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* NEWS: Update.
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Andy Wingo 2010-08-05 11:17:09 +02:00
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NEWS
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@ -10,257 +10,11 @@ prerelease, and a full NEWS corresponding to 1.8 -> 2.0.)
Changes in 1.9.12 (since the 1.9.11 prerelease):
** Random generator state has an external form
** Random generator state may be serialized to a datum
Now the random number generator state can be obtained in external
(i.e. `read'/`write'-able) form via the new procedure
`random-state->external'. An externalized state can be reinstantiated by
calling `external->random-state'.
Changes in 1.9.11 (since the 1.9.10 prerelease):
** Renamed module: (rnrs bytevectors)
This module was called (rnrs bytevector), its name from earlier drafts
of the R6RS. Its name has been changed. Users of previous 1.9 preleases
may want to search for any stale rnrs/bytevector .go or .scm file, and
delete them.
** New module: (sxml match)
Guile has incorporated Jim Bender's `sxml-match' library. See
"sxml-match' in the manual for more information. Thanks, Jim!
** New module: (srfi srfi-9 gnu)
This module adds an extension to srfi-9, `set-record-type-printer!'. See
"SRFI-9" in the manual for more information.
** Support for R6RS libraries
The `library' and `import' forms from the latest Scheme report have been
added to Guile, in such a way that R6RS libraries share a namespace with
Guile modules. R6RS modules may import Guile modules, and are available
for Guile modules to import via use-modules and all the rest. See "R6RS
Libraries" in the manual for more information.
** Implementations of R6RS libraries
Guile now has implementations for all of the libraries defined in the
R6RS. Thanks to Julian Graham for this excellent hack. See "R6RS
Standard Libraries" in the manual for a full list of libraries.
** Partial R6RS compatibility
Guile now has enough support for R6RS to run a reasonably large subset
of R6RS programs.
Guile is not fully R6RS compatible. Many incompatibilities are simply
bugs, though some parts of Guile will remain R6RS-incompatible for the
foreseeable future. See "R6RS Incompatibilities" in the manual, for more
information.
Please contact bug-guile@gnu.org if you have found an issue not
mentioned in that compatibility list.
** Macro expansion produces structures instead of s-expressions
In the olden days, macroexpanding an s-expression would yield another
s-expression. Though the lexical variables were renamed, expansions of
core forms like `if' and `begin' were still non-hygienic, as they relied
on the toplevel definitions of `if' et al being the conventional ones.
The solution is to expand to structures instead of s-expressions. There
is an `if' structure, a `begin' structure, a `toplevel-ref' structure,
etc. The expander already did this for compilation, producing Tree-IL
directly; it has been changed now to do so when expanding for the
evaluator as well.
The real truth is somewhat more involved: Tree-IL doesn't exist until
modules have been booted, but we need the expander to boot modules, and
additionally we need a boot expander before psyntax is loaded. So a
subset of Tree-IL is defined in C, and the boot expander produces these
"macroexpanded" structures. Psyntax has been modified to produce those
structures as well. When Tree-IL loads, it incorporates those structures
directly as part of its language.
Finally, the evaluator has been adapted to accept these "expanded"
structures, and enhanced to better support the gamut of this subset of
Tree-IL, including `lambda*' and `case-lambda'. This was a much-needed
harmonization between the compiler, expander, and evaluator.
** Deprecated `scm_badargsp'
This function is unused in Guile, but was part of its API.
** `sxml->xml' enhancement
`sxml->xml' from `(sxml simple)' can now handle the result of
`xml->sxml'. See bug #29260 for more information.
** New module: (system vm coverage)
This new module can produce code coverage reports for compiled Scheme
code on a line-by-line level. See "Code Coverage" in the manual for more
information.
** Faster VM hooks.
The frame objects passed to VM hook procedures are now allocated on the
stack instead of the heap, making the next-instruction hook practical to
use.
** New `eval-when' situation: `expand'
Sometimes it's important to cause side-effects while expanding an
expression, even in eval mode. This situation is used in
`define-module', `use-modules', et al, in order to affect the current
module and its set of syntax expanders.
** Better module-level hygiene
Instead of attempting to track changes to the current module when
expanding toplevel sequences, we instead preserve referential
transparency relative to where the macro itself was defined. If the
macro should expand to expressions in the context of the new module, it
should wrap those expressions in `@@', which has been enhanced to accept
generic expressions, not just identifier references. For example, part
of the definition of the R6RS `library' form:
#'(begin
(define-module (name name* ...) #:pure #:version (version ...))
(import ispec) ...
(re-export r ...) (export e ...)
(@@ (name name* ...) body)
...)
In this example the `import' refers to the `import' definition in the
module where the `library' macro is defined, not in the new module.
** Module system macros rewritten as hygienic macros
`define-module', `use-modules', `export', and other such macros have
been rewritten as hygienic macros. This allows the necessary referential
transparency for the R6RS `library' form to do the right thing.
** Compiler and VM documentation updated
The documentation for the compiler and VM had slipped out of date; it
has been brought back... to the future!
** Tree-IL field renaming: `vars' -> `gensyms'
The `vars' fields of <let>, <letrec>, <fix>, and <lambda-case> has been
renamed to `gensyms', for clarity, and to match <lexical-ref>.
** Removed `version' field from <language>
Language versions weren't being updated or used in any worthwhile way;
they have been removed, for now at least.
** New procedure: `module-export-all!'
This procedure exports all current and future bindings from a module.
Use as `(module-export-all! (current-module))'.
** Updates to manual
The introductory sections of the manual have been reorganized
significantly, making it more accessible to new users of Guile. Check it
out!
** The module namespace is now separate from the value namespace
It was a little-known implementation detail of Guile's module system
that it was built on a single hierarchical namespace of values -- that
if there was a module named `(foo bar)', then in the module named
`(foo)' there was a binding from `bar' to the `(foo bar)' module.
This was a neat trick, but presented a number of problems. One problem
was that the bindings in a module were not apparent from the module
itself; perhaps the `(foo)' module had a private binding for `bar', and
then an external contributor defined `(foo bar)'. In the end there can
be only one binding, so one of the two will see the wrong thing, and
produce an obtuse error of unclear provenance.
Also, the public interface of a module was also bound in the value
namespace, as `%module-public-interface'. This was a hack from the early
days of Guile's modules.
Both of these warts have been fixed by the addition of fields in the
`module' data type. Access to modules and their interfaces from the
value namespace has been deprecated, and all accessors use the new
record accessors appropriately.
When Guile is built with support for deprecated code, as is the default,
the value namespace is still searched for modules and public interfaces,
and a deprecation warning is raised as appropriate.
Finally, to support lazy loading of modules as one used to be able to do
with module binder procedures, Guile now has submodule binders, called
if a given submodule is not found. See boot-9.scm for more information.
** New procedures: module-ref-submodule, module-define-submodule,
nested-ref-module, nested-define-module!, local-ref-module,
local-define-module
These new accessors are like their bare variants, but operate on
namespaces instead of values.
** The (app modules) module tree is officially deprecated
It used to be that one could access a module named `(foo bar)' via
`(nested-ref the-root-module '(app modules foo bar))'. The `(app
modules)' bit was a never-used and never-documented abstraction, and has
been deprecated. See the following mail for a full discussion:
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guile-devel/2010-04/msg00168.html
The `%app' binding is also deprecated.
** Deprecated `@bind' syntax
`@bind' was part of an older implementation of the Emacs Lisp language,
and is no longer used.
** New fluid: `%file-port-name-canonicalization'
This fluid parameterizes the file names that are associated with file
ports. If %file-port-name-canonicalization is 'absolute, then file names
are canonicalized to be absolute paths. If it is 'relative, then the
name is canonicalized, but any prefix corresponding to a member of
`%load-path' is stripped off. Otherwise the names are passed through
unchanged.
** Source file name canonicalization in `compile-file', `compile-and-load'
These file-compiling procedures now bind
%file-port-name-canonicalization to their `#:canonicalization' keyword
argument, which defaults to 'relative. In this way, one might compile
"../module/ice-9/boot-9.scm", but the path that gets residualized into
the .go is "ice-9/boot-9.scm".
** Deprecate arity access via (procedure-properties proc 'arity)
Instead of accessing a procedure's arity as a property, use the new
`procedure-minimum-arity' function, which gives the most permissive
arity that the the function has, in the same format as the old arity
accessor.
** Remove redundant accessors: program-name, program-documentation,
program-properties, program-property
Instead, just use procedure-name, procedure-documentation,
procedure-properties, and procedure-property.
** Enhance documentation for support of Emacs Lisp's `nil'
See "Nil" in the manual, for more details.
** Enhance documentation for support of other languages
See "Other Languages" in the manual, for more details.
`random-state->datum' will serialize a random state to a datum, which
may be written out and read back in later. That datum may be used to
construct an equivalent random state by calling `datum->random-state'.
** And of course, the usual collection of bugfixes
@ -279,7 +33,9 @@ Changes in 1.9.x (since the 1.8.x series):
** `(system xref)', a cross-referencing facility (FIXME undocumented)
** `(ice-9 vlist)', lists with constant-time random access; hash lists
** `(system foreign)', foreign function interface
** `(sxml match)', a pattern matcher for SXML
** `(srfi srfi-9 gnu)', extensions to the SRFI-9 record library
** `(system vm coverage)', a line-by-line code coverage library
** Imported statprof, SSAX, and texinfo modules from Guile-Lib
The statprof statistical profiler, the SSAX XML toolkit, and the texinfo
@ -375,6 +131,33 @@ warranty disclaimer on startup, along with pointers to more information.
* Changes to Scheme functions and syntax
** Support for R6RS libraries
The `library' and `import' forms from the latest Scheme report have been
added to Guile, in such a way that R6RS libraries share a namespace with
Guile modules. R6RS modules may import Guile modules, and are available
for Guile modules to import via use-modules and all the rest. See "R6RS
Libraries" in the manual for more information.
** Implementations of R6RS libraries
Guile now has implementations for all of the libraries defined in the
R6RS. Thanks to Julian Graham for this excellent hack. See "R6RS
Standard Libraries" in the manual for a full list of libraries.
** Partial R6RS compatibility
Guile now has enough support for R6RS to run a reasonably large subset
of R6RS programs.
Guile is not fully R6RS compatible. Many incompatibilities are simply
bugs, though some parts of Guile will remain R6RS-incompatible for the
foreseeable future. See "R6RS Incompatibilities" in the manual, for more
information.
Please contact bug-guile@gnu.org if you have found an issue not
mentioned in that compatibility list.
** New implementation of `primitive-eval'
Guile's `primitive-eval' is now implemented in Scheme. Actually there is
@ -562,6 +345,11 @@ export, it now also accepts a pair of symbols, indicating that a binding
should be renamed on export. See "Creating Guile Modules" in the manual
for more information.
** New procedure: `module-export-all!'
This procedure exports all current and future bindings from a module.
Use as `(module-export-all! (current-module))'.
** `eval-case' has been deprecated, and replaced by `eval-when'.
The semantics of `eval-when' are easier to understand. See "Eval When"
@ -585,6 +373,19 @@ feedback about this change (a consequence of using psyntax as the
default expander), and may choose to revisit this situation before 2.0
in response to user feedback.
** Macro expansion produces structures instead of s-expressions
In the olden days, macroexpanding an s-expression would yield another
s-expression. Though the lexical variables were renamed, expansions of
core forms like `if' and `begin' were still non-hygienic, as they relied
on the toplevel definitions of `if' et al being the conventional ones.
The solution is to expand to structures instead of s-expressions. There
is an `if' structure, a `begin' structure, a `toplevel-ref' structure,
etc. The expander already did this for compilation, producing Tree-IL
directly; it has been changed now to do so when expanding for the
evaluator as well.
** Defmacros must now produce valid Scheme expressions.
It used to be that defmacros could unquote in Scheme values, as a way of
@ -744,6 +545,55 @@ because of hygiene and macros, all modules have names. If a module was
created without a name, the first time `module-name' is called on it, a
fresh name will be lazily generated for it.
** The module namespace is now separate from the value namespace
It was a little-known implementation detail of Guile's module system
that it was built on a single hierarchical namespace of values -- that
if there was a module named `(foo bar)', then in the module named
`(foo)' there was a binding from `bar' to the `(foo bar)' module.
This was a neat trick, but presented a number of problems. One problem
was that the bindings in a module were not apparent from the module
itself; perhaps the `(foo)' module had a private binding for `bar', and
then an external contributor defined `(foo bar)'. In the end there can
be only one binding, so one of the two will see the wrong thing, and
produce an obtuse error of unclear provenance.
Also, the public interface of a module was also bound in the value
namespace, as `%module-public-interface'. This was a hack from the early
days of Guile's modules.
Both of these warts have been fixed by the addition of fields in the
`module' data type. Access to modules and their interfaces from the
value namespace has been deprecated, and all accessors use the new
record accessors appropriately.
When Guile is built with support for deprecated code, as is the default,
the value namespace is still searched for modules and public interfaces,
and a deprecation warning is raised as appropriate.
Finally, to support lazy loading of modules as one used to be able to do
with module binder procedures, Guile now has submodule binders, called
if a given submodule is not found. See boot-9.scm for more information.
** New procedures: module-ref-submodule, module-define-submodule,
nested-ref-module, nested-define-module!, local-ref-module,
local-define-module
These new accessors are like their bare variants, but operate on
namespaces instead of values.
** The (app modules) module tree is officially deprecated
It used to be that one could access a module named `(foo bar)' via
`(nested-ref the-root-module '(app modules foo bar))'. The `(app
modules)' bit was a never-used and never-documented abstraction, and has
been deprecated. See the following mail for a full discussion:
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guile-devel/2010-04/msg00168.html
The `%app' binding is also deprecated.
** Many syntax errors have different texts now
Syntax errors still throw to the `syntax-error' key, but the arguments
@ -905,6 +755,13 @@ arities of compiled procedures may be accessed via procedures from the
`(system vm program)' module; see "Compiled Procedures", "Optional
Arguments", and "Case-lambda" in the manual.
** Deprecate arity access via (procedure-properties proc 'arity)
Instead of accessing a procedure's arity as a property, use the new
`procedure-minimum-arity' function, which gives the most permissive
arity that the the function has, in the same format as the old arity
accessor.
** `lambda*' and `define*' are now available in the default environment
As with `case-lambda', `(ice-9 optargs)' continues to be supported, for
@ -1162,6 +1019,21 @@ backtrace. This has been fixed.
These are analogous to %load-path and %load-extensions.
** New fluid: `%file-port-name-canonicalization'
This fluid parameterizes the file names that are associated with file
ports. If %file-port-name-canonicalization is 'absolute, then file names
are canonicalized to be absolute paths. If it is 'relative, then the
name is canonicalized, but any prefix corresponding to a member of
`%load-path' is stripped off. Otherwise the names are passed through
unchanged.
In addition, the `compile-file' and `compile-and-load' procedures bind
%file-port-name-canonicalization to their `#:canonicalization' keyword
argument, which defaults to 'relative. In this way, one might compile
"../module/ice-9/boot-9.scm", but the path that gets residualized into
the .go is "ice-9/boot-9.scm".
** New procedure, `make-promise'
`(make-promise (lambda () foo))' is equivalent to `(delay foo)'.
@ -1202,6 +1074,11 @@ respectively.
crazy. Please change to use `catch', possibly with a throw-handler, or
`with-throw-handler'.
** Deprecated `@bind' syntax
`@bind' was part of an older implementation of the Emacs Lisp language,
and is no longer used.
** Last but not least, the `λ' macro can be used in lieu of `lambda'
* Changes to the C interface
@ -1384,6 +1261,10 @@ procedure, then return a specialized "call" procedure. However this
optimization wasn't actually an optimization, so it is now deprecated.
Just use `scm_call_0', etc instead.
** Deprecated `scm_badargsp'
This function is unused in Guile, but was part of its API.
** Better support for Lisp `nil'.
The bit representation of `nil' has been tweaked so that it is now very