XEmacs 21.2.28 "Hermes".

[chise/xemacs-chise.git.1] / info / lispref.info-4

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* Lispref: (lispref).           XEmacs Lisp Reference Manual.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   Edition History:

   GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual Second Edition (v2.01), May 1993 GNU
Emacs Lisp Reference Manual Further Revised (v2.02), August 1993 Lucid
Emacs Lisp Reference Manual (for 19.10) First Edition, March 1994
XEmacs Lisp Programmer's Manual (for 19.12) Second Edition, April 1995
GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual v2.4, June 1995 XEmacs Lisp
Programmer's Manual (for 19.13) Third Edition, July 1995 XEmacs Lisp
Reference Manual (for 19.14 and 20.0) v3.1, March 1996 XEmacs Lisp
Reference Manual (for 19.15 and 20.1, 20.2, 20.3) v3.2, April, May,
November 1997 XEmacs Lisp Reference Manual (for 21.0) v3.3, April 1998

   Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 Free Software
Foundation, Inc.  Copyright (C) 1994, 1995 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Copyright (C) 1995, 1996 Ben Wing.

   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
permission notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a
translation approved by the Foundation.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also
that the section entitled "GNU General Public License" is included
exactly as in the original, and provided that the entire resulting
derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission notice
identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that the section entitled "GNU General Public License"
may be included in a translation approved by the Free Software
Foundation instead of in the original English.

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File: lispref.info,  Node: Specifier Type,  Next: Font Instance Type,  Prev: Glyph Type,  Up: Window-System Types

Specifier Type
--------------

   (not yet documented)

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File: lispref.info,  Node: Font Instance Type,  Next: Color Instance Type,  Prev: Specifier Type,  Up: Window-System Types

Font Instance Type
------------------

   (not yet documented)

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File: lispref.info,  Node: Color Instance Type,  Next: Image Instance Type,  Prev: Font Instance Type,  Up: Window-System Types

Color Instance Type
-------------------

   (not yet documented)

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Image Instance Type
-------------------

   (not yet documented)

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Toolbar Button Type
-------------------

   (not yet documented)

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Subwindow Type
--------------

   (not yet documented)

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X Resource Type
---------------

   (not yet documented)

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File: lispref.info,  Node: Type Predicates,  Next: Equality Predicates,  Prev: Window-System Types,  Up: Lisp Data Types

Type Predicates
===============

   The XEmacs Lisp interpreter itself does not perform type checking on
the actual arguments passed to functions when they are called.  It could
not do so, since function arguments in Lisp do not have declared data
types, as they do in other programming languages.  It is therefore up to
the individual function to test whether each actual argument belongs to
a type that the function can use.

   All built-in functions do check the types of their actual arguments
when appropriate, and signal a `wrong-type-argument' error if an
argument is of the wrong type.  For example, here is what happens if you
pass an argument to `+' that it cannot handle:

     (+ 2 'a)
          error--> Wrong type argument: integer-or-marker-p, a

   If you want your program to handle different types differently, you
must do explicit type checking.  The most common way to check the type
of an object is to call a "type predicate" function.  Emacs has a type
predicate for each type, as well as some predicates for combinations of
types.

   A type predicate function takes one argument; it returns `t' if the
argument belongs to the appropriate type, and `nil' otherwise.
Following a general Lisp convention for predicate functions, most type
predicates' names end with `p'.

   Here is an example which uses the predicates `listp' to check for a
list and `symbolp' to check for a symbol.

     (defun add-on (x)
       (cond ((symbolp x)
              ;; If X is a symbol, put it on LIST.
              (setq list (cons x list)))
             ((listp x)
              ;; If X is a list, add its elements to LIST.
              (setq list (append x list)))
             (t
              ;; We only handle symbols and lists.
              (error "Invalid argument %s in add-on" x))))

   Here is a table of predefined type predicates, in alphabetical order,
with references to further information.

`annotationp'
     *Note annotationp: Annotation Primitives.

`arrayp'
     *Note arrayp: Array Functions.

`atom'
     *Note atom: List-related Predicates.

`bit-vector-p'
     *Note bit-vector-p: Bit Vector Functions.

`bitp'
     *Note bitp: Bit Vector Functions.

`boolean-specifier-p'
     *Note boolean-specifier-p: Specifier Types.

`buffer-glyph-p'
     *Note buffer-glyph-p: Glyph Types.

`buffer-live-p'
     *Note buffer-live-p: Killing Buffers.

`bufferp'
     *Note bufferp: Buffer Basics.

`button-event-p'
     *Note button-event-p: Event Predicates.

`button-press-event-p'
     *Note button-press-event-p: Event Predicates.

`button-release-event-p'
     *Note button-release-event-p: Event Predicates.

`case-table-p'
     *Note case-table-p: Case Tables.

`char-int-p'
     *Note char-int-p: Character Codes.

`char-or-char-int-p'
     *Note char-or-char-int-p: Character Codes.

`char-or-string-p'
     *Note char-or-string-p: Predicates for Strings.

`char-table-p'
     *Note char-table-p: Char Tables.

`characterp'
     *Note characterp: Predicates for Characters.

`color-instance-p'
     *Note color-instance-p: Colors.

`color-pixmap-image-instance-p'
     *Note color-pixmap-image-instance-p: Image Instance Types.

`color-specifier-p'
     *Note color-specifier-p: Specifier Types.

`commandp'
     *Note commandp: Interactive Call.

`compiled-function-p'
     *Note compiled-function-p: Compiled-Function Type.

`console-live-p'
     *Note console-live-p: Connecting to a Console or Device.

`consolep'
     *Note consolep: Consoles and Devices.

`consp'
     *Note consp: List-related Predicates.

`database-live-p'
     *Note database-live-p: Connecting to a Database.

`databasep'
     *Note databasep: Databases.

`device-live-p'
     *Note device-live-p: Connecting to a Console or Device.

`device-or-frame-p'
     *Note device-or-frame-p: Basic Device Functions.

`devicep'
     *Note devicep: Consoles and Devices.

`eval-event-p'
     *Note eval-event-p: Event Predicates.

`event-live-p'
     *Note event-live-p: Event Predicates.

`eventp'
     *Note eventp: Events.

`extent-live-p'
     *Note extent-live-p: Creating and Modifying Extents.

`extentp'
     *Note extentp: Extents.

`face-boolean-specifier-p'
     *Note face-boolean-specifier-p: Specifier Types.

`facep'
     *Note facep: Basic Face Functions.

`floatp'
     *Note floatp: Predicates on Numbers.

`font-instance-p'
     *Note font-instance-p: Fonts.

`font-specifier-p'
     *Note font-specifier-p: Specifier Types.

`frame-live-p'
     *Note frame-live-p: Deleting Frames.

`framep'
     *Note framep: Frames.

`functionp'
     (not yet documented)

`generic-specifier-p'
     *Note generic-specifier-p: Specifier Types.

`glyphp'
     *Note glyphp: Glyphs.

`hash-table-p'
     *Note hash-table-p: Hash Tables.

`icon-glyph-p'
     *Note icon-glyph-p: Glyph Types.

`image-instance-p'
     *Note image-instance-p: Images.

`image-specifier-p'
     *Note image-specifier-p: Specifier Types.

`integer-char-or-marker-p'
     *Note integer-char-or-marker-p: Predicates on Markers.

`integer-or-char-p'
     *Note integer-or-char-p: Predicates for Characters.

`integer-or-marker-p'
     *Note integer-or-marker-p: Predicates on Markers.

`integer-specifier-p'
     *Note integer-specifier-p: Specifier Types.

`integerp'
     *Note integerp: Predicates on Numbers.

`itimerp'
     (not yet documented)

`key-press-event-p'
     *Note key-press-event-p: Event Predicates.

`keymapp'
     *Note keymapp: Creating Keymaps.

`keywordp'
     (not yet documented)

`listp'
     *Note listp: List-related Predicates.

`markerp'
     *Note markerp: Predicates on Markers.

`misc-user-event-p'
     *Note misc-user-event-p: Event Predicates.

`mono-pixmap-image-instance-p'
     *Note mono-pixmap-image-instance-p: Image Instance Types.

`motion-event-p'
     *Note motion-event-p: Event Predicates.

`mouse-event-p'
     *Note mouse-event-p: Event Predicates.

`natnum-specifier-p'
     *Note natnum-specifier-p: Specifier Types.

`natnump'
     *Note natnump: Predicates on Numbers.

`nlistp'
     *Note nlistp: List-related Predicates.

`nothing-image-instance-p'
     *Note nothing-image-instance-p: Image Instance Types.

`number-char-or-marker-p'
     *Note number-char-or-marker-p: Predicates on Markers.

`number-or-marker-p'
     *Note number-or-marker-p: Predicates on Markers.

`numberp'
     *Note numberp: Predicates on Numbers.

`pointer-glyph-p'
     *Note pointer-glyph-p: Glyph Types.

`pointer-image-instance-p'
     *Note pointer-image-instance-p: Image Instance Types.

`process-event-p'
     *Note process-event-p: Event Predicates.

`processp'
     *Note processp: Processes.

`range-table-p'
     *Note range-table-p: Range Tables.

`ringp'
     (not yet documented)

`sequencep'
     *Note sequencep: Sequence Functions.

`specifierp'
     *Note specifierp: Specifiers.

`stringp'
     *Note stringp: Predicates for Strings.

`subrp'
     *Note subrp: Function Cells.

`subwindow-image-instance-p'
     *Note subwindow-image-instance-p: Image Instance Types.

`subwindowp'
     *Note subwindowp: Subwindows.

`symbolp'
     *Note symbolp: Symbols.

`syntax-table-p'
     *Note syntax-table-p: Syntax Tables.

`text-image-instance-p'
     *Note text-image-instance-p: Image Instance Types.

`timeout-event-p'
     *Note timeout-event-p: Event Predicates.

`toolbar-button-p'
     *Note toolbar-button-p: Toolbar.

`toolbar-specifier-p'
     *Note toolbar-specifier-p: Toolbar.

`user-variable-p'
     *Note user-variable-p: Defining Variables.

`vectorp'
     *Note vectorp: Vectors.

`weak-list-p'
     *Note weak-list-p: Weak Lists.

`window-configuration-p'
     *Note window-configuration-p: Window Configurations.

`window-live-p'
     *Note window-live-p: Deleting Windows.

`windowp'
     *Note windowp: Basic Windows.

   The most general way to check the type of an object is to call the
function `type-of'.  Recall that each object belongs to one and only
one primitive type; `type-of' tells you which one (*note Lisp Data
Types::).  But `type-of' knows nothing about non-primitive types.  In
most cases, it is more convenient to use type predicates than `type-of'.

 - Function: type-of object
     This function returns a symbol naming the primitive type of
     OBJECT.  The value is one of `bit-vector', `buffer', `char-table',
     `character', `charset', `coding-system', `cons', `color-instance',
     `compiled-function', `console', `database', `device', `event',
     `extent', `face', `float', `font-instance', `frame', `glyph',
     `hash-table', `image-instance', `integer', `keymap', `marker',
     `process', `range-table', `specifier', `string', `subr',
     `subwindow', `symbol', `toolbar-button', `tooltalk-message',
     `tooltalk-pattern', `vector', `weak-list', `window',
     `window-configuration', or `x-resource'.

          (type-of 1)
               => integer
          (type-of 'nil)
               => symbol
          (type-of '())    ; `()' is `nil'.
               => symbol
          (type-of '(x))
               => cons

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File: lispref.info,  Node: Equality Predicates,  Prev: Type Predicates,  Up: Lisp Data Types

Equality Predicates
===================

   Here we describe two functions that test for equality between any two
objects.  Other functions test equality between objects of specific
types, e.g., strings.  For these predicates, see the appropriate chapter
describing the data type.

 - Function: eq object1 object2
     This function returns `t' if OBJECT1 and OBJECT2 are the same
     object, `nil' otherwise.  The "same object" means that a change in
     one will be reflected by the same change in the other.

     `eq' returns `t' if OBJECT1 and OBJECT2 are integers with the same
     value.  Also, since symbol names are normally unique, if the
     arguments are symbols with the same name, they are `eq'.  For
     other types (e.g., lists, vectors, strings), two arguments with
     the same contents or elements are not necessarily `eq' to each
     other: they are `eq' only if they are the same object.

     (The `make-symbol' function returns an uninterned symbol that is
     not interned in the standard `obarray'.  When uninterned symbols
     are in use, symbol names are no longer unique.  Distinct symbols
     with the same name are not `eq'.  *Note Creating Symbols::.)

     NOTE: Under XEmacs 19, characters are really just integers, and
     thus characters and integers are `eq'.  Under XEmacs 20, it was
     necessary to preserve remnants of this in function such as `old-eq'
     in order to maintain byte-code compatibility.  Byte code compiled
     under any Emacs 19 will automatically have calls to `eq' mapped to
     `old-eq' when executed under XEmacs 20.

          (eq 'foo 'foo)
               => t
          
          (eq 456 456)
               => t
          
          (eq "asdf" "asdf")
               => nil
          
          (eq '(1 (2 (3))) '(1 (2 (3))))
               => nil
          
          (setq foo '(1 (2 (3))))
               => (1 (2 (3)))
          (eq foo foo)
               => t
          (eq foo '(1 (2 (3))))
               => nil
          
          (eq [(1 2) 3] [(1 2) 3])
               => nil
          
          (eq (point-marker) (point-marker))
               => nil


 - Function: old-eq obj1 obj2
     This function exists under XEmacs 20 and is exactly like `eq'
     except that it suffers from the char-int confoundance disease.  In
     other words, it returns `t' if given a character and the
     equivalent integer, even though the objects are of different types!
     You should _not_ ever call this function explicitly in your code.
     However, be aware that all calls to `eq' in byte code compiled
     under version 19 map to `old-eq' in XEmacs 20.  (Likewise for
     `old-equal', `old-memq', `old-member', `old-assq' and
     `old-assoc'.)

          ;; Remember, this does not apply under XEmacs 19.
          ?A
               => ?A
          (char-int ?A)
               => 65
          (old-eq ?A 65)
               => t               ; Eek, we've been infected.
          (eq ?A 65)
               => nil             ; We are still healthy.

 - Function: equal object1 object2
     This function returns `t' if OBJECT1 and OBJECT2 have equal
     components, `nil' otherwise.  Whereas `eq' tests if its arguments
     are the same object, `equal' looks inside nonidentical arguments
     to see if their elements are the same.  So, if two objects are
     `eq', they are `equal', but the converse is not always true.

          (equal 'foo 'foo)
               => t
          
          (equal 456 456)
               => t
          
          (equal "asdf" "asdf")
               => t
          (eq "asdf" "asdf")
               => nil
          
          (equal '(1 (2 (3))) '(1 (2 (3))))
               => t
          (eq '(1 (2 (3))) '(1 (2 (3))))
               => nil
          
          (equal [(1 2) 3] [(1 2) 3])
               => t
          (eq [(1 2) 3] [(1 2) 3])
               => nil
          
          (equal (point-marker) (point-marker))
               => t
          
          (eq (point-marker) (point-marker))
               => nil

     Comparison of strings is case-sensitive.

     Note that in FSF GNU Emacs, comparison of strings takes into
     account their text properties, and you have to use `string-equal'
     if you want only the strings themselves compared.  This difference
     does not exist in XEmacs; `equal' and `string-equal' always return
     the same value on the same strings.

          (equal "asdf" "ASDF")
               => nil

     Two distinct buffers are never `equal', even if their contents are
     the same.

   The test for equality is implemented recursively, and circular lists
may therefore cause infinite recursion (leading to an error).

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File: lispref.info,  Node: Numbers,  Next: Strings and Characters,  Prev: Lisp Data Types,  Up: Top

Numbers
*******

   XEmacs supports two numeric data types: "integers" and "floating
point numbers".  Integers are whole numbers such as -3, 0, #b0111,
#xFEED, #o744.  Their values are exact.  The number prefixes `#b',
`#o', and `#x' are supported to represent numbers in binary, octal, and
hexadecimal notation (or radix).  Floating point numbers are numbers
with fractional parts, such as -4.5, 0.0, or 2.71828.  They can also be
expressed in exponential notation: 1.5e2 equals 150; in this example,
`e2' stands for ten to the second power, and is multiplied by 1.5.
Floating point values are not exact; they have a fixed, limited amount
of precision.

* Menu:

* Integer Basics::            Representation and range of integers.
* Float Basics::              Representation and range of floating point.
* Predicates on Numbers::     Testing for numbers.
* Comparison of Numbers::     Equality and inequality predicates.
* Numeric Conversions::       Converting float to integer and vice versa.
* Arithmetic Operations::     How to add, subtract, multiply and divide.
* Rounding Operations::       Explicitly rounding floating point numbers.
* Bitwise Operations::        Logical and, or, not, shifting.
* Math Functions::            Trig, exponential and logarithmic functions.
* Random Numbers::            Obtaining random integers, predictable or not.

\1f
File: lispref.info,  Node: Integer Basics,  Next: Float Basics,  Up: Numbers

Integer Basics
==============

   The range of values for an integer depends on the machine.  The
minimum range is -134217728 to 134217727 (28 bits; i.e., -2**27 to
2**27 - 1), but some machines may provide a wider range.  Many examples
in this chapter assume an integer has 28 bits.

   The Lisp reader reads an integer as a sequence of digits with
optional initial sign and optional final period.

      1               ; The integer 1.
      1.              ; The integer 1.
     +1               ; Also the integer 1.
     -1               ; The integer -1.
      268435457       ; Also the integer 1, due to overflow.
      0               ; The integer 0.
     -0               ; The integer 0.

   To understand how various functions work on integers, especially the
bitwise operators (*note Bitwise Operations::), it is often helpful to
view the numbers in their binary form.

   In 28-bit binary, the decimal integer 5 looks like this:

     0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0101

(We have inserted spaces between groups of 4 bits, and two spaces
between groups of 8 bits, to make the binary integer easier to read.)

   The integer -1 looks like this:

     1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1111

-1 is represented as 28 ones.  (This is called "two's complement"
notation.)

   The negative integer, -5, is creating by subtracting 4 from -1.  In
binary, the decimal integer 4 is 100.  Consequently, -5 looks like this:

     1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1011

   In this implementation, the largest 28-bit binary integer is the
decimal integer 134,217,727.  In binary, it looks like this:

     0111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1111

   Since the arithmetic functions do not check whether integers go
outside their range, when you add 1 to 134,217,727, the value is the
negative integer -134,217,728:

     (+ 1 134217727)
          => -134217728
          => 1000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0000

   Many of the following functions accept markers for arguments as well
as integers.  (*Note Markers::.)  More precisely, the actual arguments
to such functions may be either integers or markers, which is why we
often give these arguments the name INT-OR-MARKER.  When the argument
value is a marker, its position value is used and its buffer is ignored.

\1f
File: lispref.info,  Node: Float Basics,  Next: Predicates on Numbers,  Prev: Integer Basics,  Up: Numbers

Floating Point Basics
=====================

   XEmacs supports floating point numbers.  The precise range of
floating point numbers is machine-specific; it is the same as the range
of the C data type `double' on the machine in question.

   The printed representation for floating point numbers requires either
a decimal point (with at least one digit following), an exponent, or
both.  For example, `1500.0', `15e2', `15.0e2', `1.5e3', and `.15e4'
are five ways of writing a floating point number whose value is 1500.
They are all equivalent.  You can also use a minus sign to write
negative floating point numbers, as in `-1.0'.

   Most modern computers support the IEEE floating point standard, which
provides for positive infinity and negative infinity as floating point
values.  It also provides for a class of values called NaN or
"not-a-number"; numerical functions return such values in cases where
there is no correct answer.  For example, `(sqrt -1.0)' returns a NaN.
For practical purposes, there's no significant difference between
different NaN values in XEmacs Lisp, and there's no rule for precisely
which NaN value should be used in a particular case, so this manual
doesn't try to distinguish them.  XEmacs Lisp has no read syntax for
NaNs or infinities; perhaps we should create a syntax in the future.

   You can use `logb' to extract the binary exponent of a floating
point number (or estimate the logarithm of an integer):

 - Function: logb number
     This function returns the binary exponent of NUMBER.  More
     precisely, the value is the logarithm of NUMBER base 2, rounded
     down to an integer.

\1f
File: lispref.info,  Node: Predicates on Numbers,  Next: Comparison of Numbers,  Prev: Float Basics,  Up: Numbers

Type Predicates for Numbers
===========================

   The functions in this section test whether the argument is a number
or whether it is a certain sort of number.  The functions `integerp'
and `floatp' can take any type of Lisp object as argument (the
predicates would not be of much use otherwise); but the `zerop'
predicate requires a number as its argument.  See also
`integer-or-marker-p', `integer-char-or-marker-p', `number-or-marker-p'
and `number-char-or-marker-p', in *Note Predicates on Markers::.

 - Function: floatp object
     This predicate tests whether its argument is a floating point
     number and returns `t' if so, `nil' otherwise.

     `floatp' does not exist in Emacs versions 18 and earlier.

 - Function: integerp object
     This predicate tests whether its argument is an integer, and
     returns `t' if so, `nil' otherwise.

 - Function: numberp object
     This predicate tests whether its argument is a number (either
     integer or floating point), and returns `t' if so, `nil' otherwise.

 - Function: natnump object
     The `natnump' predicate (whose name comes from the phrase
     "natural-number-p") tests to see whether its argument is a
     nonnegative integer, and returns `t' if so, `nil' otherwise.  0 is
     considered non-negative.

 - Function: zerop number
     This predicate tests whether its argument is zero, and returns `t'
     if so, `nil' otherwise.  The argument must be a number.

     These two forms are equivalent: `(zerop x)' == `(= x 0)'.

\1f
File: lispref.info,  Node: Comparison of Numbers,  Next: Numeric Conversions,  Prev: Predicates on Numbers,  Up: Numbers

Comparison of Numbers
=====================

   To test numbers for numerical equality, you should normally use `=',
not `eq'.  There can be many distinct floating point number objects
with the same numeric value.  If you use `eq' to compare them, then you
test whether two values are the same _object_.  By contrast, `='
compares only the numeric values of the objects.

   At present, each integer value has a unique Lisp object in XEmacs
Lisp.  Therefore, `eq' is equivalent to `=' where integers are
concerned.  It is sometimes convenient to use `eq' for comparing an
unknown value with an integer, because `eq' does not report an error if
the unknown value is not a number--it accepts arguments of any type.
By contrast, `=' signals an error if the arguments are not numbers or
markers.  However, it is a good idea to use `=' if you can, even for
comparing integers, just in case we change the representation of
integers in a future XEmacs version.

   There is another wrinkle: because floating point arithmetic is not
exact, it is often a bad idea to check for equality of two floating
point values.  Usually it is better to test for approximate equality.
Here's a function to do this:

     (defconst fuzz-factor 1.0e-6)
     (defun approx-equal (x y)
       (or (and (= x 0) (= y 0))
           (< (/ (abs (- x y))
                 (max (abs x) (abs y)))
              fuzz-factor)))

     Common Lisp note: Comparing numbers in Common Lisp always requires
     `=' because Common Lisp implements multi-word integers, and two
     distinct integer objects can have the same numeric value.  XEmacs
     Lisp can have just one integer object for any given value because
     it has a limited range of integer values.

   In addition to numbers, all of the following functions also accept
characters and markers as arguments, and treat them as their number
equivalents.

 - Function: = number &rest more-numbers
     This function returns `t' if all of its arguments are numerically
     equal, `nil' otherwise.

          (= 5)
               => t
          (= 5 6)
               => nil
          (= 5 5.0)
               => t
          (= 5 5 6)
               => nil

 - Function: /= number &rest more-numbers
     This function returns `t' if no two arguments are numerically
     equal, `nil' otherwise.

          (/= 5 6)
               => t
          (/= 5 5 6)
               => nil
          (/= 5 6 1)
               => t

 - Function: < number &rest more-numbers
     This function returns `t' if the sequence of its arguments is
     monotonically increasing, `nil' otherwise.

          (< 5 6)
               => t
          (< 5 6 6)
               => nil
          (< 5 6 7)
               => t

 - Function: <= number &rest more-numbers
     This function returns `t' if the sequence of its arguments is
     monotonically nondecreasing, `nil' otherwise.

          (<= 5 6)
               => t
          (<= 5 6 6)
               => t
          (<= 5 6 5)
               => nil

 - Function: > number &rest more-numbers
     This function returns `t' if the sequence of its arguments is
     monotonically decreasing, `nil' otherwise.

 - Function: >= number &rest more-numbers
     This function returns `t' if the sequence of its arguments is
     monotonically nonincreasing, `nil' otherwise.

 - Function: max number &rest more-numbers
     This function returns the largest of its arguments.

          (max 20)
               => 20
          (max 1 2.5)
               => 2.5
          (max 1 3 2.5)
               => 3

 - Function: min number &rest more-numbers
     This function returns the smallest of its arguments.

          (min -4 1)
               => -4

\1f
File: lispref.info,  Node: Numeric Conversions,  Next: Arithmetic Operations,  Prev: Comparison of Numbers,  Up: Numbers

Numeric Conversions
===================

   To convert an integer to floating point, use the function `float'.

 - Function: float number
     This returns NUMBER converted to floating point.  If NUMBER is
     already a floating point number, `float' returns it unchanged.

   There are four functions to convert floating point numbers to
integers; they differ in how they round.  These functions accept
integer arguments also, and return such arguments unchanged.

 - Function: truncate number
     This returns NUMBER, converted to an integer by rounding towards
     zero.

 - Function: floor number &optional divisor
     This returns NUMBER, converted to an integer by rounding downward
     (towards negative infinity).

     If DIVISOR is specified, NUMBER is divided by DIVISOR before the
     floor is taken; this is the division operation that corresponds to
     `mod'.  An `arith-error' results if DIVISOR is 0.

 - Function: ceiling number
     This returns NUMBER, converted to an integer by rounding upward
     (towards positive infinity).

 - Function: round number
     This returns NUMBER, converted to an integer by rounding towards
     the nearest integer.  Rounding a value equidistant between two
     integers may choose the integer closer to zero, or it may prefer
     an even integer, depending on your machine.

\1f
File: lispref.info,  Node: Arithmetic Operations,  Next: Rounding Operations,  Prev: Numeric Conversions,  Up: Numbers

Arithmetic Operations
=====================

   XEmacs Lisp provides the traditional four arithmetic operations:
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  Remainder and
modulus functions supplement the division functions.  The functions to
add or subtract 1 are provided because they are traditional in Lisp and
commonly used.

   All of these functions except `%' return a floating point value if
any argument is floating.

   It is important to note that in XEmacs Lisp, arithmetic functions do
not check for overflow.  Thus `(1+ 134217727)' may evaluate to
-134217728, depending on your hardware.

 - Function: 1+ number-or-marker
     This function returns NUMBER-OR-MARKER plus 1.  For example,

          (setq foo 4)
               => 4
          (1+ foo)
               => 5

     This function is not analogous to the C operator `++'--it does not
     increment a variable.  It just computes a sum.  Thus, if we
     continue,

          foo
               => 4

     If you want to increment the variable, you must use `setq', like
     this:

          (setq foo (1+ foo))
               => 5

     Now that the `cl' package is always available from lisp code, a
     more convenient and natural way to increment a variable is
     `(incf foo)'.

 - Function: 1- number-or-marker
     This function returns NUMBER-OR-MARKER minus 1.

 - Function: abs number
     This returns the absolute value of NUMBER.

 - Function: + &rest numbers-or-markers
     This function adds its arguments together.  When given no
     arguments, `+' returns 0.

          (+)
               => 0
          (+ 1)
               => 1
          (+ 1 2 3 4)
               => 10

 - Function: - &optional number-or-marker &rest other-numbers-or-markers
     The `-' function serves two purposes: negation and subtraction.
     When `-' has a single argument, the value is the negative of the
     argument.  When there are multiple arguments, `-' subtracts each of
     the OTHER-NUMBERS-OR-MARKERS from NUMBER-OR-MARKER, cumulatively.
     If there are no arguments, the result is 0.

          (- 10 1 2 3 4)
               => 0
          (- 10)
               => -10
          (-)
               => 0

 - Function: * &rest numbers-or-markers
     This function multiplies its arguments together, and returns the
     product.  When given no arguments, `*' returns 1.

          (*)
               => 1
          (* 1)
               => 1
          (* 1 2 3 4)
               => 24

 - Function: / dividend divisor &rest divisors
     This function divides DIVIDEND by DIVISOR and returns the
     quotient.  If there are additional arguments DIVISORS, then it
     divides DIVIDEND by each divisor in turn.  Each argument may be a
     number or a marker.

     If all the arguments are integers, then the result is an integer
     too.  This means the result has to be rounded.  On most machines,
     the result is rounded towards zero after each division, but some
     machines may round differently with negative arguments.  This is
     because the Lisp function `/' is implemented using the C division
     operator, which also permits machine-dependent rounding.  As a
     practical matter, all known machines round in the standard fashion.

     If you divide by 0, an `arith-error' error is signaled.  (*Note
     Errors::.)

          (/ 6 2)
               => 3
          (/ 5 2)
               => 2
          (/ 25 3 2)
               => 4
          (/ -17 6)
               => -2

     The result of `(/ -17 6)' could in principle be -3 on some
     machines.

 - Function: % dividend divisor
     This function returns the integer remainder after division of
     DIVIDEND by DIVISOR.  The arguments must be integers or markers.

     For negative arguments, the remainder is in principle
     machine-dependent since the quotient is; but in practice, all
     known machines behave alike.

     An `arith-error' results if DIVISOR is 0.

          (% 9 4)
               => 1
          (% -9 4)
               => -1
          (% 9 -4)
               => 1
          (% -9 -4)
               => -1

     For any two integers DIVIDEND and DIVISOR,

          (+ (% DIVIDEND DIVISOR)
             (* (/ DIVIDEND DIVISOR) DIVISOR))

     always equals DIVIDEND.

 - Function: mod dividend divisor
     This function returns the value of DIVIDEND modulo DIVISOR; in
     other words, the remainder after division of DIVIDEND by DIVISOR,
     but with the same sign as DIVISOR.  The arguments must be numbers
     or markers.

     Unlike `%', `mod' returns a well-defined result for negative
     arguments.  It also permits floating point arguments; it rounds the
     quotient downward (towards minus infinity) to an integer, and uses
     that quotient to compute the remainder.

     An `arith-error' results if DIVISOR is 0.

          (mod 9 4)
               => 1
          (mod -9 4)
               => 3
          (mod 9 -4)
               => -3
          (mod -9 -4)
               => -1
          (mod 5.5 2.5)
               => .5

     For any two numbers DIVIDEND and DIVISOR,

          (+ (mod DIVIDEND DIVISOR)
             (* (floor DIVIDEND DIVISOR) DIVISOR))

     always equals DIVIDEND, subject to rounding error if either
     argument is floating point.  For `floor', see *Note Numeric
     Conversions::.

\1f
File: lispref.info,  Node: Rounding Operations,  Next: Bitwise Operations,  Prev: Arithmetic Operations,  Up: Numbers

Rounding Operations
===================

   The functions `ffloor', `fceiling', `fround' and `ftruncate' take a
floating point argument and return a floating point result whose value
is a nearby integer.  `ffloor' returns the nearest integer below;
`fceiling', the nearest integer above; `ftruncate', the nearest integer
in the direction towards zero; `fround', the nearest integer.

 - Function: ffloor float
     This function rounds FLOAT to the next lower integral value, and
     returns that value as a floating point number.

 - Function: fceiling float
     This function rounds FLOAT to the next higher integral value, and
     returns that value as a floating point number.

 - Function: ftruncate float
     This function rounds FLOAT towards zero to an integral value, and
     returns that value as a floating point number.

 - Function: fround float
     This function rounds FLOAT to the nearest integral value, and
     returns that value as a floating point number.

\1f
File: lispref.info,  Node: Bitwise Operations,  Next: Math Functions,  Prev: Rounding Operations,  Up: Numbers

Bitwise Operations on Integers
==============================

   In a computer, an integer is represented as a binary number, a
sequence of "bits" (digits which are either zero or one).  A bitwise
operation acts on the individual bits of such a sequence.  For example,
"shifting" moves the whole sequence left or right one or more places,
reproducing the same pattern "moved over".

   The bitwise operations in XEmacs Lisp apply only to integers.

 - Function: lsh integer1 count
     `lsh', which is an abbreviation for "logical shift", shifts the
     bits in INTEGER1 to the left COUNT places, or to the right if
     COUNT is negative, bringing zeros into the vacated bits.  If COUNT
     is negative, `lsh' shifts zeros into the leftmost
     (most-significant) bit, producing a positive result even if
     INTEGER1 is negative.  Contrast this with `ash', below.

     Here are two examples of `lsh', shifting a pattern of bits one
     place to the left.  We show only the low-order eight bits of the
     binary pattern; the rest are all zero.

          (lsh 5 1)
               => 10
          ;; Decimal 5 becomes decimal 10.
          00000101 => 00001010
          
          (lsh 7 1)
               => 14
          ;; Decimal 7 becomes decimal 14.
          00000111 => 00001110

     As the examples illustrate, shifting the pattern of bits one place
     to the left produces a number that is twice the value of the
     previous number.

     Shifting a pattern of bits two places to the left produces results
     like this (with 8-bit binary numbers):

          (lsh 3 2)
               => 12
          ;; Decimal 3 becomes decimal 12.
          00000011 => 00001100

     On the other hand, shifting one place to the right looks like this:

          (lsh 6 -1)
               => 3
          ;; Decimal 6 becomes decimal 3.
          00000110 => 00000011
          
          (lsh 5 -1)
               => 2
          ;; Decimal 5 becomes decimal 2.
          00000101 => 00000010

     As the example illustrates, shifting one place to the right
     divides the value of a positive integer by two, rounding downward.

     The function `lsh', like all XEmacs Lisp arithmetic functions, does
     not check for overflow, so shifting left can discard significant
     bits and change the sign of the number.  For example, left shifting
     134,217,727 produces -2 on a 28-bit machine:

          (lsh 134217727 1)          ; left shift
               => -2

     In binary, in the 28-bit implementation, the argument looks like
     this:

          ;; Decimal 134,217,727
          0111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1111

     which becomes the following when left shifted:

          ;; Decimal -2
          1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1110

 - Function: ash integer1 count
     `ash' ("arithmetic shift") shifts the bits in INTEGER1 to the left
     COUNT places, or to the right if COUNT is negative.

     `ash' gives the same results as `lsh' except when INTEGER1 and
     COUNT are both negative.  In that case, `ash' puts ones in the
     empty bit positions on the left, while `lsh' puts zeros in those
     bit positions.

     Thus, with `ash', shifting the pattern of bits one place to the
     right looks like this:

          (ash -6 -1) => -3
          ;; Decimal -6 becomes decimal -3.
          1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1010
               =>
          1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1101

     In contrast, shifting the pattern of bits one place to the right
     with `lsh' looks like this:

          (lsh -6 -1) => 134217725
          ;; Decimal -6 becomes decimal 134,217,725.
          1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1010
               =>
          0111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1101

     Here are other examples:

                             ;               28-bit binary values
          
          (lsh 5 2)          ;   5  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0101
               => 20         ;      =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0001 0100
          (ash 5 2)
               => 20
          (lsh -5 2)         ;  -5  =  1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1011
               => -20        ;      =  1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1110 1100
          (ash -5 2)
               => -20
          (lsh 5 -2)         ;   5  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0101
               => 1          ;      =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0001
          (ash 5 -2)
               => 1
          (lsh -5 -2)        ;  -5  =  1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1011
               => 4194302    ;      =  0011  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1110
          (ash -5 -2)        ;  -5  =  1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1011
               => -2         ;      =  1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1110

 - Function: logand &rest ints-or-markers
     This function returns the "logical and" of the arguments: the Nth
     bit is set in the result if, and only if, the Nth bit is set in
     all the arguments.  ("Set" means that the value of the bit is 1
     rather than 0.)

     For example, using 4-bit binary numbers, the "logical and" of 13
     and 12 is 12: 1101 combined with 1100 produces 1100.  In both the
     binary numbers, the leftmost two bits are set (i.e., they are
     1's), so the leftmost two bits of the returned value are set.
     However, for the rightmost two bits, each is zero in at least one
     of the arguments, so the rightmost two bits of the returned value
     are 0's.

     Therefore,

          (logand 13 12)
               => 12

     If `logand' is not passed any argument, it returns a value of -1.
     This number is an identity element for `logand' because its binary
     representation consists entirely of ones.  If `logand' is passed
     just one argument, it returns that argument.

                             ;                28-bit binary values
          
          (logand 14 13)     ; 14  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1110
                             ; 13  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1101
               => 12         ; 12  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1100
          
          (logand 14 13 4)   ; 14  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1110
                             ; 13  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1101
                             ;  4  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0100
               => 4          ;  4  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0100
          
          (logand)
               => -1         ; -1  =  1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1111

 - Function: logior &rest ints-or-markers
     This function returns the "inclusive or" of its arguments: the Nth
     bit is set in the result if, and only if, the Nth bit is set in at
     least one of the arguments.  If there are no arguments, the result
     is zero, which is an identity element for this operation.  If
     `logior' is passed just one argument, it returns that argument.

                             ;               28-bit binary values
          
          (logior 12 5)      ; 12  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1100
                             ;  5  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0101
               => 13         ; 13  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1101
          
          (logior 12 5 7)    ; 12  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1100
                             ;  5  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0101
                             ;  7  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0111
               => 15         ; 15  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1111

 - Function: logxor &rest ints-or-markers
     This function returns the "exclusive or" of its arguments: the Nth
     bit is set in the result if, and only if, the Nth bit is set in an
     odd number of the arguments.  If there are no arguments, the
     result is 0, which is an identity element for this operation.  If
     `logxor' is passed just one argument, it returns that argument.

                             ;               28-bit binary values
          
          (logxor 12 5)      ; 12  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1100
                             ;  5  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0101
               => 9          ;  9  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1001
          
          (logxor 12 5 7)    ; 12  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1100
                             ;  5  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0101
                             ;  7  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0111
               => 14         ; 14  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 1110

 - Function: lognot integer
     This function returns the logical complement of its argument: the
     Nth bit is one in the result if, and only if, the Nth bit is zero
     in INTEGER, and vice-versa.

          (lognot 5)
               => -6
          ;;  5  =  0000  0000 0000  0000 0000  0000 0101
          ;; becomes
          ;; -6  =  1111  1111 1111  1111 1111  1111 1010

\1f
File: lispref.info,  Node: Math Functions,  Next: Random Numbers,  Prev: Bitwise Operations,  Up: Numbers

Standard Mathematical Functions
===============================

   These mathematical functions are available if floating point is
supported (which is the normal state of affairs).  They allow integers
as well as floating point numbers as arguments.

 - Function: sin arg
 - Function: cos arg
 - Function: tan arg
     These are the ordinary trigonometric functions, with argument
     measured in radians.

 - Function: asin arg
     The value of `(asin ARG)' is a number between -pi/2 and pi/2
     (inclusive) whose sine is ARG; if, however, ARG is out of range
     (outside [-1, 1]), then the result is a NaN.

 - Function: acos arg
     The value of `(acos ARG)' is a number between 0 and pi (inclusive)
     whose cosine is ARG; if, however, ARG is out of range (outside
     [-1, 1]), then the result is a NaN.

 - Function: atan arg
     The value of `(atan ARG)' is a number between -pi/2 and pi/2
     (exclusive) whose tangent is ARG.

 - Function: sinh arg
 - Function: cosh arg
 - Function: tanh arg
     These are the ordinary hyperbolic trigonometric functions.

 - Function: asinh arg
 - Function: acosh arg
 - Function: atanh arg
     These are the inverse hyperbolic trigonometric functions.

 - Function: exp arg
     This is the exponential function; it returns e to the power ARG.
     e is a fundamental mathematical constant also called the base of
     natural logarithms.

 - Function: log arg &optional base
     This function returns the logarithm of ARG, with base BASE.  If
     you don't specify BASE, the base E is used.  If ARG is negative,
     the result is a NaN.

 - Function: log10 arg
     This function returns the logarithm of ARG, with base 10.  If ARG
     is negative, the result is a NaN.  `(log10 X)' == `(log X 10)', at
     least approximately.

 - Function: expt x y
     This function returns X raised to power Y.  If both arguments are
     integers and Y is positive, the result is an integer; in this
     case, it is truncated to fit the range of possible integer values.

 - Function: sqrt arg
     This returns the square root of ARG.  If ARG is negative, the
     value is a NaN.

 - Function: cube-root arg
     This returns the cube root of ARG.

\1f
File: lispref.info,  Node: Random Numbers,  Prev: Math Functions,  Up: Numbers

Random Numbers
==============

   A deterministic computer program cannot generate true random numbers.
For most purposes, "pseudo-random numbers" suffice.  A series of
pseudo-random numbers is generated in a deterministic fashion.  The
numbers are not truly random, but they have certain properties that
mimic a random series.  For example, all possible values occur equally
often in a pseudo-random series.

   In XEmacs, pseudo-random numbers are generated from a "seed" number.
Starting from any given seed, the `random' function always generates
the same sequence of numbers.  XEmacs always starts with the same seed
value, so the sequence of values of `random' is actually the same in
each XEmacs run!  For example, in one operating system, the first call
to `(random)' after you start XEmacs always returns -1457731, and the
second one always returns -7692030.  This repeatability is helpful for
debugging.

   If you want truly unpredictable random numbers, execute `(random
t)'.  This chooses a new seed based on the current time of day and on
XEmacs's process ID number.

 - Function: random &optional limit
     This function returns a pseudo-random integer.  Repeated calls
     return a series of pseudo-random integers.

     If LIMIT is a positive integer, the value is chosen to be
     nonnegative and less than LIMIT.

     If LIMIT is `t', it means to choose a new seed based on the
     current time of day and on XEmacs's process ID number.

     On some machines, any integer representable in Lisp may be the
     result of `random'.  On other machines, the result can never be
     larger than a certain maximum or less than a certain (negative)
     minimum.

\1f
File: lispref.info,  Node: Strings and Characters,  Next: Lists,  Prev: Numbers,  Up: Top

Strings and Characters
**********************

   A string in XEmacs Lisp is an array that contains an ordered sequence
of characters.  Strings are used as names of symbols, buffers, and
files, to send messages to users, to hold text being copied between
buffers, and for many other purposes.  Because strings are so important,
XEmacs Lisp has many functions expressly for manipulating them.  XEmacs
Lisp programs use strings more often than individual characters.

* Menu:

* String Basics::             Basic properties of strings and characters.
* Predicates for Strings::    Testing whether an object is a string or char.
* Creating Strings::          Functions to allocate new strings.
* Predicates for Characters:: Testing whether an object is a character.
* Character Codes::           Each character has an equivalent integer.
* Text Comparison::           Comparing characters or strings.
* String Conversion::         Converting characters or strings and vice versa.
* Modifying Strings::         Changing characters in a string.
* String Properties::         Additional information attached to strings.
* Formatting Strings::        `format': XEmacs's analog of `printf'.
* Character Case::            Case conversion functions.
* Case Tables::               Customizing case conversion.
* Char Tables::               Mapping from characters to Lisp objects.