a single lvalue. To effect this, call @code{GCPRO@var{n}} as usual on
|
272
|
4085 the first object in the array and then set @code{gcpro@var{n}.nvars}.
|
0
|
4086
|
|
4087 @item
|
|
4088 @strong{Strings are relocated.} What this means in practice is that the
|
116
|
4089 pointer obtained using @code{XSTRING_DATA()} is liable to change at any
|
0
|
4090 time, and you should never keep it around past any function call, or
|
|
4091 pass it as an argument to any function that might cause a garbage
|
|
4092 collection. This is why a number of functions accept either a
|
|
4093 ``non-relocatable'' @code{char *} pointer or a relocatable Lisp string,
|
|
4094 and only access the Lisp string's data at the very last minute. In some
|
|
4095 cases, you may end up having to @code{alloca()} some space and copy the
|
|
4096 string's data into it.
|
|
4097
|
|
4098 @item
|
|
4099 By convention, if you have to nest @code{GCPRO}'s, use @code{NGCPRO@var{n}}
|
|
4100 (along with @code{struct gcpro ngcpro1, ngcpro2}, etc.), @code{NNGCPRO@var{n}},
|
|
4101 etc. This avoids compiler warnings about shadowed locals.
|
|
4102
|
|
4103 @item
|
|
4104 It is @emph{always} better to err on the side of extra @code{GCPRO}s
|
|
4105 rather than too few. The extra cycles spent on this are
|
|
4106 almost never going to make a whit of difference in the
|
|
4107 speed of anything.
|
|
4108
|
|
4109 @item
|
|
4110 The general rule to follow is that caller, not callee, @code{GCPRO}s.
|
|
4111 That is, you should not have to explicitly @code{GCPRO} any Lisp objects
|
265
|
4112 that are passed in as parameters.
|
|
4113
|
|
4114 One exception from this rule is if you ever plan to change the parameter
|
|
4115 value, and store a new object in it. In that case, you @emph{must}
|
|
4116 @code{GCPRO} the parameter, because otherwise the new object will not be
|
|
4117 protected.
|
|
4118
|
|
4119 So, if you create any Lisp objects (remember, this happens in all sorts
|
|
4120 of circumstances, e.g. with @code{Fcons()}, etc.), you are responsible
|
|
4121 for @code{GCPRO}ing them, unless you are @emph{absolutely sure} that
|
|
4122 there's no possibility that a garbage-collection can occur while you
|
|
4123 need to use the object. Even then, consider @code{GCPRO}ing.
|
0
|
4124
|
|
4125 @item
|
|
4126 A garbage collection can occur whenever anything calls @code{Feval}, or
|
|
4127 whenever a QUIT can occur where execution can continue past
|
|
4128 this. (Remember, this is almost anywhere.)
|
|
4129
|
|
4130 @item
|
|
4131 If you have the @emph{least smidgeon of doubt} about whether
|
|
4132 you need to @code{GCPRO}, you should @code{GCPRO}.
|
|
4133
|
|
4134 @item
|
|
4135 Beware of @code{GCPRO}ing something that is uninitialized. If you have
|
116
|
4136 any shade of doubt about this, initialize all your variables to @code{Qnil}.
|
0
|
4137
|
|
4138 @item
|
|
4139 Be careful of traps, like calling @code{Fcons()} in the argument to
|
|
4140 another function. By the ``caller protects'' law, you should be
|
|
4141 @code{GCPRO}ing the newly-created cons, but you aren't. A certain
|
|
4142 number of functions that are commonly called on freshly created stuff
|
|
4143 (e.g. @code{nconc2()}, @code{Fsignal()}), break the ``caller protects''
|
|
4144 law and go ahead and @code{GCPRO} their arguments so as to simplify
|
|
4145 things, but make sure and check if it's OK whenever doing something like
|
|
4146 this.
|
|
4147
|
|
4148 @item
|
|
4149 Once again, remember to @code{GCPRO}! Bugs resulting from insufficient
|
|
4150 @code{GCPRO}ing are intermittent and extremely difficult to track down,
|
|
4151 often showing up in crashes inside of @code{garbage-collect} or in
|
|
4152 weirdly corrupted objects or even in incorrect values in a totally
|
|
4153 different section of code.
|
|
4154 @end enumerate
|
|
4155
|
|
4156 @cindex garbage collection, conservative
|
|
4157 @cindex conservative garbage collection
|
|
4158 Given the extremely error-prone nature of the @code{GCPRO} scheme, and
|
|
4159 the difficulties in tracking down, it should be considered a deficiency
|
|
4160 in the XEmacs code. A solution to this problem would involve
|
|
4161 implementing so-called @dfn{conservative} garbage collection for the C
|
|
4162 stack. That involves looking through all of stack memory and treating
|
|
4163 anything that looks like a reference to an object as a reference. This
|
|
4164 will result in a few objects not getting collected when they should, but
|
|
4165 it obviates the need for @code{GCPRO}ing, and allows garbage collection
|
|
4166 to happen at any point at all, such as during object allocation.
|
|
4167
|
|
4168 @node Integers and Characters
|
|
4169 @section Integers and Characters
|
|
4170
|
|
4171 Integer and character Lisp objects are created from integers using the
|
|
4172 macros @code{XSETINT()} and @code{XSETCHAR()} or the equivalent
|
|
4173 functions @code{make_int()} and @code{make_char()}. (These are actually
|
|
4174 macros on most systems.) These functions basically just do some moving
|
|
4175 of bits around, since the integral value of the object is stored
|
|
4176 directly in the @code{Lisp_Object}.
|
|
4177
|
|
4178 @code{XSETINT()} and the like will truncate values given to them that
|
|
4179 are too big; i.e. you won't get the value you expected but the tag bits
|
|
4180 will at least be correct.
|
|
4181
|
|
4182 @node Allocation from Frob Blocks
|
|
4183 @section Allocation from Frob Blocks
|
|
4184
|
|
4185 The uninitialized memory required by a @code{Lisp_Object} of a particular type
|
|
4186 is allocated using
|
|
4187 @code{ALLOCATE_FIXED_TYPE()}. This only occurs inside of the
|
|
4188 lowest-level object-creating functions in @file{alloc.c}:
|
|
4189 @code{Fcons()}, @code{make_float()}, @code{Fmake_byte_code()},
|
|
4190 @code{Fmake_symbol()}, @code{allocate_extent()},
|
|
4191 @code{allocate_event()}, @code{Fmake_marker()}, and
|
|
4192 @code{make_uninit_string()}. The idea is that, for each type, there are
|
|
4193 a number of frob blocks (each 2K in size); each frob block is divided up
|
|
4194 into object-sized chunks. Each frob block will have some of these
|
|
4195 chunks that are currently assigned to objects, and perhaps some that are
|
|
4196 free. (If a frob block has nothing but free chunks, it is freed at the
|
|
4197 end of the garbage collection cycle.) The free chunks are stored in a
|
|
4198 free list, which is chained by storing a pointer in the first four bytes
|
|
4199 of the chunk. (Except for the free chunks at the end of the last frob
|
|
4200 block, which are handled using an index which points past the end of the
|
|
4201 last-allocated chunk in the last frob block.)
|
|
4202 @code{ALLOCATE_FIXED_TYPE()} first tries to retrieve a chunk from the
|
|
4203 free list; if that fails, it calls
|
|
4204 @code{ALLOCATE_FIXED_TYPE_FROM_BLOCK()}, which looks at the end of the
|
|
4205 last frob block for space, and creates a new frob block if there is
|
|
4206 none. (There are actually two versions of these macros, one of which is
|
|
4207 more defensive but less efficient and is used for error-checking.)
|
|
4208
|
|
4209 @node lrecords
|
|
4210 @section lrecords
|
|
4211
|
|
4212 [see @file{lrecord.h}]
|
|
4213
|
|
4214 All lrecords have at the beginning of their structure a @code{struct
|
|
4215 lrecord_header}. This just contains a pointer to a @code{struct
|
|
4216 lrecord_implementation}, which is a structure containing method pointers
|
|
4217 and such. There is one of these for each type, and it is a global,
|
|
4218 constant, statically-declared structure that is declared in the
|
|
4219 @code{DEFINE_LRECORD_IMPLEMENTATION()} macro. (This macro actually
|
|
4220 declares an array of two @code{struct lrecord_implementation}
|
|
4221 structures. The first one contains all the standard method pointers,
|
|
4222 and is used in all normal circumstances. During garbage collection,
|
|
4223 however, the lrecord is @dfn{marked} by bumping its implementation
|
|
4224 pointer by one, so that it points to the second structure in the array.
|
|
4225 This structure contains a special indication in it that it's a
|
|
4226 @dfn{marked-object} structure: the finalize method is the special
|
|
4227 function @code{this_marks_a_marked_record()}, and all other methods are
|
|
4228 null pointers. At the end of garbage collection, all lrecords will
|
|
4229 either be reclaimed or unmarked by decrementing their implementation
|
|
4230 pointers, so this second structure pointer will never remain past
|
|
4231 garbage collection.
|
|
4232
|
|
4233 Simple lrecords (of type (c) above) just have a @code{struct
|
|
4234 lrecord_header} at their beginning. lcrecords, however, actually have a
|
|
4235 @code{struct lcrecord_header}. This, in turn, has a @code{struct
|
|
4236 lrecord_header} at its beginning, so sanity is preserved; but it also
|
2
|
4237 has a pointer used to chain all lcrecords together, and a special ID
|
0
|
4238 field used to distinguish one lcrecord from another. (This field is used
|
|
4239 only for debugging and could be removed, but the space gain is not
|
|
4240 significant.)
|
|
4241
|
|
4242 Simple lrecords are created using @code{ALLOCATE_FIXED_TYPE()}, just
|
|
4243 like for other frob blocks. The only change is that the implementation
|
|
4244 pointer must be initialized correctly. (The implementation structure for
|
|
4245 an lrecord, or rather the pointer to it, is named @code{lrecord_float},
|
|
4246 @code{lrecord_extent}, @code{lrecord_buffer}, etc.)
|
|
4247
|
|
4248 lcrecords are created using @code{alloc_lcrecord()}. This takes a
|
|
4249 size to allocate and an implementation pointer. (The size needs to be
|
|
4250 passed because some lcrecords, such as window configurations, are of
|
|
4251 variable size.) This basically just @code{malloc()}s the storage,
|
|
4252 initializes the @code{struct lcrecord_header}, and chains the lcrecord
|
|
4253 onto the head of the list of all lcrecords, which is stored in the
|
|
4254 variable @code{all_lcrecords}. The calls to @code{alloc_lcrecord()}
|
|
4255 generally occur in the lowest-level allocation function for each lrecord
|
|
4256 type.
|
|
4257
|
|
4258 Whenever you create an lrecord, you need to call either
|
|
4259 @code{DEFINE_LRECORD_IMPLEMENTATION()} or
|
|
4260 @code{DEFINE_LRECORD_SEQUENCE_IMPLEMENTATION()}. This needs to be
|
|
4261 specified in a C file, at the top level. What this actually does is
|
|
4262 define and initialize the implementation structure for the lrecord. (And
|
|
4263 possibly declares a function @code{error_check_foo()} that implements
|
|
4264 the @code{XFOO()} macro when error-checking is enabled.) The arguments
|
|
4265 to the macros are the actual type name (this is used to construct the C
|
|
4266 variable name of the lrecord implementation structure and related
|
|
4267 structures using the @samp{##} macro concatenation operator), a string
|
|
4268 that names the type on the Lisp level (this may not be the same as the C
|
|
4269 type name; typically, the C type name has underscores, while the Lisp
|
|
4270 string has dashes), various method pointers, and the name of the C
|
|
4271 structure that contains the object. The methods are used to encapsulate
|
|
4272 type-specific information about the object, such as how to print it or
|
|
4273 mark it for garbage collection, so that it's easy to add new object
|
|
4274 types without having to add a specific case for each new type in a bunch
|
|
4275 of different places.
|
|
4276
|
|
4277 The difference between @code{DEFINE_LRECORD_IMPLEMENTATION()} and
|
|
4278 @code{DEFINE_LRECORD_SEQUENCE_IMPLEMENTATION()} is that the former is
|
|
4279 used for fixed-size object types and the latter is for variable-size
|
|
4280 object types. Most object types are fixed-size; some complex
|
|
4281 types, however (e.g. window configurations), are variable-size.
|
|
4282 Variable-size object types have an extra method, which is called
|
|
4283 to determine the actual size of a particular object of that type.
|
|
4284 (Currently this is only used for keeping allocation statistics.)
|
|
4285
|
|
4286 For the purpose of keeping allocation statistics, the allocation
|
|
4287 engine keeps a list of all the different types that exist. Note that,
|
|
4288 since @code{DEFINE_LRECORD_IMPLEMENTATION()} is a macro that is
|
|
4289 specified at top-level, there is no way for it to add to the list of all
|
|
4290 existing types. What happens instead is that each implementation
|
|
4291 structure contains in it a dynamically assigned number that is
|
|
4292 particular to that type. (Or rather, it contains a pointer to another
|
|
4293 structure that contains this number. This evasiveness is done so that
|
|
4294 the implementation structure can be declared const.) In the sweep stage
|
|
4295 of garbage collection, each lrecord is examined to see if its
|
|
4296 implementation structure has its dynamically-assigned number set. If
|
|
4297 not, it must be a new type, and it is added to the list of known types
|
|
4298 and a new number assigned. The number is used to index into an array
|
|
4299 holding the number of objects of each type and the total memory
|
|
4300 allocated for objects of that type. The statistics in this array are
|
|
4301 also computed during the sweep stage. These statistics are returned by
|
|
4302 the call to @code{garbage-collect} and are printed out at the end of the
|
|
4303 loadup phase.
|
|
4304
|
|
4305 Note that for every type defined with a @code{DEFINE_LRECORD_*()}
|
|
4306 macro, there needs to be a @code{DECLARE_LRECORD_IMPLEMENTATION()}
|
|
4307 somewhere in a @file{.h} file, and this @file{.h} file needs to be
|
|
4308 included by @file{inline.c}.
|
|
4309
|
|
4310 Furthermore, there should generally be a set of @code{XFOOBAR()},
|
|
4311 @code{FOOBARP()}, etc. macros in a @file{.h} (or occasionally @file{.c})
|
|
4312 file. To create one of these, copy an existing model and modify as
|
|
4313 necessary.
|
|
4314
|
|
4315 The various methods in the lrecord implementation structure are:
|
|
4316
|
|
4317 @enumerate
|
|
4318 @item
|
|
4319 @cindex mark method
|
|
4320 A @dfn{mark} method. This is called during the marking stage and passed
|
|
4321 a function pointer (usually the @code{mark_object()} function), which is
|
|
4322 used to mark an object. All Lisp objects that are contained within the
|
|
4323 object need to be marked by applying this function to them. The mark
|
|
4324 method should also return a Lisp object, which should be either nil or
|
|
4325 an object to mark. (This can be used in lieu of calling
|
|
4326 @code{mark_object()} on the object, to reduce the recursion depth, and
|
|
4327 consequently should be the most heavily nested sub-object, such as a
|
|
4328 long list.)
|
|
4329
|
298
|
4330 @strong{Please note:} When the mark method is called, garbage collection
|
|
4331 is in progress, and special precautions need to be taken when accessing
|
|
4332 objects; see section (B) above.
|
0
|
4333
|
|
4334 If your mark method does not need to do anything, it can be
|
|
4335 @code{NULL}.
|
|
4336
|
|
4337 @item
|
|
4338 A @dfn{print} method. This is called to create a printed representation
|
|
4339 of the object, whenever @code{princ}, @code{prin1}, or the like is
|
|
4340 called. It is passed the object, a stream to which the output is to be
|
|
4341 directed, and an @code{escapeflag} which indicates whether the object's
|
|
4342 printed representation should be @dfn{escaped} so that it is
|
|
4343 readable. (This corresponds to the difference between @code{princ} and
|
|
4344 @code{prin1}.) Basically, @dfn{escaped} means that strings will have
|
|
4345 quotes around them and confusing characters in the strings such as
|
|
4346 quotes, backslashes, and newlines will be backslashed; and that special
|
|
4347 care will be taken to make symbols print in a readable fashion
|
|
4348 (e.g. symbols that look like numbers will be backslashed). Other
|
|
4349 readable objects should perhaps pass @code{escapeflag} on when
|
|
4350 sub-objects are printed, so that readability is preserved when necessary
|
|
4351 (or if not, always pass in a 1 for @code{escapeflag}). Non-readable
|
|
4352 objects should in general ignore @code{escapeflag}, except that some use
|
|
4353 it as an indication that more verbose output should be given.
|
|
4354
|
|
4355 Sub-objects are printed using @code{print_internal()}, which takes
|
|
4356 exactly the same arguments as are passed to the print method.
|
|
4357
|
|
4358 Literal C strings should be printed using @code{write_c_string()},
|
|
4359 or @code{write_string_1()} for non-null-terminated strings.
|
|
4360
|
|
4361 Functions that do not have a readable representation should check the
|
|
4362 @code{print_readably} flag and signal an error if it is set.
|
|
4363
|
|
4364 If you specify NULL for the print method, the
|
|
4365 @code{default_object_printer()} will be used.
|
|
4366
|
|
4367 @item
|
|
4368 A @dfn{finalize} method. This is called at the beginning of the sweep
|
|
4369 stage on lcrecords that are about to be freed, and should be used to
|
|
4370 perform any extra object cleanup. This typically involves freeing any
|
|
4371 extra @code{malloc()}ed memory associated with the object, releasing any
|
|
4372 operating-system and window-system resources associated with the object
|
|
4373 (e.g. pixmaps, fonts), etc.
|
|
4374
|
|
4375 The finalize method can be NULL if nothing needs to be done.
|
|
4376
|
|
4377 WARNING #1: The finalize method is also called at the end of the dump
|
|
4378 phase; this time with the for_disksave parameter set to non-zero. The
|
|
4379 object is @emph{not} about to disappear, so you have to make sure to
|
|
4380 @emph{not} free any extra @code{malloc()}ed memory if you're going to
|
|
4381 need it later. (Also, signal an error if there are any operating-system
|
|
4382 and window-system resources here, because they can't be dumped.)
|
|
4383
|
|
4384 Finalize methods should, as a rule, set to zero any pointers after
|
|
4385 they've been freed, and check to make sure pointers are not zero before
|
|
4386 freeing. Although I'm pretty sure that finalize methods are not called
|
|
4387 twice on the same object (except for the @code{for_disksave} proviso),
|
|
4388 we've gotten nastily burned in some cases by not doing this.
|
|
4389
|
|
4390 WARNING #2: The finalize method is @emph{only} called for
|
|
4391 lcrecords, @emph{not} for simply lrecords. If you need a
|
|
4392 finalize method for simple lrecords, you have to stick
|
|
4393 it in the @code{ADDITIONAL_FREE_foo()} macro in @file{alloc.c}.
|
|
4394
|
|
4395 WARNING #3: Things are in an @emph{extremely} bizarre state
|
|
4396 when @code{ADDITIONAL_FREE_foo()} is called, so you have to
|
|
4397 be incredibly careful when writing one of these functions.
|
|
4398 See the comment in @code{gc_sweep()}. If you ever have to add
|
|
4399 one of these, consider using an lcrecord or dealing with
|
|
4400 the problem in a different fashion.
|
|
4401
|
|
4402 @item
|
|
4403 An @dfn{equal} method. This compares the two objects for similarity,
|
|
4404 when @code{equal} is called. It should compare the contents of the
|
|
4405 objects in some reasonable fashion. It is passed the two objects and a
|
|
4406 @dfn{depth} value, which is used to catch circular objects. To compare
|
|
4407 sub-Lisp-objects, call @code{internal_equal()} and bump the depth value
|
|
4408 by one. If this value gets too high, a @code{circular-object} error
|
|
4409 will be signaled.
|
|
4410
|
|
4411 If this is NULL, objects are @code{equal} only when they are @code{eq},
|
|
4412 i.e. identical.
|
|
4413
|
|
4414 @item
|
|
4415 A @dfn{hash} method. This is used to hash objects when they are to be
|
|
4416 compared with @code{equal}. The rule here is that if two objects are
|
|
4417 @code{equal}, they @emph{must} hash to the same value; i.e. your hash
|
|
4418 function should use some subset of the sub-fields of the object that are
|
|
4419 compared in the ``equal'' method. If you specify this method as
|
|
4420 @code{NULL}, the object's pointer will be used as the hash, which will
|
|
4421 @emph{fail} if the object has an @code{equal} method, so don't do this.
|
|
4422
|
|
4423 To hash a sub-Lisp-object, call @code{internal_hash()}. Bump the
|
|
4424 depth by one, just like in the ``equal'' method.
|
|
4425
|
|
4426 To convert a Lisp object directly into a hash value (using
|
|
4427 its pointer), use @code{LISP_HASH()}. This is what happens when
|
|
4428 the hash method is NULL.
|
|
4429
|
|
4430 To hash two or more values together into a single value, use
|
|
4431 @code{HASH2()}, @code{HASH3()}, @code{HASH4()}, etc.
|
|
4432
|
|
4433 @item
|
|
4434 @dfn{getprop}, @dfn{putprop}, @dfn{remprop}, and @dfn{plist} methods.
|
|
4435 These are used for object types that have properties. I don't feel like
|
|
4436 documenting them here. If you create one of these objects, you have to
|
|
4437 use different macros to define them,
|
|
4438 i.e. @code{DEFINE_LRECORD_IMPLEMENTATION_WITH_PROPS()} or
|
|
4439 @code{DEFINE_LRECORD_SEQUENCE_IMPLEMENTATION_WITH_PROPS()}.
|
|
4440
|
|
4441 @item
|
|
4442 A @dfn{size_in_bytes} method, when the object is of variable-size.
|
|
4443 (i.e. declared with a @code{_SEQUENCE_IMPLEMENTATION} macro.) This should
|
|
4444 simply return the object's size in bytes, exactly as you might expect.
|
|
4445 For an example, see the methods for window configurations and opaques.
|
|
4446 @end enumerate
|
|
4447
|
|
4448 @node Low-level allocation
|
|
4449 @section Low-level allocation
|
|
4450
|
|
4451 Memory that you want to allocate directly should be allocated using
|
|
4452 @code{xmalloc()} rather than @code{malloc()}. This implements
|
|
4453 error-checking on the return value, and once upon a time did some more
|
|
4454 vital stuff (i.e. @code{BLOCK_INPUT}, which is no longer necessary).
|
|
4455 Free using @code{xfree()}, and realloc using @code{xrealloc()}. Note
|
|
4456 that @code{xmalloc()} will do a non-local exit if the memory can't be
|
|
4457 allocated. (Many functions, however, do not expect this, and thus XEmacs
|
|
4458 will likely crash if this happens. @strong{This is a bug.} If you can,
|
|
4459 you should strive to make your function handle this OK. However, it's
|
|
4460 difficult in the general circumstance, perhaps requiring extra
|
|
4461 unwind-protects and such.)
|
|
4462
|
|
4463 Note that XEmacs provides two separate replacements for the standard
|
|
4464 @code{malloc()} library function. These are called @dfn{old GNU malloc}
|
|
4465 (@file{malloc.c}) and @dfn{new GNU malloc} (@file{gmalloc.c}),
|
|
4466 respectively. New GNU malloc is better in pretty much every way than
|
|
4467 old GNU malloc, and should be used if possible. (It used to be that on
|
|
4468 some systems, the old one worked but the new one didn't. I think this
|
|
4469 was due specifically to a bug in SunOS, which the new one now works
|
|
4470 around; so I don't think the old one ever has to be used any more.) The
|
|
4471 primary difference between both of these mallocs and the standard system
|
|
4472 malloc is that they are much faster, at the expense of increased space.
|
|
4473 The basic idea is that memory is allocated in fixed chunks of powers of
|
|
4474 two. This allows for basically constant malloc time, since the various
|
|
4475 chunks can just be kept on a number of free lists. (The standard system
|
|
4476 malloc typically allocates arbitrary-sized chunks and has to spend some
|
|
4477 time, sometimes a significant amount of time, walking the heap looking
|
|
4478 for a free block to use and cleaning things up.) The new GNU malloc
|
|
4479 improves on things by allocating large objects in chunks of 4096 bytes
|
|
4480 rather than in ever larger powers of two, which results in ever larger
|
|
4481 wastage. There is a slight speed loss here, but it's of doubtful
|
|
4482 significance.
|
|
4483
|
|
4484 NOTE: Apparently there is a third-generation GNU malloc that is
|
|
4485 significantly better than the new GNU malloc, and should probably
|
|
4486 be included in XEmacs.
|
|
4487
|
|
4488 There is also the relocating allocator, @file{ralloc.c}. This actually
|
|
4489 moves blocks of memory around so that the @code{sbrk()} pointer shrunk
|
|
4490 and virtual memory released back to the system. On some systems,
|
|
4491 this is a big win. On all systems, it causes a noticeable (and
|
|
4492 sometimes huge) speed penalty, so I turn it off by default.
|
|
4493 @file{ralloc.c} only works with the new GNU malloc in @file{gmalloc.c}.
|
|
4494 There are also two versions of @file{ralloc.c}, one that uses @code{mmap()}
|
|
4495 rather than block copies to move data around. This purports to
|
|
4496 be faster, although that depends on the amount of data that would
|
|
4497 have had to be block copied and the system-call overhead for
|
|
4498 @code{mmap()}. I don't know exactly how this works, except that the
|
|
4499 relocating-allocation routines are pretty much used only for
|
|
4500 the memory allocated for a buffer, which is the biggest consumer
|
|
4501 of space, esp. of space that may get freed later.
|
|
4502
|
|
4503 Note that the GNU mallocs have some ``memory warning'' facilities.
|
|
4504 XEmacs taps into them and issues a warning through the standard
|
|
4505 warning system, when memory gets to 75%, 85%, and 95% full.
|
|
4506 (On some systems, the memory warnings are not functional.)
|
|
4507
|
|
4508 Allocated memory that is going to be used to make a Lisp object
|
|
4509 is created using @code{allocate_lisp_storage()}. This calls @code{xmalloc()}
|
|
4510 but also verifies that the pointer to the memory can fit into
|
|
4511 a Lisp word (remember that some bits are taken away for a type
|
|
4512 tag and a mark bit). If not, an error is issued through @code{memory_full()}.
|
|
4513 @code{allocate_lisp_storage()} is called by @code{alloc_lcrecord()},
|
|
4514 @code{ALLOCATE_FIXED_TYPE()}, and the vector and bit-vector creation
|
|
4515 routines. These routines also call @code{INCREMENT_CONS_COUNTER()} at the
|
|
4516 appropriate times; this keeps statistics on how much memory is
|
|
4517 allocated, so that garbage-collection can be invoked when the
|
|
4518 threshold is reached.
|
|
4519
|
|
4520 @node Pure Space
|
|
4521 @section Pure Space
|
|
4522
|
|
4523 Not yet documented.
|
|
4524
|
|
4525 @node Cons
|
|
4526 @section Cons
|
|
4527
|
|
4528 Conses are allocated in standard frob blocks. The only thing to
|
|
4529 note is that conses can be explicitly freed using @code{free_cons()}
|
|
4530 and associated functions @code{free_list()} and @code{free_alist()}. This
|
|
4531 immediately puts the conses onto the cons free list, and decrements
|
|
4532 the statistics on memory allocation appropriately. This is used
|
|
4533 to good effect by some extremely commonly-used code, to avoid
|
|
4534 generating extra objects and thereby triggering GC sooner.
|
|
4535 However, you have to be @emph{extremely} careful when doing this.
|
|
4536 If you mess this up, you will get BADLY BURNED, and it has happened
|
|
4537 before.
|
|
4538
|
|
4539 @node Vector
|
|
4540 @section Vector
|
|
4541
|
|
4542 As mentioned above, each vector is @code{malloc()}ed individually, and
|
|
4543 all are threaded through the variable @code{all_vectors}. Vectors are
|
|
4544 marked strangely during garbage collection, by kludging the size field.
|
116
|
4545 Note that the @code{struct Lisp_Vector} is declared with its
|
|
4546 @code{contents} field being a @emph{stretchy} array of one element. It
|
|
4547 is actually @code{malloc()}ed with the right size, however, and access
|
|
4548 to any element through the @code{contents} array works fine.
|
0
|
4549
|
|
4550 @node Bit Vector
|
|
4551 @section Bit Vector
|
|
4552
|
|
4553 Bit vectors work exactly like vectors, except for more complicated
|
|
4554 code to access an individual bit, and except for the fact that bit
|
|
4555 vectors are lrecords while vectors are not. (The only difference here is
|
|
4556 that there's an lrecord implementation pointer at the beginning and the
|
|
4557 tag field in bit vector Lisp words is ``lrecord'' rather than
|
|
4558 ``vector''.)
|
|
4559
|
|
4560 @node Symbol
|
|
4561 @section Symbol
|
|
4562
|
|
4563 Symbols are also allocated in frob blocks. Note that the code
|
|
4564 exists for symbols to be either lrecords (category (c) above)
|
|
4565 or simple types (category (b) above), and are lrecords by
|
|
4566 default (I think), although there is no good reason for this.
|
|
4567
|
|
4568 Note that symbols in the awful horrible obarray structure are
|
|
4569 chained through their @code{next} field.
|
|
4570
|
|
4571 Remember that @code{intern} looks up a symbol in an obarray, creating
|
|
4572 one if necessary.
|
|
4573
|
|
4574 @node Marker
|
|
4575 @section Marker
|
|
4576
|
|
4577 Markers are allocated in frob blocks, as usual. They are kept
|
|
4578 in a buffer unordered, but in a doubly-linked list so that they
|
|
4579 can easily be removed. (Formerly this was a singly-linked list,
|
|
4580 but in some cases garbage collection took an extraordinarily
|
|
4581 long time due to the O(N^2) time required to remove lots of
|
|
4582 markers from a buffer.) Markers are removed from a buffer in
|
|
4583 the finalize stage, in @code{ADDITIONAL_FREE_marker()}.
|
|
4584
|
|
4585 @node String
|
|
4586 @section String
|
|
4587
|
|
4588 As mentioned above, strings are a special case. A string is logically
|
|
4589 two parts, a fixed-size object (containing the length, property list,
|
|
4590 and a pointer to the actual data), and the actual data in the string.
|
|
4591 The fixed-size object is a @code{struct Lisp_String} and is allocated in
|
|
4592 frob blocks, as usual. The actual data is stored in special
|
|
4593 @dfn{string-chars blocks}, which are 8K blocks of memory.
|
|
4594 Currently-allocated strings are simply laid end to end in these
|
|
4595 string-chars blocks, with a pointer back to the @code{struct Lisp_String}
|
|
4596 stored before each string in the string-chars block. When a new string
|
|
4597 needs to be allocated, the remaining space at the end of the last
|
|
4598 string-chars block is used if there's enough, and a new string-chars
|
|
4599 block is created otherwise.
|
|
4600
|
|
4601 There are never any holes in the string-chars blocks due to the string
|
|
4602 compaction and relocation that happens at the end of garbage collection.
|
|
4603 During the sweep stage of garbage collection, when objects are
|
|
4604 reclaimed, the garbage collector goes through all string-chars blocks,
|
|
4605 looking for unused strings. Each chunk of string data is preceded by a
|
|
4606 pointer to the corresponding @code{struct Lisp_String}, which indicates
|
|
4607 both whether the string is used and how big the string is, i.e. how to
|
2
|
4608 get to the next chunk of string data. Holes are compressed by
|
0
|
4609 block-copying the next string into the empty space and relocating the
|
|
4610 pointer stored in the corresponding @code{struct Lisp_String}.
|
|
4611 @strong{This means you have to be careful with strings in your code.}
|
|
4612 See the section above on @code{GCPRO}ing.
|
|
4613
|
|
4614 Note that there is one situation not handled: a string that is too big
|
|
4615 to fit into a string-chars block. Such strings, called @dfn{big
|
|
4616 strings}, are all @code{malloc()}ed as their own block. (#### Although it
|
|
4617 would make more sense for the threshold for big strings to be somewhat
|
|
4618 lower, e.g. 1/2 or 1/4 the size of a string-chars block. It seems that
|
|
4619 this was indeed the case formerly -- indeed, the threshold was set at
|
|
4620 1/8 -- but Mly forgot about this when rewriting things for 19.8.)
|
|
4621
|
|
4622 Note also that the string data in string-chars blocks is padded as
|
|
4623 necessary so that proper alignment constraints on the @code{struct
|
|
4624 Lisp_String} back pointers are maintained.
|
|
4625
|
|
4626 Finally, strings can be resized. This happens in Mule when a
|
|
4627 character is substituted with a different-length character, or during
|
|
4628 modeline frobbing. (You could also export this to Lisp, but it's not
|
|
4629 done so currently.) Resizing a string is a potentially tricky process.
|
|
4630 If the change is small enough that the padding can absorb it, nothing
|
|
4631 other than a simple memory move needs to be done. Keep in mind,
|
|
4632 however, that the string can't shrink too much because the offset to the
|
|
4633 next string in the string-chars block is computed by looking at the
|
|
4634 length and rounding to the nearest multiple of four or eight. If the
|
|
4635 string would shrink or expand beyond the correct padding, new string
|
|
4636 data needs to be allocated at the end of the last string-chars block and
|
|
4637 the data moved appropriately. This leaves some dead string data, which
|
|
4638 is marked by putting a special marker of 0xFFFFFFFF in the @code{struct
|
|
4639 Lisp_String} pointer before the data (there's no real @code{struct
|
|
4640 Lisp_String} to point to and relocate), and storing the size of the dead
|
|
4641 string data (which would normally be obtained from the now-non-existent
|
|
4642 @code{struct Lisp_String}) at the beginning of the dead string data gap.
|
|
4643 The string compactor recognizes this special 0xFFFFFFFF marker and
|
|
4644 handles it correctly.
|
|
4645
|
|
4646 @node Bytecode
|
|
4647 @section Bytecode
|
|
4648
|
|
4649 Not yet documented.
|
|
4650
|
|
4651 @node Events and the Event Loop, Evaluation; Stack Frames; Bindings, Allocation of Objects in XEmacs Lisp, Top
|
|
4652 @chapter Events and the Event Loop
|
|
4653
|
|
4654 @menu
|
|
4655 * Introduction to Events::
|
|
4656 * Main Loop::
|
|
4657 * Specifics of the Event Gathering Mechanism::
|
|
4658 * Specifics About the Emacs Event::
|
|
4659 * The Event Stream Callback Routines::
|
|
4660 * Other Event Loop Functions::
|
|
4661 * Converting Events::
|
|
4662 * Dispatching Events; The Command Builder::
|
|
4663 @end menu
|
|
4664
|
|
4665 @node Introduction to Events
|
|
4666 @section Introduction to Events
|
|
4667
|
|
4668 An event is an object that encapsulates information about an
|
|
4669 interesting occurrence in the operating system. Events are
|
|
4670 generated either by user action, direct (e.g. typing on the
|
|
4671 keyboard or moving the mouse) or indirect (moving another
|
|
4672 window, thereby generating an expose event on an Emacs frame),
|
|
4673 or as a result of some other typically asynchronous action happening,
|
|
4674 such as output from a subprocess being ready or a timer expiring.
|
|
4675 Events come into the system in an asynchronous fashion (typically
|
|
4676 through a callback being called) and are converted into a
|
|
4677 synchronous event queue (first-in, first-out) in a process that
|
|
4678 we will call @dfn{collection}.
|
|
4679
|
2
|
4680 Note that each application has its own event queue. (It is
|
0
|
4681 immaterial whether the collection process directly puts the
|
|
4682 events in the proper application's queue, or puts them into
|
|
4683 a single system queue, which is later split up.)
|
|
4684
|
|
4685 The most basic level of event collection is done by the
|
|
4686 operating system or window system. Typically, XEmacs does
|
|
4687 its own event collection as well. Often there are multiple
|
|
4688 layers of collection in XEmacs, with events from various
|
|
4689 sources being collected into a queue, which is then combined
|
|
4690 with other sources to go into another queue (i.e. a second
|
|
4691 level of collection), with perhaps another level on top of
|
|
4692 this, etc.
|
|
4693
|
|
4694 XEmacs has its own types of events (called @dfn{Emacs events}),
|
|
4695 which provides an abstract layer on top of the system-dependent
|
|
4696 nature of the most basic events that are received. Part of the
|
|
4697 complex nature of the XEmacs event collection process involves
|
|
4698 converting from the operating-system events into the proper
|
|
4699 Emacs events -- there may not be a one-to-one correspondence.
|
|
4700
|
|
4701 Emacs events are documented in @file{events.h}; I'll discuss them
|
|
4702 later.
|
|
4703
|
|
4704 @node Main Loop
|
|
4705 @section Main Loop
|
|
4706
|
|
4707 The @dfn{command loop} is the top-level loop that the editor is always
|
|
4708 running. It loops endlessly, calling @code{next-event} to retrieve an
|
|
4709 event and @code{dispatch-event} to execute it. @code{dispatch-event} does
|
|
4710 the appropriate thing with non-user events (process, timeout,
|
|
4711 magic, eval, mouse motion); this involves calling a Lisp handler
|
|
4712 function, redrawing a newly-exposed part of a frame, reading
|
|
4713 subprocess output, etc. For user events, @code{dispatch-event}
|
|
4714 looks up the event in relevant keymaps or menubars; when a
|
|
4715 full key sequence or menubar selection is reached, the appropriate
|
|
4716 function is executed. @code{dispatch-event} may have to keep state
|
|
4717 across calls; this is done in the ``command-builder'' structure
|
|
4718 associated with each console (remember, there's usually only
|
|
4719 one console), and the engine that looks up keystrokes and
|
|
4720 constructs full key sequences is called the @dfn{command builder}.
|
|
4721 This is documented elsewhere.
|
|
4722
|
|
4723 The guts of the command loop are in @code{command_loop_1()}. This
|
|
4724 function doesn't catch errors, though -- that's the job of
|
|
4725 @code{command_loop_2()}, which is a condition-case (i.e. error-trapping)
|
|
4726 wrapper around @code{command_loop_1()}. @code{command_loop_1()} never
|
|
4727 returns, but may get thrown out of.
|
|
4728
|
|
4729 When an error occurs, @code{cmd_error()} is called, which usually
|
|
4730 invokes the Lisp error handler in @code{command-error}; however, a
|
|
4731 default error handler is provided if @code{command-error} is @code{nil}
|
|
4732 (e.g. during startup). The purpose of the error handler is simply to
|
|
4733 display the error message and do associated cleanup; it does not need to
|
|
4734 throw anywhere. When the error handler finishes, the condition-case in
|
|
4735 @code{command_loop_2()} will finish and @code{command_loop_2()} will
|
|
4736 reinvoke @code{command_loop_1()}.
|
|
4737
|
|
4738 @code{command_loop_2()} is invoked from three places: from
|
|
4739 @code{initial_command_loop()} (called from @code{main()} at the end of
|
|
4740 internal initialization), from the Lisp function @code{recursive-edit},
|
|
4741 and from @code{call_command_loop()}.
|
|
4742
|
|
4743 @code{call_command_loop()} is called when a macro is started and when
|
|
4744 the minibuffer is entered; normal termination of the macro or minibuffer
|
|
4745 causes a throw out of the recursive command loop. (To
|
|
4746 @code{execute-kbd-macro} for macros and @code{exit} for minibuffers.
|
|
4747 Note also that the low-level minibuffer-entering function,
|
|
4748 @code{read-minibuffer-internal}, provides its own error handling and
|
|
4749 does not need @code{command_loop_2()}'s error encapsulation; so it tells
|
|
4750 @code{call_command_loop()} to invoke @code{command_loop_1()} directly.)
|
|
4751
|
|
4752 Note that both read-minibuffer-internal and recursive-edit set up a
|
|
4753 catch for @code{exit}; this is why @code{abort-recursive-edit}, which
|
|
4754 throws to this catch, exits out of either one.
|
|
4755
|
|
4756 @code{initial_command_loop()}, called from @code{main()}, sets up a
|
|
4757 catch for @code{top-level} when invoking @code{command_loop_2()},
|
|
4758 allowing functions to throw all the way to the top level if they really
|
|
4759 need to. Before invoking @code{command_loop_2()},
|
|
4760 @code{initial_command_loop()} calls @code{top_level_1()}, which handles
|
|
4761 all of the startup stuff (creating the initial frame, handling the
|
|
4762 command-line options, loading the user's @file{.emacs} file, etc.). The
|
|
4763 function that actually does this is in Lisp and is pointed to by the
|
|
4764 variable @code{top-level}; normally this function is
|
|
4765 @code{normal-top-level}. @code{top_level_1()} is just an error-handling
|
|
4766 wrapper similar to @code{command_loop_2()}. Note also that
|
|
4767 @code{initial_command_loop()} sets up a catch for @code{top-level} when
|
|
4768 invoking @code{top_level_1()}, just like when it invokes
|
|
4769 @code{command_loop_2()}.
|
|
4770
|
|
4771 @node Specifics of the Event Gathering Mechanism
|
|
4772 @section Specifics of the Event Gathering Mechanism
|
|
4773
|
|
4774 Here is an approximate diagram of the collection processes
|
|
4775 at work in XEmacs, under TTY's (TTY's are simpler than X
|
|
4776 so we'll look at this first):
|
|
4777
|
|
4778 @noindent
|
|
4779 @example
|
|
4780 asynch. asynch. asynch. asynch. [Collectors in
|
|
4781 kbd events kbd events process process the OS]
|
|
4782 | | output output
|
|
4783 | | | |
|
|
4784 | | | | SIGINT, [signal handlers
|
|
4785 | | | | SIGQUIT, in XEmacs]
|
|
4786 V V V V SIGWINCH,
|
|
4787 file file file file SIGALRM
|
|
4788 desc. desc. desc. desc. |
|
|
4789 (TTY) (TTY) (pipe) (pipe) |
|
|
4790 | | | | fake timeouts
|
|
4791 | | | | file |
|
|
4792 | | | | desc. |
|
|
4793 | | | | (pipe) |
|
|
4794 | | | | | |
|
|
4795 | | | | | |
|
|
4796 | | | | | |
|
|
4797 V V V V V V
|
|
4798 ------>-----------<----------------<----------------
|
|
4799 |
|
|
4800 |
|
|
4801 | [collected using select() in emacs_tty_next_event()
|
|
4802 | and converted to the appropriate Emacs event]
|
|
4803 |
|
|
4804 |
|
|
4805 V (above this line is TTY-specific)
|
|
4806 Emacs ------------------------------------------------
|
|
4807 event (below this line is the generic event mechanism)
|
|
4808 |
|
|
4809 |
|
|
4810 was there if not, call
|
|
4811 a SIGINT? emacs_tty_next_event()
|
|
4812 | |
|
|
4813 | |
|
|
4814 | |
|
|
4815 V V
|
|
4816 --->-------<----
|
|
4817 |
|
|
4818 | [collected in event_stream_next_event();
|
|
4819 | SIGINT is converted using maybe_read_quit_event()]
|
|
4820 V
|
|
4821 Emacs
|
|
4822 event
|
|
4823 |
|
|
4824 \---->------>----- maybe_kbd_translate() ---->---\
|
|
4825 |
|
|
4826 |
|
|
4827 |
|
|
4828 command event queue |
|
|
4829 if not from command
|
|
4830 (contains events that were event queue, call
|
|
4831 read earlier but not processed, event_stream_next_event()
|
|
4832 typically when waiting in a |
|
|
4833 sit-for, sleep-for, etc. for |
|
|
4834 a particular event to be received) |
|
|
4835 | |
|
|
4836 | |
|
|
4837 V V
|
|
4838 ---->------------------------------------<----
|
|
4839 |
|
|
4840 | [collected in
|
|
4841 | next_event_internal()]
|
|
4842 |
|
|
4843 unread- unread- event from |
|
|
4844 command- command- keyboard else, call
|
|
4845 events event macro next_event_internal()
|
|
4846 | | | |
|
|
4847 | | | |
|
|
4848 | | | |
|
|
4849 V V V V
|
|
4850 --------->----------------------<------------
|
|
4851 |
|
|
4852 | [collected in `next-event', which may loop
|
|
4853 | more than once if the event it gets is on
|
|
4854 | a dead frame, device, etc.]
|
|
4855 |
|
|
4856 |
|
|
4857 V
|
|
4858 feed into top-level event loop,
|
|
4859 which repeatedly calls `next-event'
|
|
4860 and then dispatches the event
|
|
4861 using `dispatch-event'
|
|
4862 @end example
|
|
4863
|
|
4864 Notice the separation between TTY-specific and generic event mechanism.
|
|
4865 When using the Xt-based event loop, the TTY-specific stuff is replaced
|
|
4866 but the rest stays the same.
|
|
4867
|
|
4868 It's also important to realize that only one different kind of
|
|
4869 system-specific event loop can be operating at a time, and must be able
|
|
4870 to receive all kinds of events simultaneously. For the two existing
|
|
4871 event loops (implemented in @file{event-tty.c} and @file{event-Xt.c},
|
|
4872 respectively), the TTY event loop @emph{only} handles TTY consoles,
|
|
4873 while the Xt event loop handles @emph{both} TTY and X consoles. This
|
|
4874 situation is different from all of the output handlers, where you simply
|
|
4875 have one per console type.
|
|
4876
|
|
4877 Here's the Xt Event Loop Diagram (notice that below a certain point,
|
|
4878 it's the same as the above diagram):
|
|
4879
|
|
4880 @example
|
|
4881 asynch. asynch. asynch. asynch. [Collectors in
|
|
4882 kbd kbd process process the OS]
|
|
4883 events events output output
|
|
4884 | | | |
|
|
4885 | | | | asynch. asynch. [Collectors in the
|
|
4886 | | | | X X OS and X Window System]
|
|
4887 | | | | events events
|
|
4888 | | | | | |
|
|
4889 | | | | | |
|
|
4890 | | | | | | SIGINT, [signal handlers
|
|
4891 | | | | | | SIGQUIT, in XEmacs]
|
|
4892 | | | | | | SIGWINCH,
|
|
4893 | | | | | | SIGALRM
|
|
4894 | | | | | | |
|
|
4895 | | | | | | |
|
|
4896 | | | | | | | timeouts
|
|
4897 | | | | | | | |
|
|
4898 | | | | | | | |
|
|
4899 | | | | | | V |
|
|
4900 V V V V V V fake |
|
|
4901 file file file file file file file |
|
|
4902 desc. desc. desc. desc. desc. desc. desc. |
|
|
4903 (TTY) (TTY) (pipe) (pipe) (socket) (socket) (pipe) |
|
|
4904 | | | | | | | |
|
|
4905 | | | | | | | |
|
|
4906 | | | | | | | |
|
|
4907 V V V V V V V V
|
|
4908 --->----------------------------------------<---------<------
|
|
4909 | | |
|
|
4910 | | | [collected using select() in
|
|
4911 | | | _XtWaitForSomething(), called
|
|
4912 | | | from XtAppProcessEvent(), called
|
|
4913 | | | in emacs_Xt_next_event();
|
|
4914 | | | dispatched to various callbacks]
|
|
4915 | | |
|
|
4916 | | |
|
|
4917 emacs_Xt_ p_s_callback(), | [popup_selection_callback]
|
|
4918 event_handler() x_u_v_s_callback(),| [x_update_vertical_scrollbar_
|
|
4919 | x_u_h_s_callback(),| callback]
|
|
4920 | search_callback() | [x_update_horizontal_scrollbar_
|
|
4921 | | | callback]
|
|
4922 | | |
|
|
4923 | | |
|
|
4924 enqueue_Xt_ signal_special_ |
|
|
4925 dispatch_event() Xt_user_event() |
|
|
4926 [maybe multiple | |
|
|
4927 times, maybe 0 | |
|
|
4928 times] | |
|
|
4929 | enqueue_Xt_ |
|
|
4930 | dispatch_event() |
|
|
4931 | | |
|
|
4932 | | |
|
|
4933 V V |
|
|
4934 -->----------<-- |
|
|
4935 | |
|
|
4936 | |
|
|
4937 dispatch Xt_what_callback()
|
|
4938 event sets flags
|
|
4939 queue |
|
|
4940 | |
|
|
4941 | |
|
|
4942 | |
|
|
4943 | |
|
|
4944 ---->-----------<--------
|
|
4945 |
|
|
4946 |
|
|
4947 | [collected and converted as appropriate in
|
|
4948 | emacs_Xt_next_event()]
|
|
4949 |
|
|
4950 |
|
|
4951 V (above this line is Xt-specific)
|
|
4952 Emacs ------------------------------------------------
|
|
4953 event (below this line is the generic event mechanism)
|
|
4954 |
|
|
4955 |
|
|
4956 was there if not, call
|
|
4957 a SIGINT? emacs_Xt_next_event()
|
|
4958 | |
|
|
4959 | |
|
|
4960 | |
|
|
4961 V V
|
|
4962 --->-------<----
|
|
4963 |
|
|
4964 | [collected in event_stream_next_event();
|
|
4965 | SIGINT is converted using maybe_read_quit_event()]
|
|
4966 V
|
|
4967 Emacs
|
|
4968 event
|
|
4969 |
|
|
4970 \---->------>----- maybe_kbd_translate() -->-----\
|
|
4971 |
|
|
4972 |
|
|
4973 |
|
|
4974 command event queue |
|
|
4975 if not from command
|
|
4976 (contains events that were event queue, call
|
|
4977 read earlier but not processed, event_stream_next_event()
|
|
4978 typically when waiting in a |
|
|
4979 sit-for, sleep-for, etc. for |
|
|
4980 a particular event to be received) |
|
|
4981 | |
|
|
4982 | |
|
|
4983 V V
|
|
4984 ---->----------------------------------<------
|
|
4985 |
|
|
4986 | [collected in
|
|
4987 | next_event_internal()]
|
|
4988 |
|
|
4989 unread- unread- event from |
|
|
4990 command- command- keyboard else, call
|
|
4991 events event macro next_event_internal()
|
|
4992 | | | |
|
|
4993 | | | |
|
|
4994 | | | |
|
|
4995 V V V V
|
|
4996 --------->----------------------<------------
|
|
4997 |
|
|
4998 | [collected in `next-event', which may loop
|
|
4999 | more than once if the event it gets is on
|
|
5000 | a dead frame, device, etc.]
|
|
5001 |
|
|
5002 |
|
|
5003 V
|
|
5004 feed into top-level event loop,
|
|
5005 which repeatedly calls `next-event'
|
|
5006 and then dispatches the event
|
|
5007 using `dispatch-event'
|
|
5008 @end example
|
|
5009
|
|
5010 @node Specifics About the Emacs Event
|
|
5011 @section Specifics About the Emacs Event
|
|
5012
|
|
5013 @node The Event Stream Callback Routines
|
|
5014 @section The Event Stream Callback Routines
|
|
5015
|
|
5016 @node Other Event Loop Functions
|
|
5017 @section Other Event Loop Functions
|
|
5018
|
|
5019 @code{detect_input_pending()} and @code{input-pending-p} look for
|
|
5020 input by calling @code{event_stream->event_pending_p} and looking in
|
|
5021 @code{[V]unread-command-event} and the @code{command_event_queue} (they
|
|
5022 do not check for an executing keyboard macro, though).
|
|
5023
|
|
5024 @code{discard-input} cancels any command events pending (and any
|
|
5025 keyboard macros currently executing), and puts the others onto the
|
|
5026 @code{command_event_queue}. There is a comment about a ``race
|
|
5027 condition'', which is not a good sign.
|
|
5028
|
|
5029 @code{next-command-event} and @code{read-char} are higher-level
|
|
5030 interfaces to @code{next-event}. @code{next-command-event} gets the
|
116
|
5031 next @dfn{command} event (i.e. keypress, mouse event, menu selection,
|
|
5032 or scrollbar action), calling @code{dispatch-event} on any others.
|
|
5033 @code{read-char} calls @code{next-command-event} and uses
|
|
5034 @code{event_to_character()} to return the character equivalent. With
|
|
5035 the right kind of input method support, it is possible for (read-char)
|
|
5036 to return a Kanji character.
|
0
|
5037
|
|
5038 @node Converting Events
|
|
5039 @section Converting Events
|
|
5040
|
|
5041 @code{character_to_event()}, @code{event_to_character()},
|
|
5042 @code{event-to-character}, and @code{character-to-event} convert between
|
116
|
5043 characters and keypress events corresponding to the characters. If the
|
0
|
5044 event was not a keypress, @code{event_to_character()} returns -1 and
|
|
5045 @code{event-to-character} returns @code{nil}. These functions convert
|
116
|
5046 between character representation and the split-up event representation
|
0
|
5047 (keysym plus mod keys).
|
|
5048
|
|
5049 @node Dispatching Events; The Command Builder
|
|
5050 @section Dispatching Events; The Command Builder
|
|
5051
|
|
5052 Not yet documented.
|
|
5053
|
|
5054 @node Evaluation; Stack Frames; Bindings, Symbols and Variables, Events and the Event Loop, Top
|
|
5055 @chapter Evaluation; Stack Frames; Bindings
|
|
5056
|
|
5057 @menu
|
|
5058 * Evaluation::
|
|
5059 * Dynamic Binding; The specbinding Stack; Unwind-Protects::
|
|
5060 * Simple Special Forms::
|
|
5061 * Catch and Throw::
|
|
5062 @end menu
|
|
5063
|
|
5064 @node Evaluation
|
|
5065 @section Evaluation
|
|
5066
|
|
5067 @code{Feval()} evaluates the form (a Lisp object) that is passed to
|
|
5068 it. Note that evaluation is only non-trivial for two types of objects:
|
253
|
5069 symbols and conses. A symbol is evaluated simply by calling
|
|
5070 symbol-value on it and returning the value.
|
0
|
5071
|
|
5072 Evaluating a cons means calling a function. First, @code{eval} checks
|
|
5073 to see if garbage-collection is necessary, and calls
|
|
5074 @code{Fgarbage_collect()} if so. It then increases the evaluation depth
|
|
5075 by 1 (@code{lisp_eval_depth}, which is always less than @code{max_lisp_eval_depth}) and adds an
|
|
5076 element to the linked list of @code{struct backtrace}'s
|
|
5077 (@code{backtrace_list}). Each such structure contains a pointer to the
|
|
5078 function being called plus a list of the function's arguments.
|
|
5079 Originally these values are stored unevalled, and as they are evaluated,
|
|
5080 the backtrace structure is updated. Garbage collection pays attention
|
|
5081 to the objects pointed to in the backtrace structures (garbage
|
|
5082 collection might happen while a function is being called or while an
|
|
5083 argument is being evaluated, and there could easily be no other
|
|
5084 references to the arguments in the argument list; once an argument is
|
|
5085 evaluated, however, the unevalled version is not needed by eval, and so
|
|
5086 the backtrace structure is changed).
|
|
5087
|
|
5088 At this point, the function to be called is determined by looking at
|
|
5089 the car of the cons (if this is a symbol, its function definition is
|
|
5090 retrieved and the process repeated). The function should then consist
|
116
|
5091 of either a @code{Lisp_Subr} (built-in function), a
|
|
5092 @code{Lisp_Compiled_Function} object, or a cons whose car is the symbol
|
253
|
5093 @code{autoload}, @code{macro} or @code{lambda}.
|
116
|
5094
|
|
5095 If the function is a @code{Lisp_Subr}, the lisp object points to a
|
|
5096 @code{struct Lisp_Subr} (created by @code{DEFUN()}), which contains a
|
|
5097 pointer to the C function, a minimum and maximum number of arguments
|
|
5098 (possibly the special constants @code{MANY} or @code{UNEVALLED}), a
|
|
5099 pointer to the symbol referring to that subr, and a couple of other
|
|
5100 things. If the subr wants its arguments @code{UNEVALLED}, they are
|
|
5101 passed raw as a list. Otherwise, an array of evaluated arguments is
|
|
5102 created and put into the backtrace structure, and either passed whole
|
|
5103 (@code{MANY}) or each argument is passed as a C argument.
|
|
5104
|
|
5105 If the function is a @code{Lisp_Compiled_Function} object or a lambda,
|
0
|
5106 @code{apply_lambda()} is called. If the function is a macro,
|
|
5107 [..... fill in] is done. If the function is an autoload,
|
|
5108 @code{do_autoload()} is called to load the definition and then eval
|
253
|
5109 starts over [explain this more].
|
0
|
5110
|
|
5111 When @code{Feval} exits, the evaluation depth is reduced by one, the
|
|
5112 debugger is called if appropriate, and the current backtrace structure
|
|
5113 is removed from the list.
|
|
5114
|
|
5115 @code{apply_lambda()} is passed a function, a list of arguments, and a
|
|
5116 flag indicating whether to evaluate the arguments. It creates an array
|
|
5117 of (possibly) evaluated arguments and fixes up the backtrace structure,
|
|
5118 just like eval does. Then it calls @code{funcall_lambda()}.
|
|
5119
|
|
5120 @code{funcall_lambda()} goes through the formal arguments to the
|
|
5121 function and binds them to the actual arguments, checking for
|
|
5122 @code{&rest} and @code{&optional} symbols in the formal arguments and
|
|
5123 making sure the number of actual arguments is correct. Then either
|
116
|
5124 @code{progn} or @code{byte-code} is called to actually execute the body
|
|
5125 and return a value.
|
0
|
5126
|
|
5127 @code{Ffuncall()} implements Lisp @code{funcall}. @code{(funcall fun
|
|
5128 x1 x2 x3 ...)} is equivalent to @code{(eval (list fun (quote x1) (quote
|
|
5129 x2) (quote x3) ...))}. @code{Ffuncall()} contains its own code to do
|
|
5130 the evaluation, however, and is almost identical to eval.
|
|
5131
|
|
5132 @code{Fapply()} implements Lisp @code{apply}, which is very similar to
|
272
|
5133 @code{funcall} except that if the last argument is a list, the result is the
|
0
|
5134 same as if each of the arguments in the list had been passed separately.
|
|
5135 @code{Fapply()} does some business to expand the last argument if it's a
|
|
5136 list, then calls @code{Ffuncall()} to do the work.
|
|
5137
|
|
5138 @code{apply1()}, @code{call0()}, @code{call1()}, @code{call2()}, and
|
|
5139 @code{call3()} call a function, passing it the argument(s) given (the
|
|
5140 arguments are given as separate C arguments rather than being passed as
|
|
5141 an array). @code{apply1()} uses @code{apply} while the others use
|
|
5142 @code{funcall}.
|
|
5143
|
|
5144 @node Dynamic Binding; The specbinding Stack; Unwind-Protects
|
|
5145 @section Dynamic Binding; The specbinding Stack; Unwind-Protects
|
|
5146
|
|
5147 @example
|
|
5148 struct specbinding
|
|
5149 @{
|
|
5150 Lisp_Object symbol, old_value;
|
2
|
5151 Lisp_Object (*func) (Lisp_Object); /* for unwind-protect */
|
0
|
5152 @};
|
|
5153 @end example
|
|
5154
|
|
5155 @code{struct specbinding} is used for local-variable bindings and
|
|
5156 unwind-protects. @code{specpdl} holds an array of @code{struct specbinding}'s,
|
|
5157 @code{specpdl_ptr} points to the beginning of the free bindings in the
|
|
5158 array, @code{specpdl_size} specifies the total number of binding slots
|
|
5159 in the array, and @code{max_specpdl_size} specifies the maximum number
|
|
5160 of bindings the array can be expanded to hold. @code{grow_specpdl()}
|
272
|
5161 increases the size of the @code{specpdl} array, multiplying its size by
|
|
5162 2 but never exceeding @code{max_specpdl_size} (except that if this
|
|
5163 number is less than 400, it is first set to 400).
|
0
|
5164
|
|
5165 @code{specbind()} binds a symbol to a value and is used for local
|
|
5166 variables and @code{let} forms. The symbol and its old value (which
|
|
5167 might be @code{Qunbound}, indicating no prior value) are recorded in the
|
|
5168 specpdl array, and @code{specpdl_size} is increased by 1.
|
|
5169
|
|
5170 @code{record_unwind_protect()} implements an @dfn{unwind-protect},
|
|
5171 which, when placed around a section of code, ensures that some specified
|
|
5172 cleanup routine will be executed even if the code exits abnormally
|
116
|
5173 (e.g. through a @code{throw} or quit). @code{record_unwind_protect()}
|
272
|
5174 simply adds a new specbinding to the @code{specpdl} array and stores the
|
116
|
5175 appropriate information in it. The cleanup routine can either be a C
|
|
5176 function, which is stored in the @code{func} field, or a @code{progn}
|
|
5177 form, which is stored in the @code{old_value} field.
|
0
|
5178
|
272
|
5179 @code{unbind_to()} removes specbindings from the @code{specpdl} array
|
|
5180 until the specified position is reached. Each specbinding can be one of
|
|
5181 three types:
|
0
|
5182
|
|
5183 @enumerate
|
|
5184 @item
|
116
|
5185 an unwind-protect with a C cleanup function (@code{func} is not 0, and
|
0
|
5186 @code{old_value} holds an argument to be passed to the function);
|
|
5187 @item
|
116
|
5188 an unwind-protect with a Lisp form (@code{func} is 0, @code{symbol}
|
|
5189 is @code{nil}, and @code{old_value} holds the form to be executed with
|
0
|
5190 @code{Fprogn()}); or
|
|
5191 @item
|
116
|
5192 a local-variable binding (@code{func} is 0, @code{symbol} is not
|
|
5193 @code{nil}, and @code{old_value} holds the old value, which is stored as
|
0
|
5194 the symbol's value).
|
|
5195 @end enumerate
|
|
5196
|
|
5197 @node Simple Special Forms
|
|
5198 @section Simple Special Forms
|
|
5199
|
|
5200 @code{or}, @code{and}, @code{if}, @code{cond}, @code{progn},
|
|
5201 @code{prog1}, @code{prog2}, @code{setq}, @code{quote}, @code{function},
|
|
5202 @code{let*}, @code{let}, @code{while}
|
|
5203
|
|
5204 All of these are very simple and work as expected, calling
|
|
5205 @code{Feval()} or @code{Fprogn()} as necessary and (in the case of
|
|
5206 @code{let} and @code{let*}) using @code{specbind()} to create bindings
|
|
5207 and @code{unbind_to()} to undo the bindings when finished. Note that
|
|
5208 these functions do a lot of @code{GCPRO}ing to protect their arguments
|
|
5209 from garbage collection because they call @code{Feval()} (@pxref{Garbage
|
|
5210 Collection}).
|
|
5211
|
|
5212 @node Catch and Throw
|
|
5213 @section Catch and Throw
|
|
5214
|
|
5215 @example
|
|
5216 struct catchtag
|
|
5217 @{
|
|
5218 Lisp_Object tag;
|
|
5219 Lisp_Object val;
|
|
5220 struct catchtag *next;
|
|
5221 struct gcpro *gcpro;
|
|
5222 jmp_buf jmp;
|
|
5223 struct backtrace *backlist;
|
|
5224 int lisp_eval_depth;
|
|
5225 int pdlcount;
|
|
5226 @};
|
|
5227 @end example
|
|
5228
|
|
5229 @code{catch} is a Lisp function that places a catch around a body of
|
|
5230 code. A catch is a means of non-local exit from the code. When a catch
|
|
5231 is created, a tag is specified, and executing a @code{throw} to this tag
|
|
5232 will exit from the body of code caught with this tag, and its value will
|
|
5233 be the value given in the call to @code{throw}. If there is no such
|
|
5234 call, the code will be executed normally.
|
|
5235
|
|
5236 Information pertaining to a catch is held in a @code{struct catchtag},
|
|
5237 which is placed at the head of a linked list pointed to by
|
|
5238 @code{catchlist}. @code{internal_catch()} is passed a C function to
|
|
5239 call (@code{Fprogn()} when Lisp @code{catch} is called) and arguments to
|
|
5240 give it, and places a catch around the function. Each @code{struct
|
|
5241 catchtag} is held in the stack frame of the @code{internal_catch()}
|
|
5242 instance that created the catch.
|
|
5243
|
|
5244 @code{internal_catch()} is fairly straightforward. It stores into the
|
|
5245 @code{struct catchtag} the tag name and the current values of
|
|
5246 @code{backtrace_list}, @code{lisp_eval_depth}, @code{gcprolist}, and the
|
272
|
5247 offset into the @code{specpdl} array, sets a jump point with @code{_setjmp()}
|
0
|
5248 (storing the jump point into the @code{struct catchtag}), and calls the
|
|
5249 function. Control will return to @code{internal_catch()} either when
|
|
5250 the function exits normally or through a @code{_longjmp()} to this jump
|
|
5251 point. In the latter case, @code{throw} will store the value to be
|
|
5252 returned into the @code{struct catchtag} before jumping. When it's
|
|
5253 done, @code{internal_catch()} removes the @code{struct catchtag} from
|
|
5254 the catchlist and returns the proper value.
|
|
5255
|
|
5256 @code{Fthrow()} goes up through the catchlist until it finds one with
|
|
5257 a matching tag. It then calls @code{unbind_catch()} to restore
|
|
5258 everything to what it was when the appropriate catch was set, stores the
|
|
5259 return value in the @code{struct catchtag}, and jumps (with
|
|
5260 @code{_longjmp()}) to its jump point.
|
|
5261
|
|
5262 @code{unbind_catch()} removes all catches from the catchlist until it
|
|
5263 finds the correct one. Some of the catches might have been placed for
|
|
5264 error-trapping, and if so, the appropriate entries on the handlerlist
|
|
5265 must be removed (see ``errors''). @code{unbind_catch()} also restores
|
|
5266 the values of @code{gcprolist}, @code{backtrace_list}, and
|
|
5267 @code{lisp_eval}, and calls @code{unbind_to()} to undo any specbindings
|
|
5268 created since the catch.
|
|
5269
|
|
5270
|
|
5271 @node Symbols and Variables, Buffers and Textual Representation, Evaluation; Stack Frames; Bindings, Top
|
|
5272 @chapter Symbols and Variables
|
|
5273
|
|
5274 @menu
|
|
5275 * Introduction to Symbols::
|
|
5276 * Obarrays::
|
|
5277 * Symbol Values::
|
|
5278 @end menu
|
|
5279
|
|
5280 @node Introduction to Symbols
|
|
5281 @section Introduction to Symbols
|
|
5282
|
|
5283 A symbol is basically just an object with four fields: a name (a
|
|
5284 string), a value (some Lisp object), a function (some Lisp object), and
|
|
5285 a property list (usually a list of alternating keyword/value pairs).
|
|
5286 What makes symbols special is that there is usually only one symbol with
|
|
5287 a given name, and the symbol is referred to by name. This makes a
|
|
5288 symbol a convenient way of calling up data by name, i.e. of implementing
|
|
5289 variables. (The variable's value is stored in the @dfn{value slot}.)
|
|
5290 Similarly, functions are referenced by name, and the definition of the
|
|
5291 function is stored in a symbol's @dfn{function slot}. This means that
|
|
5292 there can be a distinct function and variable with the same name. The
|
|
5293 property list is used as a more general mechanism of associating
|
|
5294 additional values with particular names, and once again the namespace is
|
|
5295 independent of the function and variable namespaces.
|
|
5296
|
|
5297 @node Obarrays
|
|
5298 @section Obarrays
|
|
5299
|
|
5300 The identity of symbols with their names is accomplished through a
|
|
5301 structure called an obarray, which is just a poorly-implemented hash
|
|
5302 table mapping from strings to symbols whose name is that string. (I say
|
|
5303 ``poorly implemented'' because an obarray appears in Lisp as a vector
|
|
5304 with some hidden fields rather than as its own opaque type. This is an
|
|
5305 Emacs Lisp artifact that should be fixed.)
|
|
5306
|
|
5307 Obarrays are implemented as a vector of some fixed size (which should
|
|
5308 be a prime for best results), where each ``bucket'' of the vector
|
|
5309 contains one or more symbols, threaded through a hidden @code{next}
|
|
5310 field in the symbol. Lookup of a symbol in an obarray, and adding a
|
|
5311 symbol to an obarray, is accomplished through standard hash-table
|
|
5312 techniques.
|
|
5313
|
|
5314 The standard Lisp function for working with symbols and obarrays is
|
|
5315 @code{intern}. This looks up a symbol in an obarray given its name; if
|
|
5316 it's not found, a new symbol is automatically created with the specified
|
|
5317 name, added to the obarray, and returned. This is what happens when the
|
|
5318 Lisp reader encounters a symbol (or more precisely, encounters the name
|
|
5319 of a symbol) in some text that it is reading. There is a standard
|
|
5320 obarray called @code{obarray} that is used for this purpose, although
|
|
5321 the Lisp programmer is free to create his own obarrays and @code{intern}
|
|
5322 symbols in them.
|
|
5323
|
|
5324 Note that, once a symbol is in an obarray, it stays there until
|
|
5325 something is done about it, and the standard obarray @code{obarray}
|
|
5326 always stays around, so once you use any particular variable name, a
|
|
5327 corresponding symbol will stay around in @code{obarray} until you exit
|
|
5328 XEmacs.
|
|
5329
|
|
5330 Note that @code{obarray} itself is a variable, and as such there is a
|
|
5331 symbol in @code{obarray} whose name is @code{"obarray"} and which
|
|
5332 contains @code{obarray} as its value.
|
|
5333
|
|
5334 Note also that this call to @code{intern} occurs only when in the Lisp
|
|
5335 reader, not when the code is executed (at which point the symbol is
|
|
5336 already around, stored as such in the definition of the function).
|
|
5337
|
|
5338 You can create your own obarray using @code{make-vector} (this is
|
|
5339 horrible but is an artifact) and intern symbols into that obarray.
|
|
5340 Doing that will result in two or more symbols with the same name.
|
|
5341 However, at most one of these symbols is in the standard @code{obarray}:
|
|
5342 You cannot have two symbols of the same name in any particular obarray.
|
|
5343 Note that you cannot add a symbol to an obarray in any fashion other
|
|
5344 than using @code{intern}: i.e. you can't take an existing symbol and put
|
|
5345 it in an existing obarray. Nor can you change the name of an existing
|
|
5346 symbol. (Since obarrays are vectors, you can violate the consistency of
|
|
5347 things by storing directly into the vector, but let's ignore that
|
|
5348 possibility.)
|
|
5349
|
|
5350 Usually symbols are created by @code{intern}, but if you really want,
|
|
5351 you can explicitly create a symbol using @code{make-symbol}, giving it
|
|
5352 some name. The resulting symbol is not in any obarray (i.e. it is
|
|
5353 @dfn{uninterned}), and you can't add it to any obarray. Therefore its
|
116
|
5354 primary purpose is as a symbol to use in macros to avoid namespace
|
|
5355 pollution. It can also be used as a carrier of information, but cons
|
|
5356 cells could probably be used just as well.
|
0
|
5357
|
|
5358 You can also use @code{intern-soft} to look up a symbol but not create
|
|
5359 a new one, and @code{unintern} to remove a symbol from an obarray. This
|
|
5360 returns the removed symbol. (Remember: You can't put the symbol back
|
|
5361 into any obarray.) Finally, @code{mapatoms} maps over all of the symbols
|
|
5362 in an obarray.
|
|
5363
|
|
5364 @node Symbol Values
|
|
5365 @section Symbol Values
|
|
5366
|
|
5367 The value field of a symbol normally contains a Lisp object. However,
|
|
5368 a symbol can be @dfn{unbound}, meaning that it logically has no value.
|
|
5369 This is internally indicated by storing a special Lisp object, called
|
|
5370 @dfn{the unbound marker} and stored in the global variable
|
|
5371 @code{Qunbound}. The unbound marker is of a special Lisp object type
|
|
5372 called @dfn{symbol-value-magic}. It is impossible for the Lisp
|
|
5373 programmer to directly create or access any object of this type.
|
|
5374
|
|
5375 @strong{You must not let any ``symbol-value-magic'' object escape to
|
|
5376 the Lisp level.} Printing any of these objects will cause the message
|
|
5377 @samp{INTERNAL EMACS BUG} to appear as part of the print representation.
|
|
5378 (You may see this normally when you call @code{debug_print()} from the
|
|
5379 debugger on a Lisp object.) If you let one of these objects escape to
|
|
5380 the Lisp level, you will violate a number of assumptions contained in
|
|
5381 the C code and make the unbound marker not function right.
|
|
5382
|
|
5383 When a symbol is created, its value field (and function field) are set
|
|
5384 to @code{Qunbound}. The Lisp programmer can restore these conditions
|
|
5385 later using @code{makunbound} or @code{fmakunbound}, and can query to
|
|
5386 see whether the value of function fields are @dfn{bound} (i.e. have a
|
|
5387 value other than @code{Qunbound}) using @code{boundp} and
|
|
5388 @code{fboundp}. The fields are set to a normal Lisp object using
|
|
5389 @code{set} (or @code{setq}) and @code{fset}.
|
|
5390
|
|
5391 Other symbol-value-magic objects are used as special markers to
|
|
5392 indicate variables that have non-normal properties. This includes any
|
|
5393 variables that are tied into C variables (setting the variable magically
|
|
5394 sets some global variable in the C code, and likewise for retrieving the
|
|
5395 variable's value), variables that magically tie into slots in the
|
|
5396 current buffer, variables that are buffer-local, etc. The
|
|
5397 symbol-value-magic object is stored in the value cell in place of
|
|
5398 a normal object, and the code to retrieve a symbol's value
|
|
5399 (i.e. @code{symbol-value}) knows how to do special things with them.
|
|
5400 This means that you should not just fetch the value cell directly if you
|
|
5401 want a symbol's value.
|
|
5402
|
|
5403 The exact workings of this are rather complex and involved and are
|
|
5404 well-documented in comments in @file{buffer.c}, @file{symbols.c}, and
|
|
5405 @file{lisp.h}.
|
|
5406
|
|
5407 @node Buffers and Textual Representation, MULE Character Sets and Encodings, Symbols and Variables, Top
|
|
5408 @chapter Buffers and Textual Representation
|
|
5409
|
|
5410 @menu
|
|
5411 * Introduction to Buffers:: A buffer holds a block of text such as a file.
|
193
|
5412 * The Text in a Buffer:: Representation of the text in a buffer.
|
0
|
5413 * Buffer Lists:: Keeping track of all buffers.
|
|
5414 * Markers and Extents:: Tagging locations within a buffer.
|
|
5415 * Bufbytes and Emchars:: Representation of individual characters.
|
|
5416 * The Buffer Object:: The Lisp object corresponding to a buffer.
|
|
5417 @end menu
|
|
5418
|
|
5419 @node Introduction to Buffers
|
|
5420 @section Introduction to Buffers
|
|
5421
|
|
5422 A buffer is logically just a Lisp object that holds some text.
|
|
5423 In this, it is like a string, but a buffer is optimized for
|
|
5424 frequent insertion and deletion, while a string is not. Furthermore:
|
|
5425
|
|
5426 @enumerate
|
|
5427 @item
|
116
|
5428 Buffers are @dfn{permanent} objects, i.e. once you create them, they
|
0
|
5429 remain around, and need to be explicitly deleted before they go away.
|
|
5430 @item
|
|
5431 Each buffer has a unique name, which is a string. Buffers are
|
|
5432 normally referred to by name. In this respect, they are like
|
|
5433 symbols.
|
|
5434 @item
|
|
5435 Buffers have a default insertion position, called @dfn{point}.
|
|
5436 Inserting text (unless you explicitly give a position) goes at point,
|
|
5437 and moves point forward past the text. This is what is going on when
|
|
5438 you type text into Emacs.
|
|
5439 @item
|
|
5440 Buffers have lots of extra properties associated with them.
|
|
5441 @item
|
|
5442 Buffers can be @dfn{displayed}. What this means is that there
|
|
5443 exist a number of @dfn{windows}, which are objects that correspond
|
|
5444 to some visible section of your display, and each window has
|
|
5445 an associated buffer, and the current contents of the buffer
|
|
5446 are shown in that section of the display. The redisplay mechanism
|
|
5447 (which takes care of doing this) knows how to look at the
|
|
5448 text of a buffer and come up with some reasonable way of displaying
|
|
5449 this. Many of the properties of a buffer control how the
|
|
5450 buffer's text is displayed.
|
|
5451 @item
|
|
5452 One buffer is distinguished and called the @dfn{current buffer}. It is
|
|
5453 stored in the variable @code{current_buffer}. Buffer operations operate
|
|
5454 on this buffer by default. When you are typing text into a buffer, the
|
|
5455 buffer you are typing into is always @code{current_buffer}. Switching
|
|
5456 to a different window changes the current buffer. Note that Lisp code
|
|
5457 can temporarily change the current buffer using @code{set-buffer} (often
|
|
5458 enclosed in a @code{save-excursion} so that the former current buffer
|
|
5459 gets restored when the code is finished). However, calling
|
|
5460 @code{set-buffer} will NOT cause a permanent change in the current
|
|
5461 buffer. The reason for this is that the top-level event loop sets
|
116
|
5462 @code{current_buffer} to the buffer of the selected window, each time
|
|
5463 it finishes executing a user command.
|
0
|
5464 @end enumerate
|
|
5465
|
|
5466 Make sure you understand the distinction between @dfn{current buffer}
|
|
5467 and @dfn{buffer of the selected window}, and the distinction between
|
|
5468 @dfn{point} of the current buffer and @dfn{window-point} of the selected
|
|
5469 window. (This latter distinction is explained in detail in the section
|
|
5470 on windows.)
|
|
5471
|
193
|
5472 @node The Text in a Buffer
|
|
5473 @section The Text in a Buffer
|
0
|
5474
|
|
5475 The text in a buffer consists of a sequence of zero or more
|
|
5476 characters. A @dfn{character} is an integer that logically represents
|
|
5477 a letter, number, space, or other unit of text. Most of the characters
|
|
5478 that you will typically encounter belong to the ASCII set of characters,
|
|
5479 but there are also characters for various sorts of accented letters,
|
|
5480 special symbols, Chinese and Japanese ideograms (i.e. Kanji, Katakana,
|
|
5481 etc.), Cyrillic and Greek letters, etc. The actual number of possible
|
|
5482 characters is quite large.
|
|
5483
|
|
5484 For now, we can view a character as some non-negative integer that
|
|
5485 has some shape that defines how it typically appears (e.g. as an
|
116
|
5486 uppercase A). (The exact way in which a character appears depends on the
|
|
5487 font used to display the character.) The internal type of characters in
|
|
5488 the C code is an @code{Emchar}; this is just an @code{int}, but using a
|
|
5489 symbolic type makes the code clearer.
|
0
|
5490
|
|
5491 Between every character in a buffer is a @dfn{buffer position} or
|
|
5492 @dfn{character position}. We can speak of the character before or after
|
|
5493 a particular buffer position, and when you insert a character at a
|
|
5494 particular position, all characters after that position end up at new
|
|
5495 positions. When we speak of the character @dfn{at} a position, we
|
|
5496 really mean the character after the position. (This schizophrenia
|
|
5497 between a buffer position being ``between'' a character and ``on'' a
|
|
5498 character is rampant in Emacs.)
|
|
5499
|
|
5500 Buffer positions are numbered starting at 1. This means that
|
|
5501 position 1 is before the first character, and position 0 is not
|
|
5502 valid. If there are N characters in a buffer, then buffer
|
|
5503 position N+1 is after the last one, and position N+2 is not valid.
|
|
5504
|
|
5505 The internal makeup of the Emchar integer varies depending on whether
|
|
5506 we have compiled with MULE support. If not, the Emchar integer is an
|
|
5507 8-bit integer with possible values from 0 - 255. 0 - 127 are the
|
|
5508 standard ASCII characters, while 128 - 255 are the characters from the
|
|
5509 ISO-8859-1 character set. If we have compiled with MULE support, an
|
|
5510 Emchar is a 19-bit integer, with the various bits having meanings
|
|
5511 according to a complex scheme that will be detailed later. The
|
|
5512 characters numbered 0 - 255 still have the same meanings as for the
|
|
5513 non-MULE case, though.
|
|
5514
|
|
5515 Internally, the text in a buffer is represented in a fairly simple
|
|
5516 fashion: as a contiguous array of bytes, with a @dfn{gap} of some size
|
|
5517 in the middle. Although the gap is of some substantial size in bytes,
|
|
5518 there is no text contained within it: From the perspective of the text
|
|
5519 in the buffer, it does not exist. The gap logically sits at some buffer
|
|
5520 position, between two characters (or possibly at the beginning or end of
|
|
5521 the buffer). Insertion of text in a buffer at a particular position is
|
|
5522 always accomplished by first moving the gap to that position
|
|
5523 (i.e. through some block moving of text), then writing the text into the
|
|
5524 beginning of the gap, thereby shrinking the gap. If the gap shrinks
|
|
5525 down to nothing, a new gap is created. (What actually happens is that a
|
|
5526 new gap is ``created'' at the end of the buffer's text, which requires
|
|
5527 nothing more than changing a couple of indices; then the gap is
|
|
5528 ``moved'' to the position where the insertion needs to take place by
|
|
5529 moving up in memory all the text after that position.) Similarly,
|
|
5530 deletion occurs by moving the gap to the place where the text is to be
|
|
5531 deleted, and then simply expanding the gap to include the deleted text.
|
|
5532 (@dfn{Expanding} and @dfn{shrinking} the gap as just described means
|
|
5533 just that the internal indices that keep track of where the gap is
|
|
5534 located are changed.)
|
|
5535
|
|
5536 Note that the total amount of memory allocated for a buffer text never
|
|
5537 decreases while the buffer is live. Therefore, if you load up a
|
|
5538 20-megabyte file and then delete all but one character, there will be a
|
|
5539 20-megabyte gap, which won't get any smaller (except by inserting
|
|
5540 characters back again). Once the buffer is killed, the memory allocated
|
|
5541 for the buffer text will be freed, but it will still be sitting on the
|
|
5542 heap, taking up virtual memory, and will not be released back to the
|
|
5543 operating system. (However, if you have compiled XEmacs with rel-alloc,
|
|
5544 the situation is different. In this case, the space @emph{will} be
|
116
|
5545 released back to the operating system. However, this tends to result in a
|
0
|
5546 noticeable speed penalty.)
|
|
5547
|
|
5548 Astute readers may notice that the text in a buffer is represented as
|
|
5549 an array of @emph{bytes}, while (at least in the MULE case) an Emchar is
|
|
5550 a 19-bit integer, which clearly cannot fit in a byte. This means (of
|
|
5551 course) that the text in a buffer uses a different representation from
|
|
5552 an Emchar: specifically, the 19-bit Emchar becomes a series of one to
|
|
5553 four bytes. The conversion between these two representations is complex
|
|
5554 and will be described later.
|
|
5555
|
|
5556 In the non-MULE case, everything is very simple: An Emchar
|
|
5557 is an 8-bit value, which fits neatly into one byte.
|
|
5558
|
|
5559 If we are given a buffer position and want to retrieve the
|
|
5560 character at that position, we need to follow these steps:
|
|
5561
|
|
5562 @enumerate
|
|
5563 @item
|
|
5564 Pretend there's no gap, and convert the buffer position into a @dfn{byte
|
|
5565 index} that indexes to the appropriate byte in the buffer's stream of
|
|
5566 textual bytes. By convention, byte indices begin at 1, just like buffer
|
|
5567 positions. In the non-MULE case, byte indices and buffer positions are
|
|
5568 identical, since one character equals one byte.
|
|
5569 @item
|
|
5570 Convert the byte index into a @dfn{memory index}, which takes the gap
|
|
5571 into account. The memory index is a direct index into the block of
|
|
5572 memory that stores the text of a buffer. This basically just involves
|
|
5573 checking to see if the byte index is past the gap, and if so, adding the
|
|
5574 size of the gap to it. By convention, memory indices begin at 1, just
|
|
5575 like buffer positions and byte indices, and when referring to the
|
|
5576 position that is @dfn{at} the gap, we always use the memory position at
|
|
5577 the @emph{beginning}, not at the end, of the gap.
|
|
5578 @item
|
|
5579 Fetch the appropriate bytes at the determined memory position.
|
|
5580 @item
|
|
5581 Convert these bytes into an Emchar.
|
|
5582 @end enumerate
|
|
5583
|
|
5584 In the non-Mule case, (3) and (4) boil down to a simple one-byte
|
|
5585 memory access.
|
|
5586
|
|
5587 Note that we have defined three types of positions in a buffer:
|
|
5588
|
|
5589 @enumerate
|
|
5590 @item
|
|
5591 @dfn{buffer positions} or @dfn{character positions}, typedef @code{Bufpos}
|
|
5592 @item
|
|
5593 @dfn{byte indices}, typedef @code{Bytind}
|
|
5594 @item
|
|
5595 @dfn{memory indices}, typedef @code{Memind}
|
|
5596 @end enumerate
|
|
5597
|
116
|
5598 All three typedefs are just @code{int}s, but defining them this way makes
|
0
|
5599 things a lot clearer.
|
|
5600
|
|
5601 Most code works with buffer positions. In particular, all Lisp code
|
|
5602 that refers to text in a buffer uses buffer positions. Lisp code does
|
|
5603 not know that byte indices or memory indices exist.
|
|
5604
|
|
5605 Finally, we have a typedef for the bytes in a buffer. This is a
|
|
5606 @code{Bufbyte}, which is an unsigned char. Referring to them as
|
|
5607 Bufbytes underscores the fact that we are working with a string of bytes
|
|
5608 in the internal Emacs buffer representation rather than in one of a
|
116
|
5609 number of possible alternative representations (e.g. EUC-encoded text,
|
0
|
5610 etc.).
|
|
5611
|
|
5612 @node Buffer Lists
|
|
5613 @section Buffer Lists
|
|
5614
|
|
5615 Recall earlier that buffers are @dfn{permanent} objects, i.e. that
|
|
5616 they remain around until explicitly deleted. This entails that there is
|
|
5617 a list of all the buffers in existence. This list is actually an
|
|
5618 assoc-list (mapping from the buffer's name to the buffer) and is stored
|
|
5619 in the global variable @code{Vbuffer_alist}.
|
|
5620
|
|
5621 The order of the buffers in the list is important: the buffers are
|
|
5622 ordered approximately from most-recently-used to least-recently-used.
|
|
5623 Switching to a buffer using @code{switch-to-buffer},
|
|
5624 @code{pop-to-buffer}, etc. and switching windows using
|
|
5625 @code{other-window}, etc. usually brings the new current buffer to the
|
|
5626 front of the list. @code{switch-to-buffer}, @code{other-buffer},
|
|
5627 etc. look at the beginning of the list to find an alternative buffer to
|
|
5628 suggest. You can also explicitly move a buffer to the end of the list
|
|
5629 using @code{bury-buffer}.
|
|
5630
|
|
5631 In addition to the global ordering in @code{Vbuffer_alist}, each frame
|
|
5632 has its own ordering of the list. These lists always contain the same
|
|
5633 elements as in @code{Vbuffer_alist} although possibly in a different
|
|
5634 order. @code{buffer-list} normally returns the list for the selected
|
|
5635 frame. This allows you to work in separate frames without things
|
|
5636 interfering with each other.
|
|
5637
|
|
5638 The standard way to look up a buffer given a name is
|
|
5639 @code{get-buffer}, and the standard way to create a new buffer is
|
|
5640 @code{get-buffer-create}, which looks up a buffer with a given name,
|
|
5641 creating a new one if necessary. These operations correspond exactly
|
|
5642 with the symbol operations @code{intern-soft} and @code{intern},
|
|
5643 respectively. You can also force a new buffer to be created using
|
|
5644 @code{generate-new-buffer}, which takes a name and (if necessary) makes
|
|
5645 a unique name from this by appending a number, and then creates the
|
|
5646 buffer. This is basically like the symbol operation @code{gensym}.
|
|
5647
|
|
5648 @node Markers and Extents
|
|
5649 @section Markers and Extents
|
|
5650
|
|
5651 Among the things associated with a buffer are things that are
|
|
5652 logically attached to certain buffer positions. This can be used to
|
|
5653 keep track of a buffer position when text is inserted and deleted, so
|
|
5654 that it remains at the same spot relative to the text around it; to
|
|
5655 assign properties to particular sections of text; etc. There are two
|
|
5656 such objects that are useful in this regard: they are @dfn{markers} and
|
|
5657 @dfn{extents}.
|
|
5658
|
|
5659 A @dfn{marker} is simply a flag placed at a particular buffer
|
|
5660 position, which is moved around as text is inserted and deleted.
|
|
5661 Markers are used for all sorts of purposes, such as the @code{mark} that
|
|
5662 is the other end of textual regions to be cut, copied, etc.
|
|
5663
|
|
5664 An @dfn{extent} is similar to two markers plus some associated
|
|
5665 properties, and is used to keep track of regions in a buffer as text is
|
|
5666 inserted and deleted, and to add properties (e.g. fonts) to particular
|
|
5667 regions of text. The external interface of extents is explained
|
|
5668 elsewhere.
|
|
5669
|
|
5670 The important thing here is that markers and extents simply contain
|
|
5671 buffer positions in them as integers, and every time text is inserted or
|
|
5672 deleted, these positions must be updated. In order to minimize the
|
|
5673 amount of shuffling that needs to be done, the positions in markers and
|
|
5674 extents (there's one per marker, two per extent) and stored in Meminds.
|
|
5675 This means that they only need to be moved when the text is physically
|
|
5676 moved in memory; since the gap structure tries to minimize this, it also
|
|
5677 minimizes the number of marker and extent indices that need to be
|
|
5678 adjusted. Look in @file{insdel.c} for the details of how this works.
|
|
5679
|
|
5680 One other important distinction is that markers are @dfn{temporary}
|
|
5681 while extents are @dfn{permanent}. This means that markers disappear as
|
|
5682 soon as there are no more pointers to them, and correspondingly, there
|
|
5683 is no way to determine what markers are in a buffer if you are just
|
|
5684 given the buffer. Extents remain in a buffer until they are detached
|
|
5685 (which could happen as a result of text being deleted) or the buffer is
|
|
5686 deleted, and primitives do exist to enumerate the extents in a buffer.
|
|
5687
|
|
5688 @node Bufbytes and Emchars
|
|
5689 @section Bufbytes and Emchars
|
|
5690
|
|
5691 Not yet documented.
|
|
5692
|
|
5693 @node The Buffer Object
|
|
5694 @section The Buffer Object
|
|
5695
|
|
5696 Buffers contain fields not directly accessible by the Lisp programmer.
|
|
5697 We describe them here, naming them by the names used in the C code.
|
|
5698 Many are accessible indirectly in Lisp programs via Lisp primitives.
|
|
5699
|
|
5700 @table @code
|
|
5701 @item name
|
|
5702 The buffer name is a string that names the buffer. It is guaranteed to
|
371
|
5703 be unique. @xref{Buffer Names,,, lispref, XEmacs Lisp Programmer's
|
0
|
5704 Manual}.
|
|
5705
|
|
5706 @item save_modified
|
|
5707 This field contains the time when the buffer was last saved, as an
|
371
|
5708 integer. @xref{Buffer Modification,,, lispref, XEmacs Lisp Programmer's
|
0
|
5709 Manual}.
|
|
5710
|
|
5711 @item modtime
|
|
5712 This field contains the modification time of the visited file. It is
|
|
5713 set when the file is written or read. Every time the buffer is written
|
|
5714 to the file, this field is compared to the modification time of the
|
371
|
5715 file. @xref{Buffer Modification,,, lispref, XEmacs Lisp Programmer's
|
0
|
5716 Manual}.
|
|
5717
|
|
5718 @item auto_save_modified
|
|
5719 This field contains the time when the buffer was last auto-saved.
|
|
5720
|
|
5721 @item last_window_start
|
|
5722 This field contains the @code{window-start} position in the buffer as of
|
|
5723 the last time the buffer was displayed in a window.
|
|
5724
|
|
5725 @item undo_list
|
|
5726 This field points to the buffer's undo list. @xref{Undo,,, lispref,
|
371
|
5727 XEmacs Lisp Programmer's Manual}.
|
0
|
5728
|
|
5729 @item syntax_table_v
|
|
5730 This field contains the syntax table for the buffer. @xref{Syntax
|
371
|
5731 Tables,,, lispref, XEmacs Lisp Programmer's Manual}.
|
0
|
5732
|
|
5733 @item downcase_table
|
|
5734 This field contains the conversion table for converting text to lower
|
371
|
5735 case. @xref{Case Tables,,, lispref, XEmacs Lisp Programmer's Manual}.
|
0
|
5736
|
|
5737 @item upcase_table
|
|
5738 This field contains the conversion table for converting text to upper
|
371
|
5739 case. @xref{Case Tables,,, lispref, XEmacs Lisp Programmer's Manual}.
|
0
|
5740
|
|
5741 @item case_canon_table
|
|
5742 This field contains the conversion table for canonicalizing text for
|
|
5743 case-folding search. @xref{Case Tables,,, lispref, XEmacs Lisp
|
371
|
5744 Programmer's Manual}.
|
0
|
5745
|
|
5746 @item case_eqv_table
|
|
5747 This field contains the equivalence table for case-folding search.
|
371
|
5748 @xref{Case Tables,,, lispref, XEmacs Lisp Programmer's Manual}.
|
0
|
5749
|
|
5750 @item display_table
|
|
5751 This field contains the buffer's display table, or @code{nil} if it
|
|
5752 doesn't have one. @xref{Display Tables,,, lispref, XEmacs Lisp
|
371
|
5753 Programmer's Manual}.
|
0
|
5754
|
|
5755 @item markers
|
|
5756 This field contains the chain of all markers that currently point into
|
|
5757 the buffer. Deletion of text in the buffer, and motion of the buffer's
|
|
5758 gap, must check each of these markers and perhaps update it.
|
371
|
5759 @xref{Markers,,, lispref, XEmacs Lisp Programmer's Manual}.
|
0
|
5760
|
|
5761 @item backed_up
|
|
5762 This field is a flag that tells whether a backup file has been made for
|
|
5763 the visited file of this buffer.
|
|
5764
|
|
5765 @item mark
|
|
5766 This field contains the mark for the buffer. The mark is a marker,
|
|
5767 hence it is also included on the list @code{markers}. @xref{The Mark,,,
|
371
|
5768 lispref, XEmacs Lisp Programmer's Manual}.
|
0
|
5769
|
|
5770 @item mark_active
|
|
5771 This field is non-@code{nil} if the buffer's mark is active.
|
|
5772
|
|
5773 @item local_var_alist
|
|
5774 This field contains the association list describing the variables local
|
|
5775 in this buffer, and their values, with the exception of local variables
|
|
5776 that have special slots in the buffer object. (Those slots are omitted
|
|
5777 from this table.) @xref{Buffer-Local Variables,,, lispref, XEmacs Lisp
|
371
|
5778 Programmer's Manual}.
|
0
|
5779
|
|
5780 @item modeline_format
|
|
5781 This field contains a Lisp object which controls how to display the mode
|
|
5782 line for this buffer. @xref{Modeline Format,,, lispref, XEmacs Lisp
|
371
|
5783 Programmer's Manual}.
|
0
|
5784
|
|
5785 @item base_buffer
|
|
5786 This field holds the buffer's base buffer (if it is an indirect buffer),
|
|
5787 or @code{nil}.
|
|
5788 @end table
|
|
5789
|
|
5790 @node MULE Character Sets and Encodings, The Lisp Reader and Compiler, Buffers and Textual Representation, Top
|
|
5791 @chapter MULE Character Sets and Encodings
|
|
5792
|
|
5793 Recall that there are two primary ways that text is represented in
|
|
5794 XEmacs. The @dfn{buffer} representation sees the text as a series of
|
|
5795 bytes (Bufbytes), with a variable number of bytes used per character.
|
|
5796 The @dfn{character} representation sees the text as a series of integers
|
|
5797 (Emchars), one per character. The character representation is a cleaner
|
|
5798 representation from a theoretical standpoint, and is thus used in many
|
|
5799 cases when lots of manipulations on a string need to be done. However,
|
|
5800 the buffer representation is the standard representation used in both
|
|
5801 Lisp strings and buffers, and because of this, it is the ``default''
|
|
5802 representation that text comes in. The reason for using this
|
|
5803 representation is that it's compact and is compatible with ASCII.
|
|
5804
|
|
5805 @menu
|
|
5806 * Character Sets::
|
|
5807 * Encodings::
|
|
5808 * Internal Mule Encodings::
|
|
5809 * CCL::
|
|
5810 @end menu
|
|
5811
|
|
5812 @node Character Sets
|
|
5813 @section Character Sets
|
|
5814
|
|
5815 A character set (or @dfn{charset}) is an ordered set of characters. A
|
|
5816 particular character in a charset is indexed using one or more
|
|
5817 @dfn{position codes}, which are non-negative integers. The number of
|
|
5818 position codes needed to identify a particular character in a charset is
|
|
5819 called the @dfn{dimension} of the charset. In XEmacs/Mule, all charsets
|
|
5820 have dimension 1 or 2, and the size of all charsets (except for a few
|
|
5821 special cases) is either 94, 96, 94 by 94, or 96 by 96. The range of
|
|
5822 position codes used to index characters from any of these types of
|
|
5823 character sets is as follows:
|
|
5824
|
|
5825 @example
|
|
5826 Charset type Position code 1 Position code 2
|
|
5827 ------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
5828 94 33 - 126 N/A
|
|
5829 96 32 - 127 N/A
|
|
5830 94x94 33 - 126 33 - 126
|
|
5831 96x96 32 - 127 32 - 127
|
|
5832 @end example
|
|
5833
|
|
5834 Note that in the above cases position codes do not start at an
|
|
5835 expected value such as 0 or 1. The reason for this will become clear
|
|
5836 later.
|
|
5837
|
|
5838 For example, Latin-1 is a 96-character charset, and JISX0208 (the
|
|
5839 Japanese national character set) is a 94x94-character charset.
|
|
5840
|
|
5841 [Note that, although the ranges above define the @emph{valid} position
|
|
5842 codes for a charset, some of the slots in a particular charset may in
|
|
5843 fact be empty. This is the case for JISX0208, for example, where (e.g.)
|
|
5844 all the slots whose first position code is in the range 118 - 127 are
|
|
5845 empty.]
|
|
5846
|
|
5847 There are three charsets that do not follow the above rules. All of
|
|
5848 them have one dimension, and have ranges of position codes as follows:
|
|
5849
|
|
5850 @example
|
|
5851 Charset name Position code 1
|
|
5852 ------------------------------------
|
|
5853 ASCII 0 - 127
|
|
5854 Control-1 0 - 31
|
|
5855 Composite 0 - some large number
|
|
5856 @end example
|
|
5857
|
|
5858 (The upper bound of the position code for composite characters has not
|
|
5859 yet been determined, but it will probably be at least 16,383).
|
|
5860
|
|
5861 ASCII is the union of two subsidiary character sets: Printing-ASCII
|
|
5862 (the printing ASCII character set, consisting of position codes 33 -
|
|
5863 126, like for a standard 94-character charset) and Control-ASCII (the
|
|
5864 non-printing characters that would appear in a binary file with codes 0
|
|
5865 - 32 and 127).
|
|
5866
|
|
5867 Control-1 contains the non-printing characters that would appear in a
|
|
5868 binary file with codes 128 - 159.
|
|
5869
|
|
5870 Composite contains characters that are generated by overstriking one
|
|
5871 or more characters from other charsets.
|
|
5872
|
|
5873 Note that some characters in ASCII, and all characters in Control-1,
|
|
5874 are @dfn{control} (non-printing) characters. These have no printed
|
|
5875 representation but instead control some other function of the printing
|
|
5876 (e.g. TAB or 8 moves the current character position to the next tab
|
|
5877 stop). All other characters in all charsets are @dfn{graphic}
|
|
5878 (printing) characters.
|
|
5879
|
|
5880 When a binary file is read in, the bytes in the file are assigned to
|
|
5881 character sets as follows:
|
|
5882
|
|
5883 @example
|
|
5884 Bytes Character set Range
|
|
5885 --------------------------------------------------
|
|
5886 0 - 127 ASCII 0 - 127
|
|
5887 128 - 159 Control-1 0 - 31
|
|
5888 160 - 255 Latin-1 32 - 127
|
|
5889 @end example
|
|
5890
|
|
5891 This is a bit ad-hoc but gets the job done.
|
|
5892
|
|
5893 @node Encodings
|
|
5894 @section Encodings
|
|
5895
|
|
5896 An @dfn{encoding} is a way of numerically representing characters from
|
|
5897 one or more character sets. If an encoding only encompasses one
|
|
5898 character set, then the position codes for the characters in that
|
|
5899 character set could be used directly. This is not possible, however, if
|
|
5900 more than one character set is to be used in the encoding.
|
|
5901
|
|
5902 For example, the conversion detailed above between bytes in a binary
|
|
5903 file and characters is effectively an encoding that encompasses the
|
|
5904 three character sets ASCII, Control-1, and Latin-1 in a stream of 8-bit
|
|
5905 bytes.
|
|
5906
|
|
5907 Thus, an encoding can be viewed as a way of encoding characters from a
|
|
5908 specified group of character sets using a stream of bytes, each of which
|
|
5909 contains a fixed number of bits (but not necessarily 8, as in the common
|
|
5910 usage of ``byte'').
|
|
5911
|
|
5912 Here are descriptions of a couple of common
|
|
5913 encodings:
|
|
5914
|
|
5915 @menu
|
|
5916 * Japanese EUC (Extended Unix Code)::
|
|
5917 * JIS7::
|
|
5918 @end menu
|
|
5919
|
|
5920 @node Japanese EUC (Extended Unix Code)
|
|
5921 @subsection Japanese EUC (Extended Unix Code)
|
|
5922
|
44
|
5923 This encompasses the character sets Printing-ASCII, Japanese-JISSX0201,
|
|
5924 and Japanese-JISX0208-Kana (half-width katakana, the right half of
|
0
|
5925 JISX0201). It uses 8-bit bytes.
|
|
5926
|
44
|
5927 Note that Printing-ASCII and Japanese-JISX0201-Kana are 94-character
|
|
5928 charsets, while Japanese-JISX0208 is a 94x94-character charset.
|
|
5929
|
|
5930 The encoding is as follows:
|
0
|
5931
|
|
5932 @example
|
44
|
5933 Character set Representation (PC=position-code)
|
|
5934 ------------- --------------
|
|
5935 Printing-ASCII PC1
|
|
5936 Japanese-JISX0201-Kana 0x8E | PC1 + 0x80
|
|
5937 Japanese-JISX0208 PC1 + 0x80 | PC2 + 0x80
|
|
5938 Japanese-JISX0212 PC1 + 0x80 | PC2 + 0x80
|
0
|
5939 @end example
|
|
5940
|
|
5941
|
|
5942 @node JIS7
|
|
5943 @subsection JIS7
|
|
5944
|
44
|
5945 This encompasses the character sets Printing-ASCII,
|
|
5946 Japanese-JISX0201-Roman (the left half of JISX0201; this character set
|
|
5947 is very similar to Printing-ASCII and is a 94-character charset),
|
|
5948 Japanese-JISX0208, and Japanese-JISX0201-Kana. It uses 7-bit bytes.
|
|
5949
|
|
5950 Unlike Japanese EUC, this is a @dfn{modal} encoding, which
|
0
|
5951 means that there are multiple states that the encoding can
|
|
5952 be in, which affect how the bytes are to be interpreted.
|
|
5953 Special sequences of bytes (called @dfn{escape sequences})
|
|
5954 are used to change states.
|
|
5955
|
|
5956 The encoding is as follows:
|
|
5957
|
|
5958 @example
|
44
|
5959 Character set Representation (PC=position-code)
|
|
5960 ------------- --------------
|
|
5961 Printing-ASCII PC1
|
|
5962 Japanese-JISX0201-Roman PC1
|
|
5963 Japanese-JISX0201-Kana PC1
|
|
5964 Japanese-JISX0208 PC1 PC2
|
0
|
5965
|
|
5966
|
|
5967 Escape sequence ASCII equivalent Meaning
|
|
5968 --------------- ---------------- -------
|
44
|
5969 0x1B 0x28 0x4A ESC ( J invoke Japanese-JISX0201-Roman
|
|
5970 0x1B 0x28 0x49 ESC ( I invoke Japanese-JISX0201-Kana
|
|
5971 0x1B 0x24 0x42 ESC $ B invoke Japanese-JISX0208
|
0
|
5972 0x1B 0x28 0x42 ESC ( B invoke Printing-ASCII
|
|
5973 @end example
|
|
5974
|
|
5975 Initially, Printing-ASCII is invoked.
|
|
5976
|
|
5977 @node Internal Mule Encodings
|
|
5978 @section Internal Mule Encodings
|
|
5979
|
44
|
5980 In XEmacs/Mule, each character set is assigned a unique number, called a
|
|
5981 @dfn{leading byte}. This is used in the encodings of a character.
|
|
5982 Leading bytes are in the range 0x80 - 0xFF (except for ASCII, which has
|
|
5983 a leading byte of 0), although some leading bytes are reserved.
|
|
5984
|
|
5985 Charsets whose leading byte is in the range 0x80 - 0x9F are called
|
|
5986 @dfn{official} and are used for built-in charsets. Other charsets are
|
|
5987 called @dfn{private} and have leading bytes in the range 0xA0 - 0xFF;
|
|
5988 these are user-defined charsets.
|
0
|
5989
|
|
5990 More specifically:
|
|
5991
|
|
5992 @example
|
|
5993 Character set Leading byte
|
|
5994 ------------- ------------
|
|
5995 ASCII 0
|
|
5996 Composite 0x80
|
|
5997 Dimension-1 Official 0x81 - 0x8D
|
|
5998 (0x8E is free)
|
|
5999 Control-1 0x8F
|
|
6000 Dimension-2 Official 0x90 - 0x99
|
|
6001 (0x9A - 0x9D are free;
|
|
6002 0x9E and 0x9F are reserved)
|
|
6003 Dimension-1 Private 0xA0 - 0xEF
|
|
6004 Dimension-2 Private 0xF0 - 0xFF
|
|
6005 @end example
|
|
6006
|
44
|
6007 There are two internal encodings for characters in XEmacs/Mule. One is
|
|
6008 called @dfn{string encoding} and is an 8-bit encoding that is used for
|
|
6009 representing characters in a buffer or string. It uses 1 to 4 bytes per
|
|
6010 character. The other is called @dfn{character encoding} and is a 19-bit
|
|
6011 encoding that is used for representing characters individually in a
|
|
6012 variable.
|
|
6013
|
|
6014 (In the following descriptions, we'll ignore composite characters for
|
|
6015 the moment. We also give a general (structural) overview first,
|
|
6016 followed later by the exact details.)
|
0
|
6017
|
|
6018 @menu
|
|
6019 * Internal String Encoding::
|
|
6020 * Internal Character Encoding::
|
|
6021 @end menu
|
|
6022
|
|
6023 @node Internal String Encoding
|
|
6024 @subsection Internal String Encoding
|
|
6025
|
44
|
6026 ASCII characters are encoded using their position code directly. Other
|
|
6027 characters are encoded using their leading byte followed by their
|
|
6028 position code(s) with the high bit set. Characters in private character
|
|
6029 sets have their leading byte prefixed with a @dfn{leading byte prefix},
|
|
6030 which is either 0x9E or 0x9F. (No character sets are ever assigned these
|
|
6031 leading bytes.) Specifically:
|
0
|
6032
|
|
6033 @example
|
|
6034 Character set Encoding (PC=position-code, LB=leading-byte)
|
|
6035 ------------- --------
|
|
6036 ASCII PC-1 |
|
|
6037 Control-1 LB | PC1 + 0xA0 |
|
|
6038 Dimension-1 official LB | PC1 + 0x80 |
|
|
6039 Dimension-1 private 0x9E | LB | PC1 + 0x80 |
|
|
6040 Dimension-2 official LB | PC1 + 0x80 | PC2 + 0x80 |
|
|
6041 Dimension-2 private 0x9F | LB | PC1 + 0x80 | PC2 + 0x80
|
|
6042 @end example
|
|
6043
|
|
6044 The basic characteristic of this encoding is that the first byte
|
|
6045 of all characters is in the range 0x00 - 0x9F, and the second and
|
|
6046 following bytes of all characters is in the range 0xA0 - 0xFF.
|
|
6047 This means that it is impossible to get out of sync, or more
|
|
6048 specifically:
|
|
6049
|
|
6050 @enumerate
|
|
6051 @item
|
|
6052 Given any byte position, the beginning of the character it is
|
|
6053 within can be determined in constant time.
|
|
6054 @item
|
|
6055 Given any byte position at the beginning of a character, the
|
|
6056 beginning of the next character can be determined in constant
|
|
6057 time.
|
|
6058 @item
|
|
6059 Given any byte position at the beginning of a character, the
|
|
6060 beginning of the previous character can be determined in constant
|
|
6061 time.
|
|
6062 @item
|
|
6063 Textual searches can simply treat encoded strings as if they
|
|
6064 were encoded in a one-byte-per-character fashion rather than
|
|
6065 the actual multi-byte encoding.
|
|
6066 @end enumerate
|
|
6067
|
|
6068 None of the standard non-modal encodings meet all of these
|
|
6069 conditions. For example, EUC satisfies only (2) and (3), while
|
|
6070 Shift-JIS and Big5 (not yet described) satisfy only (2). (All
|
|
6071 non-modal encodings must satisfy (2), in order to be unambiguous.)
|
|
6072
|
|
6073 @node Internal Character Encoding
|
|
6074 @subsection Internal Character Encoding
|
|
6075
|
|
6076 One 19-bit word represents a single character. The word is
|
|
6077 separated into three fields:
|
|
6078
|
|
6079 @example
|
|
6080 Bit number: 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00
|
|
6081 <------------> <------------------> <------------------>
|
|
6082 Field: 1 2 3
|
|
6083 @end example
|
|
6084
|
|
6085 Note that fields 2 and 3 hold 7 bits each, while field 1 holds 5 bits.
|
|
6086
|
|
6087 @example
|
|
6088 Character set Field 1 Field 2 Field 3
|
|
6089 ------------- ------- ------- -------
|
|
6090 ASCII 0 0 PC1
|
|
6091 range: (00 - 7F)
|
|
6092 Control-1 0 1 PC1
|
|
6093 range: (00 - 1F)
|
|
6094 Dimension-1 official 0 LB - 0x80 PC1
|
|
6095 range: (01 - 0D) (20 - 7F)
|
|
6096 Dimension-1 private 0 LB - 0x80 PC1
|
|
6097 range: (20 - 6F) (20 - 7F)
|
|
6098 Dimension-2 official LB - 0x8F PC1 PC2
|
|
6099 range: (01 - 0A) (20 - 7F) (20 - 7F)
|
|
6100 Dimension-2 private LB - 0xE1 PC1 PC2
|
|
6101 range: (0F - 1E) (20 - 7F) (20 - 7F)
|
|
6102 Composite 0x1F ? ?
|
|
6103 @end example
|
|
6104
|
|
6105 Note that character codes 0 - 255 are the same as the ``binary encoding''
|
|
6106 described above.
|
|
6107
|
|
6108 @node CCL
|
|
6109 @section CCL
|
|
6110
|
|
6111 @example
|
|
6112 CCL PROGRAM SYNTAX:
|
|
6113 CCL_PROGRAM := (CCL_MAIN_BLOCK
|
|
6114 [ CCL_EOF_BLOCK ])
|
|
6115
|
|
6116 CCL_MAIN_BLOCK := CCL_BLOCK
|
|
6117 CCL_EOF_BLOCK := CCL_BLOCK
|
|
6118
|
|
6119 CCL_BLOCK := STATEMENT | (STATEMENT [STATEMENT ...])
|
|
6120 STATEMENT :=
|
|
6121 SET | IF | BRANCH | LOOP | REPEAT | BREAK
|
|
6122 | READ | WRITE
|
|
6123
|
|
6124 SET := (REG = EXPRESSION) | (REG SELF_OP EXPRESSION)
|
|
6125 | INT-OR-CHAR
|
|
6126
|
|
6127 EXPRESSION := ARG | (EXPRESSION OP ARG)
|
|
6128
|
|
6129 IF := (if EXPRESSION CCL_BLOCK CCL_BLOCK)
|
|
6130 BRANCH := (branch EXPRESSION CCL_BLOCK [CCL_BLOCK ...])
|
|
6131 LOOP := (loop STATEMENT [STATEMENT ...])
|
|
6132 BREAK := (break)
|
|
6133 REPEAT := (repeat)
|
|
6134 | (write-repeat [REG | INT-OR-CHAR | string])
|
|
6135 | (write-read-repeat REG [INT-OR-CHAR | string | ARRAY]?)
|
|
6136 READ := (read REG) | (read REG REG)
|
|
6137 | (read-if REG ARITH_OP ARG CCL_BLOCK CCL_BLOCK)
|
|
6138 | (read-branch REG CCL_BLOCK [CCL_BLOCK ...])
|
|
6139 WRITE := (write REG) | (write REG REG)
|
|
6140 | (write INT-OR-CHAR) | (write STRING) | STRING
|
|
6141 | (write REG ARRAY)
|
|
6142 END := (end)
|
|
6143
|
|
6144 REG := r0 | r1 | r2 | r3 | r4 | r5 | r6 | r7
|
|
6145 ARG := REG | INT-OR-CHAR
|
|
6146 OP := + | - | * | / | % | & | '|' | ^ | << | >> | <8 | >8 | //
|
|
6147 | < | > | == | <= | >= | !=
|
|
6148 SELF_OP :=
|
|
6149 += | -= | *= | /= | %= | &= | '|=' | ^= | <<= | >>=
|
|
6150 ARRAY := '[' INT-OR-CHAR ... ']'
|
|
6151 INT-OR-CHAR := INT | CHAR
|
|
6152
|
|
6153 MACHINE CODE:
|
|
6154
|
|
6155 The machine code consists of a vector of 32-bit words.
|
|
6156 The first such word specifies the start of the EOF section of the code;
|
|
6157 this is the code executed to handle any stuff that needs to be done
|
|
6158 (e.g. designating back to ASCII and left-to-right mode) after all
|
|
6159 other encoded/decoded data has been written out. This is not used for
|
|
6160 charset CCL programs.
|
|
6161
|
371
|
6162 REGISTER: 0..7 -- refered by RRR or rrr
|
0
|
6163
|
|
6164 OPERATOR BIT FIELD (27-bit): XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX RRR TTTTT
|
|
6165 TTTTT (5-bit): operator type
|
|
6166 RRR (3-bit): register number
|
|
6167 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (15-bit):
|
|
6168 CCCCCCCCCCCCCCC: constant or address
|
|
6169 000000000000rrr: register number
|
|
6170
|
|
6171 AAAA: 00000 +
|
|
6172 00001 -
|
|
6173 00010 *
|
|
6174 00011 /
|
|
6175 00100 %
|
|
6176 00101 &
|
|
6177 00110 |
|
|
6178 00111 ~
|
|
6179
|
|
6180 01000 <<
|
|
6181 01001 >>
|
|
6182 01010 <8
|
|
6183 01011 >8
|
|
6184 01100 //
|
|
6185 01101 not used
|
|
6186 01110 not used
|
|
6187 01111 not used
|
|
6188
|
|
6189 10000 <
|
|
6190 10001 >
|
|
6191 10010 ==
|
|
6192 10011 <=
|
|
6193 10100 >=
|
|
6194 10101 !=
|
|
6195
|
|
6196 OPERATORS: TTTTT RRR XX..
|
|
6197
|
|
6198 SetCS: 00000 RRR C...C RRR = C...C
|
|
6199 SetCL: 00001 RRR ..... RRR = c...c
|
|
6200 c.............c
|
|
6201 SetR: 00010 RRR ..rrr RRR = rrr
|
|
6202 SetA: 00011 RRR ..rrr RRR = array[rrr]
|
|
6203 C.............C size of array = C...C
|
|
6204 c.............c contents = c...c
|
|
6205
|
|
6206 Jump: 00100 000 c...c jump to c...c
|
|
6207 JumpCond: 00101 RRR c...c if (!RRR) jump to c...c
|
|
6208 WriteJump: 00110 RRR c...c Write1 RRR, jump to c...c
|
|
6209 WriteReadJump: 00111 RRR c...c Write1, Read1 RRR, jump to c...c
|
|
6210 WriteCJump: 01000 000 c...c Write1 C...C, jump to c...c
|
|
6211 C...C
|
|
6212 WriteCReadJump: 01001 RRR c...c Write1 C...C, Read1 RRR,
|
|
6213 C.............C and jump to c...c
|
|
6214 WriteSJump: 01010 000 c...c WriteS, jump to c...c
|
|
6215 C.............C
|
|
6216 S.............S
|
|
6217 ...
|
|
6218 WriteSReadJump: 01011 RRR c...c WriteS, Read1 RRR, jump to c...c
|
|
6219 C.............C
|
|
6220 S.............S
|
|
6221 ...
|
|
6222 WriteAReadJump: 01100 RRR c...c WriteA, Read1 RRR, jump to c...c
|
|
6223 C.............C size of array = C...C
|
|
6224 c.............c contents = c...c
|
|
6225 ...
|
|
6226 Branch: 01101 RRR C...C if (RRR >= 0 && RRR < C..)
|
|
6227 c.............c branch to (RRR+1)th address
|
|
6228 Read1: 01110 RRR ... read 1-byte to RRR
|
|
6229 Read2: 01111 RRR ..rrr read 2-byte to RRR and rrr
|
|
6230 ReadBranch: 10000 RRR C...C Read1 and Branch
|
|
6231 c.............c
|
|
6232 ...
|
|
6233 Write1: 10001 RRR ..... write 1-byte RRR
|
|
6234 Write2: 10010 RRR ..rrr write 2-byte RRR and rrr
|
|
6235 WriteC: 10011 000 ..... write 1-char C...CC
|
|
6236 C.............C
|
|
6237 WriteS: 10100 000 ..... write C..-byte of string
|
|
6238 C.............C
|
|
6239 S.............S
|
|
6240 ...
|
|
6241 WriteA: 10101 RRR ..... write array[RRR]
|
|
6242 C.............C size of array = C...C
|
|
6243 c.............c contents = c...c
|
|
6244 ...
|
|
6245 End: 10110 000 ..... terminate the execution
|
|
6246
|
|
6247 SetSelfCS: 10111 RRR C...C RRR AAAAA= C...C
|
|
6248 ..........AAAAA
|
|
6249 SetSelfCL: 11000 RRR ..... RRR AAAAA= c...c
|
|
6250 c.............c
|
|
6251 ..........AAAAA
|
|
6252 SetSelfR: 11001 RRR ..Rrr RRR AAAAA= rrr
|
|
6253 ..........AAAAA
|
|
6254 SetExprCL: 11010 RRR ..Rrr RRR = rrr AAAAA c...c
|
|
6255 c.............c
|
|
6256 ..........AAAAA
|
|
6257 SetExprR: 11011 RRR ..rrr RRR = rrr AAAAA Rrr
|
|
6258 ............Rrr
|
|
6259 ..........AAAAA
|
|
6260 JumpCondC: 11100 RRR c...c if !(RRR AAAAA C..) jump to c...c
|
|
6261 C.............C
|
|
6262 ..........AAAAA
|
|
6263 JumpCondR: 11101 RRR c...c if !(RRR AAAAA rrr) jump to c...c
|
|
6264 ............rrr
|
|
6265 ..........AAAAA
|
|
6266 ReadJumpCondC: 11110 RRR c...c Read1 and JumpCondC
|
|
6267 C.............C
|
|
6268 ..........AAAAA
|
|
6269 ReadJumpCondR: 11111 RRR c...c Read1 and JumpCondR
|
|
6270 ............rrr
|
|
6271 ..........AAAAA
|
|
6272 @end example
|
|
6273
|
|
6274 @node The Lisp Reader and Compiler, Lstreams, MULE Character Sets and Encodings, Top
|
|
6275 @chapter The Lisp Reader and Compiler
|
|
6276
|
|
6277 Not yet documented.
|
|
6278
|
|
6279 @node Lstreams, Consoles; Devices; Frames; Windows, The Lisp Reader and Compiler, Top
|
|
6280 @chapter Lstreams
|
|
6281
|
|
6282 An @dfn{lstream} is an internal Lisp object that provides a generic
|
|
6283 buffering stream implementation. Conceptually, you send data to the
|
|
6284 stream or read data from the stream, not caring what's on the other end
|
|
6285 of the stream. The other end could be another stream, a file
|
|
6286 descriptor, a stdio stream, a fixed block of memory, a reallocating
|
|
6287 block of memory, etc. The main purpose of the stream is to provide a
|
|
6288 standard interface and to do buffering. Macros are defined to read or
|
|
6289 write characters, so the calling functions do not have to worry about
|
|
6290 blocking data together in order to achieve efficiency.
|
|
6291
|
|
6292 @menu
|
|
6293 * Creating an Lstream:: Creating an lstream object.
|
|
6294 * Lstream Types:: Different sorts of things that are streamed.
|
|
6295 * Lstream Functions:: Functions for working with lstreams.
|
|
6296 * Lstream Methods:: Creating new lstream types.
|
|
6297 @end menu
|
|
6298
|
|
6299 @node Creating an Lstream
|
|
6300 @section Creating an Lstream
|
|
6301
|
|
6302 Lstreams come in different types, depending on what is being interfaced
|
|
6303 to. Although the primitive for creating new lstreams is
|
|
6304 @code{Lstream_new()}, generally you do not call this directly. Instead,
|
|
6305 you call some type-specific creation function, which creates the lstream
|
|
6306 and initializes it as appropriate for the particular type.
|
|
6307
|
|
6308 All lstream creation functions take a @var{mode} argument, specifying
|
|
6309 what mode the lstream should be opened as. This controls whether the
|
|
6310 lstream is for input and output, and optionally whether data should be
|
|
6311 blocked up in units of MULE characters. Note that some types of
|
|
6312 lstreams can only be opened for input; others only for output; and
|
|
6313 others can be opened either way. #### Richard Mlynarik thinks that
|
|
6314 there should be a strict separation between input and output streams,
|
|
6315 and he's probably right.
|
|
6316
|
|
6317 @var{mode} is a string, one of
|
|
6318
|
|
6319 @table @code
|
|
6320 @item "r"
|
|
6321 Open for reading.
|
|
6322 @item "w"
|
|
6323 Open for writing.
|
|
6324 @item "rc"
|
|
6325 Open for reading, but ``read'' never returns partial MULE characters.
|
|
6326 @item "wc"
|
|
6327 Open for writing, but never writes partial MULE characters.
|
|
6328 @end table
|
|
6329
|
|
6330 @node Lstream Types
|
|
6331 @section Lstream Types
|
|
6332
|
|
6333 @table @asis
|
|
6334 @item stdio
|
|
6335
|
|
6336 @item filedesc
|
|
6337
|
|
6338 @item lisp-string
|
|
6339
|
|
6340 @item fixed-buffer
|
|
6341
|
|
6342 @item resizing-buffer
|
|
6343
|
|
6344 @item dynarr
|
|
6345
|
|
6346 @item lisp-buffer
|
|
6347
|
|
6348 @item print
|
|
6349
|
|
6350 @item decoding
|
|
6351
|
|
6352 @item encoding
|
|
6353 @end table
|
|
6354
|
|
6355 @node Lstream Functions
|
|
6356 @section Lstream Functions
|
|
6357
|
|
6358 @deftypefun {Lstream *} Lstream_new (Lstream_implementation *@var{imp}, CONST char *@var{mode})
|
|
6359 Allocate and return a new Lstream. This function is not really meant to
|
|
6360 be called directly; rather, each stream type should provide its own
|
|
6361 stream creation function, which creates the stream and does any other
|
|
6362 necessary creation stuff (e.g. opening a file).
|
|
6363 @end deftypefun
|
|
6364
|
|
6365 @deftypefun void Lstream_set_buffering (Lstream *@var{lstr}, Lstream_buffering @var{buffering}, int @var{buffering_size})
|
|
6366 Change the buffering of a stream. See @file{lstream.h}. By default the
|
|
6367 buffering is @code{STREAM_BLOCK_BUFFERED}.
|
|
6368 @end deftypefun
|
|
6369
|
|
6370 @deftypefun int Lstream_flush (Lstream *@var{lstr})
|
|
6371 Flush out any pending unwritten data in the stream. Clear any buffered
|
|
6372 input data. Returns 0 on success, -1 on error.
|
|
6373 @end deftypefun
|
|
6374
|
|
6375 @deftypefn Macro int Lstream_putc (Lstream *@var{stream}, int @var{c})
|
|
6376 Write out one byte to the stream. This is a macro and so it is very
|
|
6377 efficient. The @var{c} argument is only evaluated once but the @var{stream}
|
|
6378 argument is evaluated more than once. Returns 0 on success, -1 on
|
|
6379 error.
|
|
6380 @end deftypefn
|
|
6381
|
|
6382 @deftypefn Macro int Lstream_getc (Lstream *@var{stream})
|
|
6383 Read one byte from the stream. This is a macro and so it is very
|
|
6384 efficient. The @var{stream} argument is evaluated more than once. Return
|
|
6385 value is -1 for EOF or error.
|
|
6386 @end deftypefn
|
|
6387
|
|
6388 @deftypefn Macro void Lstream_ungetc (Lstream *@var{stream}, int @var{c})
|
|
6389 Push one byte back onto the input queue. This will be the next byte
|
|
6390 read from the stream. Any number of bytes can be pushed back and will
|
|
6391 be read in the reverse order they were pushed back -- most recent
|
|
6392 first. (This is necessary for consistency -- if there are a number of
|
|
6393 bytes that have been unread and I read and unread a byte, it needs to be
|
|
6394 the first to be read again.) This is a macro and so it is very
|
|
6395 efficient. The @var{c} argument is only evaluated once but the @var{stream}
|
|
6396 argument is evaluated more than once.
|
|
6397 @end deftypefn
|
|
6398
|
|
6399 @deftypefun int Lstream_fputc (Lstream *@var{stream}, int @var{c})
|
|
6400 @deftypefunx int Lstream_fgetc (Lstream *@var{stream})
|
|
6401 @deftypefunx void Lstream_fungetc (Lstream *@var{stream}, int @var{c})
|
|
6402 Function equivalents of the above macros.
|
|
6403 @end deftypefun
|
|
6404
|
|
6405 @deftypefun int Lstream_read (Lstream *@var{stream}, void *@var{data}, int @var{size})
|
|
6406 Read @var{size} bytes of @var{data} from the stream. Return the number
|
|
6407 of bytes read. 0 means EOF. -1 means an error occurred and no bytes
|
|
6408 were read.
|
|
6409 @end deftypefun
|
|
6410
|
|
6411 @deftypefun int Lstream_write (Lstream *@var{stream}, void *@var{data}, int @var{size})
|
|
6412 Write @var{size} bytes of @var{data} to the stream. Return the number
|
|
6413 of bytes written. -1 means an error occurred and no bytes were written.
|
|
6414 @end deftypefun
|
|
6415
|
|
6416 @deftypefun void Lstream_unread (Lstream *@var{stream}, void *@var{data}, int @var{size})
|
|
6417 Push back @var{size} bytes of @var{data} onto the input queue. The next
|
|
6418 call to @code{Lstream_read()} with the same size will read the same
|
|
6419 bytes back. Note that this will be the case even if there is other
|
|
6420 pending unread data.
|
|
6421 @end deftypefun
|
|
6422
|
|
6423 @deftypefun int Lstream_close (Lstream *@var{stream})
|
|
6424 Close the stream. All data will be flushed out.
|
|
6425 @end deftypefun
|
|
6426
|
|
6427 @deftypefun void Lstream_reopen (Lstream *@var{stream})
|
|
6428 Reopen a closed stream. This enables I/O on it again. This is not
|
|
6429 meant to be called except from a wrapper routine that reinitializes
|
|
6430 variables and such -- the close routine may well have freed some
|
|
6431 necessary storage structures, for example.
|
|
6432 @end deftypefun
|
|
6433
|
|
6434 @deftypefun void Lstream_rewind (Lstream *@var{stream})
|
|
6435 Rewind the stream to the beginning.
|
|
6436 @end deftypefun
|
|
6437
|
|
6438 @node Lstream Methods
|
|
6439 @section Lstream Methods
|
|
6440
|
|
6441 @deftypefn {Lstream Method} int reader (Lstream *@var{stream}, unsigned char *@var{data}, int @var{size})
|
|
6442 Read some data from the stream's end and store it into @var{data}, which
|
|
6443 can hold @var{size} bytes. Return the number of bytes read. A return
|
|
6444 value of 0 means no bytes can be read at this time. This may be because
|
|
6445 of an EOF, or because there is a granularity greater than one byte that
|
|
6446 the stream imposes on the returned data, and @var{size} is less than
|
|
6447 this granularity. (This will happen frequently for streams that need to
|
|
6448 return whole characters, because @code{Lstream_read()} calls the reader
|
|
6449 function repeatedly until it has the number of bytes it wants or until 0
|
|
6450 is returned.) The lstream functions do not treat a 0 return as EOF or
|
|
6451 do anything special; however, the calling function will interpret any 0
|
|
6452 it gets back as EOF. This will normally not happen unless the caller
|
|
6453 calls @code{Lstream_read()} with a very small size.
|
|
6454
|
|
6455 This function can be @code{NULL} if the stream is output-only.
|
|
6456 @end deftypefn
|
|
6457
|
|
6458 @deftypefn {Lstream Method} int writer (Lstream *@var{stream}, CONST unsigned char *@var{data}, int @var{size})
|
|
6459 Send some data to the stream's end. Data to be sent is in @var{data}
|
|
6460 and is @var{size} bytes. Return the number of bytes sent. This
|
|
6461 function can send and return fewer bytes than is passed in; in that
|
|
6462 case, the function will just be called again until there is no data left
|
|
6463 or 0 is returned. A return value of 0 means that no more data can be
|
|
6464 currently stored, but there is no error; the data will be squirreled
|
|
6465 away until the writer can accept data. (This is useful, e.g., if you're
|
|
6466 dealing with a non-blocking file descriptor and are getting
|
|
6467 @code{EWOULDBLOCK} errors.) This function can be @code{NULL} if the
|
|
6468 stream is input-only.
|
|
6469 @end deftypefn
|
|
6470
|
|
6471 @deftypefn {Lstream Method} int rewinder (Lstream *@var{stream})
|
|
6472 Rewind the stream. If this is @code{NULL}, the stream is not seekable.
|
|
6473 @end deftypefn
|
|
6474
|
|
6475 @deftypefn {Lstream Method} int seekable_p (Lstream *@var{stream})
|
|
6476 Indicate whether this stream is seekable -- i.e. it can be rewound.
|
|
6477 This method is ignored if the stream does not have a rewind method. If
|
|
6478 this method is not present, the result is determined by whether a rewind
|
|
6479 method is present.
|
|
6480 @end deftypefn
|
|
6481
|
|
6482 @deftypefn {Lstream Method} int flusher (Lstream *@var{stream})
|
|
6483 Perform any additional operations necessary to flush the data in this
|
|
6484 stream.
|
|
6485 @end deftypefn
|
|
6486
|
|
6487 @deftypefn {Lstream Method} int pseudo_closer (Lstream *@var{stream})
|
|
6488 @end deftypefn
|
|
6489
|
|
6490 @deftypefn {Lstream Method} int closer (Lstream *@var{stream})
|
|
6491 Perform any additional operations necessary to close this stream down.
|
|
6492 May be @code{NULL}. This function is called when @code{Lstream_close()}
|
|
6493 is called or when the stream is garbage-collected. When this function
|
|
6494 is called, all pending data in the stream will already have been written
|
|
6495 out.
|
|
6496 @end deftypefn
|
|
6497
|
|
6498 @deftypefn {Lstream Method} Lisp_Object marker (Lisp_Object @var{lstream}, void (*@var{markfun}) (Lisp_Object))
|
|
6499 Mark this object for garbage collection. Same semantics as a standard
|
|
6500 @code{Lisp_Object} marker. This function can be @code{NULL}.
|
|
6501 @end deftypefn
|
|
6502
|
|
6503 @node Consoles; Devices; Frames; Windows, The Redisplay Mechanism, Lstreams, Top
|
|
6504 @chapter Consoles; Devices; Frames; Windows
|
|
6505
|
|
6506 @menu
|
|
6507 * Introduction to Consoles; Devices; Frames; Windows::
|
|
6508 * Point::
|
|
6509 * Window Hierarchy::
|
|
6510 * The Window Object::
|
|
6511 @end menu
|
|
6512
|
|
6513 @node Introduction to Consoles; Devices; Frames; Windows
|
|
6514 @section Introduction to Consoles; Devices; Frames; Windows
|
|
6515
|
|
6516 A window-system window that you see on the screen is called a
|
|
6517 @dfn{frame} in Emacs terminology. Each frame is subdivided into one or
|
|
6518 more non-overlapping panes, called (confusingly) @dfn{windows}. Each
|
|
6519 window displays the text of a buffer in it. (See above on Buffers.) Note
|
|
6520 that buffers and windows are independent entities: Two or more windows
|
|
6521 can be displaying the same buffer (potentially in different locations),
|
|
6522 and a buffer can be displayed in no windows.
|
|
6523
|
|
6524 A single display screen that contains one or more frames is called
|
|
6525 a @dfn{display}. Under most circumstances, there is only one display.
|
|
6526 However, more than one display can exist, for example if you have
|
|
6527 a @dfn{multi-headed} console, i.e. one with a single keyboard but
|
|
6528 multiple displays. (Typically in such a situation, the various
|
|
6529 displays act like one large display, in that the mouse is only
|
|
6530 in one of them at a time, and moving the mouse off of one moves
|
|
6531 it into another.) In some cases, the different displays will
|
|
6532 have different characteristics, e.g. one color and one mono.
|
|
6533
|
|
6534 XEmacs can display frames on multiple displays. It can even deal
|
|
6535 simultaneously with frames on multiple keyboards (called @dfn{consoles} in
|
|
6536 XEmacs terminology). Here is one case where this might be useful: You
|
|
6537 are using XEmacs on your workstation at work, and leave it running.
|
|
6538 Then you go home and dial in on a TTY line, and you can use the
|
|
6539 already-running XEmacs process to display another frame on your local
|
|
6540 TTY.
|
|
6541
|
|
6542 Thus, there is a hierarchy console -> display -> frame -> window.
|
|
6543 There is a separate Lisp object type for each of these four concepts.
|
2
|
6544 Furthermore, there is logically a @dfn{selected console},
|
0
|
6545 @dfn{selected display}, @dfn{selected frame}, and @dfn{selected window}.
|
2
|
6546 Each of these objects is distinguished in various ways, such as being the
|
|
6547 default object for various functions that act on objects of that type.
|
371
|
6548 Note that every containing object rememembers the ``selected'' object
|
2
|
6549 among the objects that it contains: e.g. not only is there a selected
|
|
6550 window, but every frame remembers the last window in it that was
|
|
6551 selected, and changing the selected frame causes the remembered window
|
|
6552 within it to become the selected window. Similar relationships apply
|
|
6553 for consoles to devices and devices to frames.
|
0
|
6554
|
|
6555 @node Point
|
|
6556 @section Point
|
|
6557
|
|
6558 Recall that every buffer has a current insertion position, called
|
|
6559 @dfn{point}. Now, two or more windows may be displaying the same buffer,
|
|
6560 and the text cursor in the two windows (i.e. @code{point}) can be in
|
|
6561 two different places. You may ask, how can that be, since each
|
|
6562 buffer has only one value of @code{point}? The answer is that each window
|
|
6563 also has a value of @code{point} that is squirreled away in it. There
|
|
6564 is only one selected window, and the value of ``point'' in that buffer
|
|
6565 corresponds to that window. When the selected window is changed
|
|
6566 from one window to another displaying the same buffer, the old
|
|
6567 value of @code{point} is stored into the old window's ``point'' and the
|
|
6568 value of @code{point} from the new window is retrieved and made the
|
|
6569 value of @code{point} in the buffer. This means that @code{window-point}
|
|
6570 for the selected window is potentially inaccurate, and if you
|
|
6571 want to retrieve the correct value of @code{point} for a window,
|
|
6572 you must special-case on the selected window and retrieve the
|
|
6573 buffer's point instead. This is related to why @code{save-window-excursion}
|
|
6574 does not save the selected window's value of @code{point}.
|
|
6575
|
|
6576 @node Window Hierarchy
|
|
6577 @section Window Hierarchy
|
|
6578 @cindex window hierarchy
|
|
6579 @cindex hierarchy of windows
|
|
6580
|
|
6581 If a frame contains multiple windows (panes), they are always created
|
|
6582 by splitting an existing window along the horizontal or vertical axis.
|
|
6583 Terminology is a bit confusing here: to @dfn{split a window
|
|
6584 horizontally} means to create two side-by-side windows, i.e. to make a
|
|
6585 @emph{vertical} cut in a window. Likewise, to @dfn{split a window
|
|
6586 vertically} means to create two windows, one above the other, by making
|
|
6587 a @emph{horizontal} cut.
|
|
6588
|
|
6589 If you split a window and then split again along the same axis, you
|
|
6590 will end up with a number of panes all arranged along the same axis.
|
|
6591 The precise way in which the splits were made should not be important,
|
|
6592 and this is reflected internally. Internally, all windows are arranged
|
|
6593 in a tree, consisting of two types of windows, @dfn{combination} windows
|
|
6594 (which have children, and are covered completely by those children) and
|
|
6595 @dfn{leaf} windows, which have no children and are visible. Every
|
|
6596 combination window has two or more children, all arranged along the same
|
|
6597 axis. There are (logically) two subtypes of windows, depending on
|
|
6598 whether their children are horizontally or vertically arrayed. There is
|
|
6599 always one root window, which is either a leaf window (if the frame
|
|
6600 contains only one window) or a combination window (if the frame contains
|
|
6601 more than one window). In the latter case, the root window will have
|
|
6602 two or more children, either horizontally or vertically arrayed, and
|
|
6603 each of those children will be either a leaf window or another
|
|
6604 combination window.
|
|
6605
|
|
6606 Here are some rules:
|
|
6607
|
|
6608 @enumerate
|
|
6609 @item
|
2
|
6610 Horizontal combination windows can never have children that are
|
|
6611 horizontal combination windows; same for vertical.
|
0
|
6612
|
|
6613 @item
|
|
6614 Only leaf windows can be split (obviously) and this splitting does one
|
|
6615 of two things: (a) turns the leaf window into a combination window and
|
|
6616 creates two new leaf children, or (b) turns the leaf window into one of
|
|
6617 the two new leaves and creates the other leaf. Rule (1) dictates which
|
|
6618 of these two outcomes happens.
|
|
6619
|
|
6620 @item
|
|
6621 Every combination window must have at least two children.
|
|
6622
|
|
6623 @item
|
|
6624 Leaf windows can never become combination windows. They can be deleted,
|
|
6625 however. If this results in a violation of (3), the parent combination
|
|
6626 window also gets deleted.
|
|
6627
|
|
6628 @item
|
|
6629 All functions that accept windows must be prepared to accept combination
|
|
6630 windows, and do something sane (e.g. signal an error if so).
|
|
6631 Combination windows @emph{do} escape to the Lisp level.
|
|
6632
|
|
6633 @item
|
|
6634 All windows have three fields governing their contents:
|
|
6635 these are @dfn{hchild} (a list of horizontally-arrayed children),
|
|
6636 @dfn{vchild} (a list of vertically-arrayed children), and @dfn{buffer}
|
|
6637 (the buffer contained in a leaf window). Exactly one of
|
|
6638 these will be non-nil. Remember that @dfn{horizontally-arrayed}
|
|
6639 means ``side-by-side'' and @dfn{vertically-arrayed} means
|
|
6640 @dfn{one above the other}.
|
|
6641
|
|
6642 @item
|
|
6643 Leaf windows also have markers in their @code{start} (the
|
|
6644 first buffer position displayed in the window) and @code{pointm}
|
|
6645 (the window's stashed value of @code{point} -- see above) fields,
|
|
6646 while combination windows have nil in these fields.
|
|
6647
|
|
6648 @item
|
|
6649 The list of children for a window is threaded through the
|
|
6650 @code{next} and @code{prev} fields of each child window.
|
|
6651
|
|
6652 @item
|
|
6653 @strong{Deleted windows can be undeleted}. This happens as a result of
|
|
6654 restoring a window configuration, and is unlike frames, displays, and
|
|
6655 consoles, which, once deleted, can never be restored. Deleting a window
|
|
6656 does nothing except set a special @code{dead} bit to 1 and clear out the
|
|
6657 @code{next}, @code{prev}, @code{hchild}, and @code{vchild} fields, for
|
|
6658 GC purposes.
|
|
6659
|
|
6660 @item
|
|
6661 Most frames actually have two top-level windows -- one for the
|
|
6662 minibuffer and one (the @dfn{root}) for everything else. The modeline
|
|
6663 (if present) separates these two. The @code{next} field of the root
|
|
6664 points to the minibuffer, and the @code{prev} field of the minibuffer
|
|
6665 points to the root. The other @code{next} and @code{prev} fields are
|
|
6666 @code{nil}, and the frame points to both of these windows.
|
|
6667 Minibuffer-less frames have no minibuffer window, and the @code{next}
|
|
6668 and @code{prev} of the root window are @code{nil}. Minibuffer-only
|
|
6669 frames have no root window, and the @code{next} of the minibuffer window
|
|
6670 is @code{nil} but the @code{prev} points to itself. (#### This is an
|
|
6671 artifact that should be fixed.)
|
|
6672 @end enumerate
|
|
6673
|
|
6674 @node The Window Object
|
|
6675 @section The Window Object
|
|
6676
|
|
6677 Windows have the following accessible fields:
|
|
6678
|
|
6679 @table @code
|
|
6680 @item frame
|
|
6681 The frame that this window is on.
|
|
6682
|
|
6683 @item mini_p
|
|
6684 Non-@code{nil} if this window is a minibuffer window.
|
|
6685
|
|
6686 @item buffer
|
|
6687 The buffer that the window is displaying. This may change often during
|
|
6688 the life of the window.
|
|
6689
|
|
6690 @item dedicated
|
|
6691 Non-@code{nil} if this window is dedicated to its buffer.
|
|
6692
|
|
6693 @item pointm
|
|
6694 @cindex window point internals
|
|
6695 This is the value of point in the current buffer when this window is
|
|
6696 selected; when it is not selected, it retains its previous value.
|
|
6697
|
|
6698 @item start
|
|
6699 The position in the buffer that is the first character to be displayed
|
|
6700 in the window.
|
|
6701
|
|
6702 @item force_start
|
|
6703 If this flag is non-@code{nil}, it says that the window has been
|
|
6704 scrolled explicitly by the Lisp program. This affects what the next
|
|
6705 redisplay does if point is off the screen: instead of scrolling the
|
|
6706 window to show the text around point, it moves point to a location that
|
|
6707 is on the screen.
|
|
6708
|
|
6709 @item last_modified
|
|
6710 The @code{modified} field of the window's buffer, as of the last time
|
|
6711 a redisplay completed in this window.
|
|
6712
|
|
6713 @item last_point
|
|
6714 The buffer's value of point, as of the last time
|
|
6715 a redisplay completed in this window.
|
|
6716
|
|
6717 @item left
|
|
6718 This is the left-hand edge of the window, measured in columns. (The
|
|
6719 leftmost column on the screen is @w{column 0}.)
|
|
6720
|
|
6721 @item top
|
|
6722 This is the top edge of the window, measured in lines. (The top line on
|
|
6723 the screen is @w{line 0}.)
|
|
6724
|
|
6725 @item height
|
|
6726 The height of the window, measured in lines.
|
|
6727
|
|
6728 @item width
|
|
6729 The width of the window, measured in columns.
|
|
6730
|
|
6731 @item next
|
|
6732 This is the window that is the next in the chain of siblings. It is
|
|
6733 @code{nil} in a window that is the rightmost or bottommost of a group of
|
|
6734 siblings.
|
|
6735
|
|
6736 @item prev
|
|
6737 This is the window that is the previous in the chain of siblings. It is
|
|
6738 @code{nil} in a window that is the leftmost or topmost of a group of
|
|
6739 siblings.
|
|
6740
|
|
6741 @item parent
|
|
6742 Internally, XEmacs arranges windows in a tree; each group of siblings has
|
|
6743 a parent window whose area includes all the siblings. This field points
|
|
6744 to a window's parent.
|
|
6745
|
|
6746 Parent windows do not display buffers, and play little role in display
|
|
6747 except to shape their child windows. Emacs Lisp programs usually have
|
|
6748 no access to the parent windows; they operate on the windows at the
|
|
6749 leaves of the tree, which actually display buffers.
|
|
6750
|
|
6751 @item hscroll
|
|
6752 This is the number of columns that the display in the window is scrolled
|
|
6753 horizontally to the left. Normally, this is 0.
|
|
6754
|
|
6755 @item use_time
|
|
6756 This is the last time that the window was selected. The function
|
|
6757 @code{get-lru-window} uses this field.
|
|
6758
|
|
6759 @item display_table
|
|
6760 The window's display table, or @code{nil} if none is specified for it.
|
|
6761
|
|
6762 @item update_mode_line
|
|
6763 Non-@code{nil} means this window's mode line needs to be updated.
|
|
6764
|
|
6765 @item base_line_number
|
|
6766 The line number of a certain position in the buffer, or @code{nil}.
|
|
6767 This is used for displaying the line number of point in the mode line.
|
|
6768
|
|
6769 @item base_line_pos
|
|
6770 The position in the buffer for which the line number is known, or
|
|
6771 @code{nil} meaning none is known.
|
|
6772
|
|
6773 @item region_showing
|
|
6774 If the region (or part of it) is highlighted in this window, this field
|
|
6775 holds the mark position that made one end of that region. Otherwise,
|
|
6776 this field is @code{nil}.
|
|
6777 @end table
|
|
6778
|
|
6779 @node The Redisplay Mechanism, Extents, Consoles; Devices; Frames; Windows, Top
|
|
6780 @chapter The Redisplay Mechanism
|
|
6781
|
|
6782 The redisplay mechanism is one of the most complicated sections of
|
|
6783 XEmacs, especially from a conceptual standpoint. This is doubly so
|
|
6784 because, unlike for the basic aspects of the Lisp interpreter, the
|
|
6785 computer science theories of how to efficiently handle redisplay are not
|
|
6786 well-developed.
|
|
6787
|
|
6788 When working with the redisplay mechanism, remember the Golden Rules
|
|
6789 of Redisplay:
|
|
6790
|
|
6791 @enumerate
|
|
6792 @item
|
|
6793 It Is Better To Be Correct Than Fast.
|
|
6794 @item
|
|
6795 Thou Shalt Not Run Elisp From Within Redisplay.
|
|
6796 @item
|
|
6797 It Is Better To Be Fast Than Not To Be.
|
|
6798 @end enumerate
|
|
6799
|
|
6800 @menu
|
|
6801 * Critical Redisplay Sections::
|
|
6802 * Line Start Cache::
|
|
6803 @end menu
|
|
6804
|
|
6805 @node Critical Redisplay Sections
|
|
6806 @section Critical Redisplay Sections
|
|
6807 @cindex critical redisplay sections
|
|
6808
|
|
6809 Within this section, we are defenseless and assume that the
|
|
6810 following cannot happen:
|
|
6811
|
|
6812 @enumerate
|
|
6813 @item
|
|
6814 garbage collection
|
|
6815 @item
|
|
6816 Lisp code evaluation
|
|
6817 @item
|
|
6818 frame size changes
|
|
6819 @end enumerate
|
|
6820
|
|
6821 We ensure (3) by calling @code{hold_frame_size_changes()}, which
|
|
6822 will cause any pending frame size changes to get put on hold
|
|
6823 till after the end of the critical section. (1) follows
|
|
6824 automatically if (2) is met. #### Unfortunately, there are
|
|
6825 some places where Lisp code can be called within this section.
|
|
6826 We need to remove them.
|
|
6827
|
|
6828 If @code{Fsignal()} is called during this critical section, we
|
|
6829 will @code{abort()}.
|
|
6830
|
|
6831 If garbage collection is called during this critical section,
|
|
6832 we simply return. #### We should abort instead.
|
|
6833
|
|
6834 #### If a frame-size change does occur we should probably
|
|
6835 actually be preempting redisplay.
|
|
6836
|
|
6837 @node Line Start Cache
|
|
6838 @section Line Start Cache
|
|
6839 @cindex line start cache
|
|
6840
|
|
6841 The traditional scrolling code in Emacs breaks in a variable height
|
|
6842 world. It depends on the key assumption that the number of lines that
|
|
6843 can be displayed at any given time is fixed. This led to a complete
|
|
6844 separation of the scrolling code from the redisplay code. In order to
|
|
6845 fully support variable height lines, the scrolling code must actually be
|
|
6846 tightly integrated with redisplay. Only redisplay can determine how
|
|
6847 many lines will be displayed on a screen for any given starting point.
|
|
6848
|
|
6849 What is ideally wanted is a complete list of the starting buffer
|
|
6850 position for every possible display line of a buffer along with the
|
|
6851 height of that display line. Maintaining such a full list would be very
|
|
6852 expensive. We settle for having it include information for all areas
|
|
6853 which we happen to generate anyhow (i.e. the region currently being
|
|
6854 displayed) and for those areas we need to work with.
|
|
6855
|
|
6856 In order to ensure that the cache accurately represents what redisplay
|
|
6857 would actually show, it is necessary to invalidate it in many
|
|
6858 situations. If the buffer changes, the starting positions may no longer
|
|
6859 be correct. If a face or an extent has changed then the line heights
|
|
6860 may have altered. These events happen frequently enough that the cache
|
|
6861 can end up being constantly disabled. With this potentially constant
|
|
6862 invalidation when is the cache ever useful?
|
|
6863
|
|
6864 Even if the cache is invalidated before every single usage, it is
|
|
6865 necessary. Scrolling often requires knowledge about display lines which
|
|
6866 are actually above or below the visible region. The cache provides a
|
|
6867 convenient light-weight method of storing this information for multiple
|
|
6868 display regions. This knowledge is necessary for the scrolling code to
|
|
6869 always obey the First Golden Rule of Redisplay.
|
|
6870
|
|
6871 If the cache already contains all of the information that the scrolling
|
|
6872 routines happen to need so that it doesn't have to go generate it, then
|
|
6873 we are able to obey the Third Golden Rule of Redisplay. The first thing
|
|
6874 we do to help out the cache is to always add the displayed region. This
|
|
6875 region had to be generated anyway, so the cache ends up getting the
|
|
6876 information basically for free. In those cases where a user is simply
|
|
6877 scrolling around viewing a buffer there is a high probability that this
|
|
6878 is sufficient to always provide the needed information. The second
|
|
6879 thing we can do is be smart about invalidating the cache.
|
|
6880
|
|
6881 TODO -- Be smart about invalidating the cache. Potential places:
|
|
6882
|
|
6883 @itemize @bullet
|
|
6884 @item
|
|
6885 Insertions at end-of-line which don't cause line-wraps do not alter the
|
|
6886 starting positions of any display lines. These types of buffer
|
|
6887 modifications should not invalidate the cache. This is actually a large
|
|
6888 optimization for redisplay speed as well.
|
|
6889 @item
|
|
6890 Buffer modifications frequently only affect the display of lines at and
|
|
6891 below where they occur. In these situations we should only invalidate
|
|
6892 the part of the cache starting at where the modification occurs.
|
|
6893 @end itemize
|
|
6894
|
|
6895 In case you're wondering, the Second Golden Rule of Redisplay is not
|
|
6896 applicable.
|
|
6897
|
|
6898 @node Extents, Faces and Glyphs, The Redisplay Mechanism, Top
|
|
6899 @chapter Extents
|
|
6900
|
|
6901 @menu
|
|
6902 * Introduction to Extents:: Extents are ranges over text, with properties.
|
|
6903 * Extent Ordering:: How extents are ordered internally.
|
|
6904 * Format of the Extent Info:: The extent information in a buffer or string.
|
|
6905 * Zero-Length Extents:: A weird special case.
|
|
6906 * Mathematics of Extent Ordering:: A rigorous foundation.
|
|
6907 * Extent Fragments:: Cached information useful for redisplay.
|
|
6908 @end menu
|
|
6909
|
|
6910 @node Introduction to Extents
|
|
6911 @section Introduction to Extents
|
|
6912
|
|
6913 Extents are regions over a buffer, with a start and an end position
|
|
6914 denoting the region of the buffer included in the extent. In
|
|
6915 addition, either end can be closed or open, meaning that the endpoint
|
|
6916 is or is not logically included in the extent. Insertion of a character
|
|
6917 at a closed endpoint causes the character to go inside the extent;
|
|
6918 insertion at an open endpoint causes the character to go outside.
|
|
6919
|
|
6920 Extent endpoints are stored using memory indices (see @file{insdel.c}),
|
|
6921 to minimize the amount of adjusting that needs to be done when
|
|
6922 characters are inserted or deleted.
|
|
6923
|
|
6924 (Formerly, extent endpoints at the gap could be either before or
|
|
6925 after the gap, depending on the open/closedness of the endpoint.
|
|
6926 The intent of this was to make it so that insertions would
|
|
6927 automatically go inside or out of extents as necessary with no
|
|
6928 further work needing to be done. It didn't work out that way,
|
|
6929 however, and just ended up complexifying and buggifying all the
|
|
6930 rest of the code.)
|
|
6931
|
|
6932 @node Extent Ordering
|
|
6933 @section Extent Ordering
|
|
6934
|
|
6935 Extents are compared using memory indices. There are two orderings
|
|
6936 for extents and both orders are kept current at all times. The normal
|
|
6937 or @dfn{display} order is as follows:
|
|
6938
|
|
6939 @example
|
|
6940 Extent A is ``less than'' extent B, that is, earlier in the display order,
|
|
6941 if: A-start < B-start,
|
|
6942 or if: A-start = B-start, and A-end > B-end
|
|
6943 @end example
|
|
6944
|
|
6945 So if two extents begin at the same position, the larger of them is the
|
|
6946 earlier one in the display order (@code{EXTENT_LESS} is true).
|
|
6947
|
|
6948 For the e-order, the same thing holds:
|
|
6949
|
|
6950 @example
|
|
6951 Extent A is ``less than'' extent B in e-order, that is, later in the buffer,
|
|
6952 if: A-end < B-end,
|
|
6953 or if: A-end = B-end, and A-start > B-start
|
|
6954 @end example
|
|
6955
|
|
6956 So if two extents end at the same position, the smaller of them is the
|
|
6957 earlier one in the e-order (@code{EXTENT_E_LESS} is true).
|
|
6958
|
|
6959 The display order and the e-order are complementary orders: any
|
|
6960 theorem about the display order also applies to the e-order if you swap
|
|
6961 all occurrences of ``display order'' and ``e-order'', ``less than'' and
|
|
6962 ``greater than'', and ``extent start'' and ``extent end''.
|
|
6963
|
|
6964 @node Format of the Extent Info
|
|
6965 @section Format of the Extent Info
|
|
6966
|
|
6967 An extent-info structure consists of a list of the buffer or string's
|
|
6968 extents and a @dfn{stack of extents} that lists all of the extents over
|
|
6969 a particular position. The stack-of-extents info is used for
|
|
6970 optimization purposes -- it basically caches some info that might
|
|
6971 be expensive to compute. Certain otherwise hard computations are easy
|
|
6972 given the stack of extents over a particular position, and if the
|
|
6973 stack of extents over a nearby position is known (because it was
|
|
6974 calculated at some prior point in time), it's easy to move the stack
|
|
6975 of extents to the proper position.
|
|
6976
|
|
6977 Given that the stack of extents is an optimization, and given that
|
|
6978 it requires memory, a string's stack of extents is wiped out each
|
|
6979 time a garbage collection occurs. Therefore, any time you retrieve
|
|
6980 the stack of extents, it might not be there. If you need it to
|
|
6981 be there, use the @code{_force} version.
|
|
6982
|
|
6983 Similarly, a string may or may not have an extent_info structure.
|
|
6984 (Generally it won't if there haven't been any extents added to the
|
|
6985 string.) So use the @code{_force} version if you need the extent_info
|
|
6986 structure to be there.
|
|
6987
|
|
6988 A list of extents is maintained as a double gap array: one gap array
|
|
6989 is ordered by start index (the @dfn{display order}) and the other is
|
|
6990 ordered by end index (the @dfn{e-order}). Note that positions in an
|
|
6991 extent list should logically be conceived of as referring @emph{to} a
|
|
6992 particular extent (as is the norm in programs) rather than sitting
|
|
6993 between two extents. Note also that callers of these functions should
|
|
6994 not be aware of the fact that the extent list is implemented as an
|
|
6995 array, except for the fact that positions are integers (this should be
|
|
6996 generalized to handle integers and linked list equally well).
|
|
6997
|
|
6998 @node Zero-Length Extents
|
|
6999 @section Zero-Length Extents
|
|
7000
|
|
7001 Extents can be zero-length, and will end up that way if their endpoints
|
|
7002 are explicitly set that way or if their detachable property is nil
|
|
7003 and all the text in the extent is deleted. (The exception is open-open
|
|
7004 zero-length extents, which are barred from existing because there is
|
|
7005 no sensible way to define their properties. Deletion of the text in
|
|
7006 an open-open extent causes it to be converted into a closed-open
|
|
7007 extent.) Zero-length extents are primarily used to represent
|
|
7008 annotations, and behave as follows:
|
|
7009
|
|
7010 @enumerate
|
|
7011 @item
|
|
7012 Insertion at the position of a zero-length extent expands the extent
|
|
7013 if both endpoints are closed; goes after the extent if it is closed-open;
|
|
7014 and goes before the extent if it is open-closed.
|
|
7015
|
|
7016 @item
|
|
7017 Deletion of a character on a side of a zero-length extent whose
|
|
7018 corresponding endpoint is closed causes the extent to be detached if
|
|
7019 it is detachable; if the extent is not detachable or the corresponding
|
|
7020 endpoint is open, the extent remains in the buffer, moving as necessary.
|
|
7021 @end enumerate
|
|
7022
|
|
7023 Note that closed-open, non-detachable zero-length extents behave
|
|
7024 exactly like markers and that open-closed, non-detachable zero-length
|
|
7025 extents behave like the ``point-type'' marker in Mule.
|
|
7026
|
|
7027 @node Mathematics of Extent Ordering
|
|
7028 @section Mathematics of Extent Ordering
|
|
7029 @cindex extent mathematics
|
|
7030 @cindex mathematics of extents
|
|
7031 @cindex extent ordering
|
|
7032
|
|
7033 @cindex display order of extents
|
|
7034 @cindex extents, display order
|
|
7035 The extents in a buffer are ordered by ``display order'' because that
|
|
7036 is that order that the redisplay mechanism needs to process them in.
|
|
7037 The e-order is an auxiliary ordering used to facilitate operations
|
|
7038 over extents. The operations that can be performed on the ordered
|
|
7039 list of extents in a buffer are
|
|
7040
|
|
7041 @enumerate
|
|
7042 @item
|
|
7043 Locate where an extent would go if inserted into the list.
|
|
7044 @item
|
|
7045 Insert an extent into the list.
|
|
7046 @item
|
|
7047 Remove an extent from the list.
|
|
7048 @item
|
|
7049 Map over all the extents that overlap a range.
|
|
7050 @end enumerate
|
|
7051
|
|
7052 (4) requires being able to determine the first and last extents
|
|
7053 that overlap a range.
|
|
7054
|
|
7055 NOTE: @dfn{overlap} is used as follows:
|
|
7056
|
|
7057 @itemize @bullet
|
|
7058 @item
|
|
7059 two ranges overlap if they have at least one point in common.
|
|
7060 Whether the endpoints are open or closed makes a difference here.
|
|
7061 @item
|
|
7062 a point overlaps a range if the point is contained within the
|
|
7063 range; this is equivalent to treating a point @math{P} as the range
|
|
7064 @math{[P, P]}.
|
|
7065 @item
|
|
7066 In the case of an @emph{extent} overlapping a point or range, the extent
|
|
7067 is normally treated as having closed endpoints. This applies
|
|
7068 consistently in the discussion of stacks of extents and such below.
|
|
7069 Note that this definition of overlap is not necessarily consistent with
|
|
7070 the extents that @code{map-extents} maps over, since @code{map-extents}
|
|
7071 sometimes pays attention to whether the endpoints of an extents are open
|
|
7072 or closed. But for our purposes, it greatly simplifies things to treat
|
|
7073 all extents as having closed endpoints.
|
|
7074 @end itemize
|
|
7075
|
|
7076 First, define @math{>}, @math{<}, @math{<=}, etc. as applied to extents
|
|
7077 to mean comparison according to the display order. Comparison between
|
|
7078 an extent @math{E} and an index @math{I} means comparison between
|
|
7079 @math{E} and the range @math{[I, I]}.
|
|
7080
|
|
7081 Also define @math{e>}, @math{e<}, @math{e<=}, etc. to mean comparison
|
|
7082 according to the e-order.
|
|
7083
|
|
7084 For any range @math{R}, define @math{R(0)} to be the starting index of
|
|
7085 the range and @math{R(1)} to be the ending index of the range.
|
|
7086
|
|
7087 For any extent @math{E}, define @math{E(next)} to be the extent directly
|
|
7088 following @math{E}, and @math{E(prev)} to be the extent directly
|
|
7089 preceding @math{E}. Assume @math{E(next)} and @math{E(prev)} can be
|
|
7090 determined from @math{E} in constant time. (This is because we store
|
|
7091 the extent list as a doubly linked list.)
|
|
7092
|
|
7093 Similarly, define @math{E(e-next)} and @math{E(e-prev)} to be the
|
|
7094 extents directly following and preceding @math{E} in the e-order.
|
|
7095
|
|
7096 Now:
|
|
7097
|
|
7098 Let @math{R} be a range.
|
|
7099 Let @math{F} be the first extent overlapping @math{R}.
|
|
7100 Let @math{L} be the last extent overlapping @math{R}.
|
|
7101
|
|
7102 Theorem 1: @math{R(1)} lies between @math{L} and @math{L(next)},
|
|
7103 i.e. @math{L <= R(1) < L(next)}.
|
|
7104
|
|
7105 This follows easily from the definition of display order. The
|
|
7106 basic reason that this theorem applies is that the display order
|
|
7107 sorts by increasing starting index.
|
|
7108
|
|
7109 Therefore, we can determine @math{L} just by looking at where we would
|
|
7110 insert @math{R(1)} into the list, and if we know @math{F} and are moving
|
|
7111 forward over extents, we can easily determine when we've hit @math{L} by
|
|
7112 comparing the extent we're at to @math{R(1)}.
|
|
7113
|
|
7114 @example
|
|
7115 Theorem 2: @math{F(e-prev) e< [1, R(0)] e<= F}.
|
|
7116 @end example
|
|
7117
|
|
7118 This is the analog of Theorem 1, and applies because the e-order
|
|
7119 sorts by increasing ending index.
|
|
7120
|
|
7121 Therefore, @math{F} can be found in the same amount of time as
|
|
7122 operation (1), i.e. the time that it takes to locate where an extent
|
|
7123 would go if inserted into the e-order list.
|
|
7124
|
|
7125 If the lists were stored as balanced binary trees, then operation (1)
|
|
7126 would take logarithmic time, which is usually quite fast. However,
|
|
7127 currently they're stored as simple doubly-linked lists, and instead we
|
|
7128 do some caching to try to speed things up.
|
|
7129
|
|
7130 Define a @dfn{stack of extents} (or @dfn{SOE}) as the set of extents
|
|
7131 (ordered in the display order) that overlap an index @math{I}, together
|
|
7132 with the SOE's @dfn{previous} extent, which is an extent that precedes
|
|
7133 @math{I} in the e-order. (Hopefully there will not be very many extents
|
|
7134 between @math{I} and the previous extent.)
|
|
7135
|
|
7136 Now:
|
|
7137
|
|
7138 Let @math{I} be an index, let @math{S} be the stack of extents on
|
|
7139 @math{I}, let @math{F} be the first extent in @math{S}, and let @math{P}
|
|
7140 be @math{S}'s previous extent.
|
|
7141
|
|
7142 Theorem 3: The first extent in @math{S} is the first extent that overlaps
|
|
7143 any range @math{[I, J]}.
|
|
7144
|
|
7145 Proof: Any extent that overlaps @math{[I, J]} but does not include
|
|
7146 @math{I} must have a start index @math{> I}, and thus be greater than
|
|
7147 any extent in @math{S}.
|
|
7148
|
|
7149 Therefore, finding the first extent that overlaps a range @math{R} is
|
|
7150 the same as finding the first extent that overlaps @math{R(0)}.
|
|
7151
|
|
7152 Theorem 4: Let @math{I2} be an index such that @math{I2 > I}, and let
|
|
7153 @math{F2} be the first extent that overlaps @math{I2}. Then, either
|
|
7154 @math{F2} is in @math{S} or @math{F2} is greater than any extent in
|
|
7155 @math{S}.
|
|
7156
|
|
7157 Proof: If @math{F2} does not include @math{I} then its start index is
|
|
7158 greater than @math{I} and thus it is greater than any extent in
|
|
7159 @math{S}, including @math{F}. Otherwise, @math{F2} includes @math{I}
|
|
7160 and thus is in @math{S}, and thus @math{F2 >= F}.
|
|
7161
|
|
7162 @node Extent Fragments
|
|
7163 @section Extent Fragments
|
|
7164 @cindex extent fragment
|
|
7165
|
|
7166 Imagine that the buffer is divided up into contiguous, non-overlapping
|
|
7167 @dfn{runs} of text such that no extent starts or ends within a run
|
|
7168 (extents that abut the run don't count).
|
|
7169
|
|
7170 An extent fragment is a structure that holds data about the run that
|
|
7171 contains a particular buffer position (if the buffer position is at the
|
|
7172 junction of two runs, the run after the position is used) -- the
|
|
7173 beginning and end of the run, a list of all of the extents in that run,
|
|
7174 the @dfn{merged face} that results from merging all of the faces
|
|
7175 corresponding to those extents, the begin and end glyphs at the
|
|
7176 beginning of the run, etc. This is the information that redisplay needs
|
|
7177 in order to display this run.
|
|
7178
|
|
7179 Extent fragments have to be very quick to update to a new buffer
|
|
7180 position when moving linearly through the buffer. They rely on the
|
|
7181 stack-of-extents code, which does the heavy-duty algorithmic work of
|
|
7182 determining which extents overly a particular position.
|
|
7183
|
|
7184 @node Faces and Glyphs, Specifiers, Extents, Top
|
|
7185 @chapter Faces and Glyphs
|
|
7186
|
|
7187 Not yet documented.
|
|
7188
|
|
7189 @node Specifiers, Menus, Faces and Glyphs, Top
|
|
7190 @chapter Specifiers
|
|
7191
|
|
7192 Not yet documented.
|
|
7193
|
|
7194 @node Menus, Subprocesses, Specifiers, Top
|
|
7195 @chapter Menus
|
|
7196
|
|
7197 A menu is set by setting the value of the variable
|
|
7198 @code{current-menubar} (which may be buffer-local) and then calling
|
|
7199 @code{set-menubar-dirty-flag} to signal a change. This will cause the
|
|
7200 menu to be redrawn at the next redisplay. The format of the data in
|
|
7201 @code{current-menubar} is described in @file{menubar.c}.
|
|
7202
|
|
7203 Internally the data in current-menubar is parsed into a tree of
|
|
7204 @code{widget_value's} (defined in @file{lwlib.h}); this is accomplished
|
|
7205 by the recursive function @code{menu_item_descriptor_to_widget_value()},
|
|
7206 called by @code{compute_menubar_data()}. Such a tree is deallocated
|
|
7207 using @code{free_widget_value()}.
|
|
7208
|
|
7209 @code{update_screen_menubars()} is one of the external entry points.
|
|
7210 This checks to see, for each screen, if that screen's menubar needs to
|
|
7211 be updated. This is the case if
|
|
7212
|
|
7213 @enumerate
|
|
7214 @item
|
|
7215 @code{set-menubar-dirty-flag} was called since the last redisplay. (This
|
|
7216 function sets the C variable menubar_has_changed.)
|
|
7217 @item
|
|
7218 The buffer displayed in the screen has changed.
|
|
7219 @item
|
|
7220 The screen has no menubar currently displayed.
|
|
7221 @end enumerate
|
|
7222
|
|
7223 @code{set_screen_menubar()} is called for each such screen. This
|
|
7224 function calls @code{compute_menubar_data()} to create the tree of
|
|
7225 widget_value's, then calls @code{lw_create_widget()},
|
|
7226 @code{lw_modify_all_widgets()}, and/or @code{lw_destroy_all_widgets()}
|
|
7227 to create the X-Toolkit widget associated with the menu.
|
|
7228
|
|
7229 @code{update_psheets()}, the other external entry point, actually
|
|
7230 changes the menus being displayed. It uses the widgets fixed by
|
|
7231 @code{update_screen_menubars()} and calls various X functions to ensure
|
|
7232 that the menus are displayed properly.
|
|
7233
|
|
7234 The menubar widget is set up so that @code{pre_activate_callback()} is
|
|
7235 called when the menu is first selected (i.e. mouse button goes down),
|
|
7236 and @code{menubar_selection_callback()} is called when an item is
|
|
7237 selected. @code{pre_activate_callback()} calls the function in
|
|
7238 activate-menubar-hook, which can change the menubar (this is described
|
|
7239 in @file{menubar.c}). If the menubar is changed,
|
|
7240 @code{set_screen_menubars()} is called.
|
|
7241 @code{menubar_selection_callback()} enqueues a menu event, putting in it
|
|
7242 a function to call (either @code{eval} or @code{call-interactively}) and
|
|
7243 its argument, which is the callback function or form given in the menu's
|
|
7244 description.
|
|
7245
|
|
7246 @node Subprocesses, Interface to X Windows, Menus, Top
|
|
7247 @chapter Subprocesses
|
|
7248
|
|
7249 The fields of a process are:
|
|
7250
|
|
7251 @table @code
|
|
7252 @item name
|
|
7253 A string, the name of the process.
|
|
7254
|
|
7255 @item command
|
|
7256 A list containing the command arguments that were used to start this
|
|
7257 process.
|
|
7258
|
|
7259 @item filter
|
|
7260 A function used to accept output from the process instead of a buffer,
|
|
7261 or @code{nil}.
|
|
7262
|
|
7263 @item sentinel
|
|
7264 A function called whenever the process receives a signal, or @code{nil}.
|
|
7265
|
|
7266 @item buffer
|
|
7267 The associated buffer of the process.
|
|
7268
|
|
7269 @item pid
|
|
7270 An integer, the Unix process @sc{id}.
|
|
7271
|
|
7272 @item childp
|
|
7273 A flag, non-@code{nil} if this is really a child process.
|
|
7274 It is @code{nil} for a network connection.
|
|
7275
|
|
7276 @item mark
|
|
7277 A marker indicating the position of the end of the last output from this
|
|
7278 process inserted into the buffer. This is often but not always the end
|
|
7279 of the buffer.
|
|
7280
|
|
7281 @item kill_without_query
|
|
7282 If this is non-@code{nil}, killing XEmacs while this process is still
|
|
7283 running does not ask for confirmation about killing the process.
|
|
7284
|
|
7285 @item raw_status_low
|
|
7286 @itemx raw_status_high
|
|
7287 These two fields record 16 bits each of the process status returned by
|
|
7288 the @code{wait} system call.
|
|
7289
|
|
7290 @item status
|
|
7291 The process status, as @code{process-status} should return it.
|
|
7292
|
|
7293 @item tick
|
|
7294 @itemx update_tick
|
|
7295 If these two fields are not equal, a change in the status of the process
|
|
7296 needs to be reported, either by running the sentinel or by inserting a
|
|
7297 message in the process buffer.
|
|
7298
|
|
7299 @item pty_flag
|
|
7300 Non-@code{nil} if communication with the subprocess uses a @sc{pty};
|
|
7301 @code{nil} if it uses a pipe.
|
|
7302
|
|
7303 @item infd
|
|
7304 The file descriptor for input from the process.
|
|
7305
|
|
7306 @item outfd
|
|
7307 The file descriptor for output to the process.
|
|
7308
|
|
7309 @item subtty
|
|
7310 The file descriptor for the terminal that the subprocess is using. (On
|
|
7311 some systems, there is no need to record this, so the value is
|
|
7312 @code{-1}.)
|
|
7313
|
|
7314 @item tty_name
|
|
7315 The name of the terminal that the subprocess is using,
|
|
7316 or @code{nil} if it is using pipes.
|
|
7317 @end table
|
|
7318
|
|
7319 @node Interface to X Windows, Index, Subprocesses, Top
|
|
7320 @chapter Interface to X Windows
|
|
7321
|
|
7322 Not yet documented.
|
|
7323
|
|
7324 @include index.texi
|
|
7325
|
|
7326 @c Print the tables of contents
|
|
7327 @summarycontents
|
|
7328 @contents
|
|
7329 @c That's all
|
|
7330
|
|
7331 @bye
|
|
7332
|