* GUILE-VERSION: Updated version number.
* NEWS: Added comments for all the user-visible changes marked in the ChangeLogs. * README: Updated for release.
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Jim Blandy
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3 changed files with 224 additions and 64 deletions
231
NEWS
231
NEWS
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@ -9,19 +9,15 @@ Guile 1.0b3
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User-visible changes since Thursday, September 5:
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* Guile now distinguishes between #f and the empty list.
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This is for compatibility with the IEEE standard, the (possibly)
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upcoming Revised^5 Report on Scheme, and many extant Scheme
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implementations.
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* Changes to the 'guile' program:
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Guile used to have #f and '() denote the same object, to make Scheme's
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type system more compatible with Emacs Lisp's. However, the change
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caused too much trouble for Scheme programmers, and we found another
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way to reconcile Emacs Lisp with Scheme that didn't require this.
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** Guile now loads some new files when it starts up. Guile first
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searches the load path for init.scm, and loads it if found. Then, if
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Guile is not being used to execute a script, and the user's home
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directory contains a file named `.guile', Guile loads that.
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* You can now use Guile as a shell script interpreter.
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** You can now use Guile as a shell script interpreter.
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To paraphrase the SCSH manual:
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@ -80,7 +76,7 @@ exec /really/long/path/to/guile -s "$0" ${1+"$@"}
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Note that some very old Unix systems don't support the `#!' syntax.
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* You can now run Guile without installing it.
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** You can now run Guile without installing it.
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Previous versions of the interactive Guile interpreter (`guile')
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couldn't start up unless Guile's Scheme library had been installed;
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@ -99,7 +95,167 @@ you might say
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export SCHEME_LOAD_PATH=/home/jimb/my-scheme:/home/jimb/guile-1.0b3
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* Guile's header files should no longer conflict with your system's
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** Guile's read-eval-print loop no longer prints #<unspecified>
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results. If the user wants to see this, she can evaluate the
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expression (assert-repl-print-unspecified #t), perhaps in her startup
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file.
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** Guile no longer shows backtraces by default when an error occurs;
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however, it does display a message saying how to get one, and how to
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request that they be displayed by default. After an error, evaluate
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(backtrace)
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to see a backtrace, and
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(debug-enable 'backtrace)
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to see them by default.
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* Changes to Guile Scheme:
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** Guile now distinguishes between #f and the empty list.
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This is for compatibility with the IEEE standard, the (possibly)
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upcoming Revised^5 Report on Scheme, and many extant Scheme
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implementations.
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Guile used to have #f and '() denote the same object, to make Scheme's
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type system more compatible with Emacs Lisp's. However, the change
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caused too much trouble for Scheme programmers, and we found another
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way to reconcile Emacs Lisp with Scheme that didn't require this.
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** Guile's delq, delv, delete functions, and their destructive
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counterparts, delq!, delv!, and delete!, now remove all matching
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elements from the list, not just the first. This matches the behavior
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of the corresponding Emacs Lisp functions, and (I believe) the Maclisp
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functions which inspired them.
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I recognize that this change may break code in subtle ways, but it
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seems best to make the change before the FSF's first Guile release,
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rather than after.
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** The compiled-library-path function has been deleted from libguile.
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** The facilities for loading Scheme source files have changed.
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*** The variable %load-path now tells Guile which directories to search
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for Scheme code. Its value is a list of strings, each of which names
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a directory.
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*** The variable %load-extensions now tells Guile which extensions to
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try appending to a filename when searching the load path. Its value
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is a list of strings. Its default value is ("" ".scm").
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*** (%search-load-path FILENAME) searches the directories listed in the
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value of the %load-path variable for a Scheme file named FILENAME,
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with all the extensions listed in %load-extensions. If it finds a
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match, then it returns its full filename. If FILENAME is absolute, it
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returns it unchanged. Otherwise, it returns #f.
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%search-load-path will not return matches that refer to directories.
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*** (primitive-load FILENAME :optional CASE-INSENSITIVE-P SHARP)
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uses %seach-load-path to find a file named FILENAME, and loads it if
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it finds it. If it can't read FILENAME for any reason, it throws an
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error.
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The arguments CASE-INSENSITIVE-P and SHARP are interpreted as by the
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`read' function.
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*** load uses the same searching semantics as primitive-load.
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*** The functions %try-load, try-load-with-path, %load, load-with-path,
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basic-try-load-with-path, basic-load-with-path, try-load-module-with-
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path, and load-module-with-path have been deleted. The functions
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above should serve their purposes.
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*** If the value of the variable %load-hook is a procedure,
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`primitive-load' applies its value to the name of the file being
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loaded (without the load path directory name prepended). If its value
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is #f, it is ignored. Otherwise, an error occurs.
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This is mostly useful for printing load notification messages.
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** The function `eval!' is no longer accessible from the scheme level.
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We can't allow operations which introduce glocs into the scheme level,
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because Guile's type system can't handle these as data. Use `eval' or
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`read-and-eval!' (see below) as replacement.
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** The new function read-and-eval! reads an expression from PORT,
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evaluates it, and returns the result. This is more efficient than
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simply calling `read' and `eval', since it is not necessary to make a
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copy of the expression for the evaluator to munge.
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Its optional arguments CASE_INSENSITIVE_P and SHARP are interpreted as
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for the `read' function.
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** The function `int?' has been removed; its definition was identical
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to that of `integer?'.
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** The functions `<?', `<?', `<=?', `=?', `>?', and `>=?'. Code should
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use the R4RS names for these functions.
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** The function object-properties no longer returns the hash handle;
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it simply returns the object's property list.
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** Many functions have been changed to throw errors, instead of
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returning #f on failure. The point of providing exception handling in
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the language is to simplify the logic of user code, but this is less
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useful if Guile's primitives don't throw exceptions.
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** The function `fileno' has been renamed from `%fileno'.
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** The function primitive-mode->fdes returns #t or #f now, not 1 or 0.
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* Changes to Guile's C interface:
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** The library's initialization procedure has been simplified.
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scm_boot_guile now has the prototype:
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void scm_boot_guile (int ARGC,
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char **ARGV,
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void (*main_func) (),
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void *closure);
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scm_boot_guile calls MAIN_FUNC, passing it CLOSURE, ARGC, and ARGV.
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MAIN_FUNC should do all the work of the program (initializing other
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packages, reading user input, etc.) before returning. When MAIN_FUNC
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returns, call exit (0); this function never returns. If you want some
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other exit value, MAIN_FUNC may call exit itself.
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scm_boot_guile arranges for program-arguments to return the strings
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given by ARGC and ARGV. If MAIN_FUNC modifies ARGC/ARGV, should call
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scm_set_program_arguments with the final list, so Scheme code will
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know which arguments have been processed.
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scm_boot_guile establishes a catch-all catch handler which prints an
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error message and exits the process. This means that Guile exits in a
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coherent way when system errors occur and the user isn't prepared to
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handle it. If the user doesn't like this behavior, they can establish
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their own universal catcher in MAIN_FUNC to shadow this one.
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Why must the caller do all the real work from MAIN_FUNC? The garbage
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collector assumes that all local variables of type SCM will be above
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scm_boot_guile's stack frame on the stack. If you try to manipulate
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SCM values after this function returns, it's the luck of the draw
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whether the GC will be able to find the objects you allocate. So,
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scm_boot_guile function exits, rather than returning, to discourage
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people from making that mistake.
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The IN, OUT, and ERR arguments were removed; there are other
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convenient ways to override these when desired.
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The RESULT argument was deleted; this function should never return.
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The BOOT_CMD argument was deleted; the MAIN_FUNC argument is more
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general.
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** Guile's header files should no longer conflict with your system's
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header files.
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In order to compile code which #included <libguile.h>, previous
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@ -114,39 +270,36 @@ Guile's installation procedure puts libguile.h in $(includedir), and
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the rest in $(includedir)/libguile.
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* Guile's delq, delv, delete functions, and their destructive
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counterparts, delq!, delv!, and delete!, now remove all matching
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elements from the list, not just the first. This matches the behavior
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of the corresponding Emacs Lisp functions, and (I believe) the Maclisp
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functions which inspired them.
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** Two new C functions, scm_protect_object and scm_unprotect_object,
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have been added to the Guile library.
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I recognize that this change may break code in subtle ways, but it
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seems best to make the change before the FSF's first Guile release,
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rather than after.
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scm_protect_object (OBJ) protects OBJ from the garbage collector.
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OBJ will not be freed, even if all other references are dropped,
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until someone does scm_unprotect_object (OBJ). Both functions
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return OBJ.
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Note that calls to scm_protect_object do not nest. You can call
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scm_protect_object any number of times on a given object, and the
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next call to scm_unprotect_object will unprotect it completely.
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Basically, scm_protect_object and scm_unprotect_object just
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maintain a list of references to things. Since the GC knows about
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this list, all objects it mentions stay alive. scm_protect_object
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adds its argument to the list; scm_unprotect_object remove its
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argument from the list.
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* The compiled-library-path function has been deleted from libguile.
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** scm_eval_0str now returns the value of the last expression
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evaluated.
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** The new function scm_read_0str reads an s-expression from a
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null-terminated string, and returns it.
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* A variable and two new functions have been added to libguile:
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** The new function `scm_stdio_to_port' converts a STDIO file pointer
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to a Scheme port object.
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** The variable %load-path now tells Guile which directories to search
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for Scheme code. Its value is a list of strings, each of which names
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a directory.
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** (%search-load-path FILENAME) searches the directories listed in the
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value of the %load-path variable for a Scheme file named FILENAME. If
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it finds a match, then it returns its full filename. Otherwise, it
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returns #f. %search-load-path will not return matches that refer to
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directories.
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** (%try-load-path FILENAME :optional CASE-INSENSITIVE-P SHARP)
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searches the directories listed in %load-path for a file named
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FILENAME, and loads it if it finds it. If it can't read FILENAME for
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any reason, it throws an error.
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The arguments CASE-INSENSITIVE-P and SHARP are interpreted as by the
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%try-load function.
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** The new function `scm_set_program_arguments' allows C code to set
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the value teruturned by the Scheme `program-arguments' function.
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Older changes:
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