Programmatical Function Definition: How to get rid of "eval" here? - common-lisp

I have a set of functions named "ip", "date", "url" etc.
With these, I want to generate another set of functions "ip-is", "date-is" etc.
I finally have the following solution, thats working fine, but that uses "eval".
(loop for name in '(ip date url code bytes referer user-agent) do
(let ((c-name (intern (concatenate 'string (symbol-name name) "-IS"))))
(eval `(defun ,c-name (c)
#'(lambda (l) (equal (,name l) c))))))
Can someone help me, how to get rid of the "evil eval"? It is essential for my program that the function names are provided as a list. So a call to some marcro
(define-predicate ip)
(define-predicate date)
(define-predicate url)
etc.
would not fit my needs. I have no real problem with "eval", but I read very often, that eval is considered bad style and should be avoided if possible.
Thanks in Advance!

You should use a macro here. Macros are evaluated during compile (or load) and can be used to programatically generate a function definition. Your code could be written something like this:
(defmacro define-predicates (&rest names)
`(progn
,#(loop
for name in names
collect (let ((c-sym (gensym))
(l-sym (gensym)))
`(defun ,(intern (concatenate 'string (symbol-name name) "-IS")) (,c-sym)
#'(lambda (,l-sym) (equal (,name ,l-sym) ,c-sym)))))))
(define-predicates ip date url)
Note that the symbols are generated using GENSYM in the functions. In this particular case, that's not strictly necessary, but I usually prefer to do it this way just so that there is no chance of having any leaking if I were to refactor the code at a later stage.

If you want to use a function (instead of a macro as in the other answer), you should be using (setf fdefinition):
(loop for name in '(ip date url code bytes referer user-agent) do
(let ((c-name (intern (concatenate 'string (symbol-name name) "-IS"))))
(setf (fdefinition c-name)
(lambda (c) (lambda (l) (equal (funcall name l) c))))))

Related

Controlling the printing of special cons forms (e.g printing (function +) as #'+ etc)

I want some reader macros to print as as shortened expression that the macro understands. Lets say I want to extend the #' macro to take #'~[rest-of-symbol] and turn that into (complement #'rest-of-symbol).
What controls how that is printed? On SBCL, for instance, '(function +) prints as #'+. How do i make '(complement #'listp) print as #~listp?
My first thought was
(defmethod print-object :around ((obj cons) stream)
;; if #'~fn-name / (complement (function fn-name))
;; => fn-name otherwise NIL
(let ((fn-name
(ignore-errors
(destructuring-bind (complement (function fn-name))
obj
(when (and (eq complement 'complement)
(eq function 'function))
fn-name)))))
(if fn-name
(format stream "#'~~~S" fn-name)
(call-next-method))))
This works insofar as (print-object '(complement #'evenp) *standard-output*) prints it the way I want, but the REPL doesn't. Also (print-object '#'+ *standard-output*) prints it as (function +) so the REPL isn't using print-object. With defining the print-object method for user defined classes the REPL always picks up on the new definition.
This is my first post and I'm sorry I can't get the code to format properly. If someone can put a link on how to do that I would appreciate it.
Evaluation time
You are mixing code with data in your example:
(function +)
Is a special form that evaluates to a function object, which admits a shorter syntax:
#'+
But when you are writing:
'(function +)
or
'(complement fn)
Then in both cases you are writing quoted, literal lists, which evaluates to themselves (namely a list starting with symbol function or complement, followed respectively by symbol + and fn).
However, you want the code to be evaluated at runtime to actual function objects; if you type this in the REPL:
(complement #'alpha-char-p)
The result is a value that is printed as follows:
#<FUNCTION (LAMBDA (&REST SB-IMPL::ARGUMENTS) :IN COMPLEMENT) {101AAC8D9B}>
You have an actual function object that you can funcall. In other words, by the time you reach print-object, you no longer have access to source code, you are manipulating data at runtime which happens to be functions. So you cannot use destructuring-bind to get the complement symbol that was present in the source code.
What you need to do instead is to attach metadata to your function. There is a way to do that in Common Lisp by defining a new type of function, thanks to the Meta-Object Protocol.
Funcallable objects
I'm relying on Closer-MOP for all the symbols prefixed with c2cl: below. I define a new class of functions, annotated-fn, which is a function with addditional data:
(defclass annotated-fn (c2cl:funcallable-standard-object)
((data :initform :data :initarg :data :reader annotated-fn-data))
(:metaclass c2cl:funcallable-standard-class))
Notice that this class is a funcallable-standard-object (like the usual functions), and its metaclass is funcallable-standard-class. Such an object has an additional implicit slot that is a function to call.
More precisely, you have to call c2cl:set-funcallable-instance-function to set a function associated with the object, and when later you use funcall or apply with the object, then the wrapped function is called instead. So you can transparently use this class of functions wherever you usually use a function. It just has additional slots (here data).
For example, here is how I instantiate it, with a function to wrap additional data:
(defun annotate-fn (function data)
(let ((object (make-instance 'annotated-fn :data data)))
(prog1 object
(c2cl:set-funcallable-instance-function object function))))
Let's try it:
(describe
(annotate-fn (constantly 3)
'(:category :constantly)))
#<ANNOTATED-FN {1006275C7B}>
[funcallable-instance]
Lambda-list: UNKNOWN
Derived type: FUNCTION
Documentation:
T
Source file: SYS:SRC;CODE;FUNUTILS.LISP
Slots with :INSTANCE allocation:
DATA = (:CATEGORY :CONSTANTLY)
You can also use this object like any other function.
Now, your reader macros can expand into calls to annotate-fn, and add any kind of additional metadata you need to the function.
Reader macro
For our example, imagine you define a reader macros for constant functions:
(set-macro-character #\[ 'read-constantly t)
(set-macro-character #\] (get-macro-character #\) nil))
(defun read-constantly (stream char)
(declare (ignore char))
(let* ((list (read-delimited-list #\] stream t))
(value (if (rest list) list (first list)))
(var (gensym)))
`(let ((,var ,value))
(annotate-fn (constantly ,var)
(list :category :constantly
:constant ,var)))))
Using this syntax:
> [(+ 8 5)]
=> #<ANNOTATED-FN ...>
By the way, the syntax I defined also allows the following:
> [+ 8 5]
Pretty-printing
Let's define a generic function that prints an annotated function given its :category field:
(defgeneric print-for-category (category data object stream))
(defmethod print-object ((o annotated-fn) s)
(let* ((data (annotated-fn-data o))
(category (getf data :category)))
(print-for-category category data o s)))
Then, we can specialize it for :constantly, and here we assume also that the data associated with the function contains a :constant field:
(defmethod print-for-category ((_ (eql :constantly)) data o s)
(format s "[~s]" (getf data :constant)))
For example:
(let ((value (+ 8 6)))
(annotate-fn (constantly value)
`(:constant ,value
:category :constantly)))
This above is printed as:
[14]
Which would be the same as your hypothetical reader macro.
To do this you need to understand the pretty printer. I have understood it in the past but no longer do completely. It dispatches on type and the trick for things like this is that you can specify very specific types for trees of conses, although doing so is verbose.
Here is an example which is almost certainly not completely correct, but does achieve what you want in this case:
(defparameter *ppd* (copy-pprint-dispatch))
(defun pprint-complement-function (s form)
;; This is the thing that the pretty printer will call. It can
;; assume that the form it wants to print is already correct.
(destructuring-bind (complement (function name)) form
(declare (ignore complement function))
(format s "#'~~~W" name)))
;;; Now set this in the table with a suitable hairy type specification
;;;
(set-pprint-dispatch '(cons (eql complement)
(cons (cons (eql function)
(cons t null))
null))
'pprint-complement-function
0
*ppd*)
And now
> (let ((*print-pprint-dispatch* *ppd*))
(pprint '(complement (function foo)))
(pprint '((complement (function foo)) (function foo))))
#'~foo
(#'~foo #'foo)
You can make the awful nested cons type specifier easier by defining this (which, perhaps, should be the compound type specifier for list except you can't do that):
(deftype list-of-types (&rest types)
(labels ((lot (tt)
(if (null tt)
'null
`(cons ,(first tt) ,(lot (rest tt))))))
(lot types)))
And then
(set-pprint-dispatch '(list-of-types (eql complement)
(list-of-types (eql function)
*))
'pprint-complement-function
0
*ppd*)
is perhaps easier to read.

using a struct as property list to macro

I have a struct with :name and :value that I'd like to use as arguments to a macro. But I'm not sure how to tell lisp that.
I can write out the call like
(sxql:yield (sxql:set= :name "a" :value 1))
"SET name = ?, value = ?"
("a" 1)
But I'd like to use an already existing structure
(defstruct my-struct name value)
(setq x (make-my-struct :name "a" :value 1))
; #S(MY-STRUCT :NAME "a" :VALUE 1)
using answers from Common LISP: convert (unknown) struct object to plist?
I've made
(defun struct-plist (x)
"make struct X into a property list. ugly kludge"
(let* ((slots (sb-mop:class-slots (class-of x)))
(names (mapcar 'sb-mop:slot-definition-name slots)))
(alexandria:flatten
(mapcar (lambda (n) (list (intern (string n) "KEYWORD")
(slot-value x n)))
names))))
(setq p (struct-plist x)) ; (:NAME "a" :VALUE 1)
My naive attempts are
(sxql:set= p) ; error in FORMAT: No more argument SET ~{~A = ~A~^, ~}
(funcall 'sxql:set= p) ; SXQL:SET= is a macro, not a function.
(macroexpand (sxql:set= p)) ; error in FORMAT ...
I imagine this is an easy/fundamental lisp programming question. But I'm not sure how to ask it (or search for answers). I'm also hoping there is an better struct<->plist story than what I've stumbled across so far.
EDIT: In case this is really an xy-problem. I've used flydata:defmodel to create the struct and I want to insert to a database using the same model.
This is definitely an xy problem: unfortunately I don't understand y (flydata?) well enough to answer the y part.
Here's why what you are trying to do can't work however. Consider this code in a file being compiled:
(defstruct mine name value)
...
(sxql:set= <anything derived from mine>)
Compiling this file must satisfy two constraints:
It does not fully create the structure type mine (see defstruct);
It must macroexpand sxql:set=.
What these constraints mean is that sxql:set= can't know about the structure at the time it is expanded. So any trick which relies on information about the structure must make that information available at compile time.
As I said, I don't understand the y part well enough to understand what you are trying to do, but a hacky approach to this is:
write a wrapper for defstruct which stashes information at compile time (strictly: at macro-expansion time);
write a wrapper for sxql:set= which uses that information to expand into something which makes sense.
Here is a mindless wrapper for defstruct. Note that this is mindless: it can only understand the most simple defstruct forms, and even then it may be wrong. It exists only as an example.
(eval-when (:compile-toplevel :load-toplevel :execute)
(defvar *structure-information* '()))
(defmacro define-mindless-structure (name &body slots)
(assert (and (symbolp name)
(every #'symbolp slots))
(name slots)
"I am too mindless")
(let ((found (or (assoc name *structure-information*)
(car (push (list name) *structure-information*)))))
(setf (cdr found) (mapcar (lambda (slot)
(list slot (intern (symbol-name slot)
(find-package "KEYWORD"))
(intern (concatenate 'string
(symbol-name name)
"-"
(symbol-name slot)))))
slots)))
`(defstruct ,name ,#slots))
So now
(define-mindless-structure mine
name value)
Will expand into (defstruct mine name value) and, at macroexpansion time will stash some information about this structure in *structure-information*.
Now I stop really understanding what you need to do because I don't know what sxql:set= is meant to do, but it might be something like this:
(defmacro mindless-set= ((s o))
(let ((info (assoc s *structure-information*))
(ov (make-symbol "O")))
(unless info
(error "no information for ~A" s))
`(let ((,ov ,o))
(sxql:set= ,#(loop for (slot initarg accessor) in (cdr info)
;; the compiler will whine about slot annoyingly
collect initarg
collect `(,accessor ,ov))))))
So with this macro, assuming a suitable define-mindless-structure for mine form has been seen by the time the macro is expanded, then
(mindless-set= (mine it))
Will expand into
(let ((#:o it))
(set= :name (mine-name #:o) :value (mine-value #:o)))
But, as I said, I am not sure what the expansion you actually want is.
Finally, before even thinking about using anything like the above, it would be worth looking around to see if there are portability libraries which provide compile/macroexpansion-time functionality like this: there very well may be such, as I don't keep up with things.

View or Extract the text definitions entered into the top level REPL, ideally for Clozure Common Lisp (CCL)

When working in a top level REPL, I sometimes forget what definitions I've entered into the running lisp system.
I use Clozure CL and it provides the option of saving the application as an image, which I do and can continue where I left off, but at this point it becomes impossible to review all the code, unless I had separately typed and saved the code to xyz file already.
Is there a way to get/extract/view the definitions that I entered, so I can save them as a source file?
The following will extract all the function definitions entered in a package:
(defun get-all-symbols (&optional package)
(let ((lst nil)
(package (find-package package)) )
(do-all-symbols (s lst)
(when (fboundp s)
(unless (and package (not (eql (symbol-package s) package)))
(push (cons s (function-lambda-expression s)) lst) )))))
Try something like:
(get-all-symbols *package*)
Common Lisp (in general) does not provide any standard way to “recover” the source code of a definition once it has been compiled. Normally, it's found in whatever file or buffer you're working-from.
(As Leo's answer points out, there is Function-Lambda-Expression, which can give you some function definitions. It won't help with, say, constants or classes, and it won't always work — as CLHS says, “Any implementation may legitimately return nil as the lambda-expression of any function.” http://clhs.lisp.se/Body/f_fn_lam.htm — his solution is certainly useful in the most common case(s), but it is not “as general” as this one.)
You could use a set of “wrapper” macros which store the forms you pass to them in a global hash-table, and then recover the source from that. Writing that sounded like an interesting little challenge, so the below is my attempt to do something like that.
My Silly Wrappers Solution
Note that the “source” forms stashed in this way won't preserve reader macros, comments, or the like, and will probably choke on some things like defmethod in subtly horrible ways. That's because I blindly store the definitions keyed off the defining form — eg, defun — and the second word, only. It's not smart enough to notice if you rebound a function as a macro or generic function (all three conflicting definitions would be saved), it doesn't read method combinations or lambda lists to save various methods, or any of that. There are lots of other things you might do — eg, (SetF (FDefinition 'FOO) …) — that could bypass these and go unnoticed, so it's far from “foolproof.” Caveat Lector.
The macros here try to inherit the documentation and lambda lists from the underlying forms, so they should work pretty nicely with most IDE's. They do well enough, in Slime.
One way to work with these would be to directly call them; eg, in your REPL you could directly
My-Package> (use-package :wrap-defining-form)
My-Package> (defun$ my-fn (x) (+ x (sqrt x)))
A more dangerous/interesting way is provided in the package Wrap-Defining-Form.Shadowing, in which the macros shadow the real Common-Lisp package definitions …
CL-User> (in-package :CL-USER$)
CL-User$> (defun blah (n) (loop repeat n do (format t "~&Blah …")))
When you're ready to “save” things, run (dump-definitions).
I wrote and tested this in SBCL, but tried to take care that it should work on many/most other implementations. In particular, I used one non-ANSI function: SB-Introspect:Function-Lambda-List. The function here Wrap-Defining-Form::Find-Function-Lambda-List will search all packages for your implementation's version of that function. If it can't find one, all is not lost; but you won't get hints from your IDE about the lambda-list of the wrapped function. (Clozure's seems to work — kinda — for functions, but not macros. That can probably be improved.)
CL-USER> (describe 'defun$)
WRAP-DEFINING-FORM:DEFUN$
[symbol]
DEFUN$ names a macro:
Lambda-list: (NAME LAMBDA-LIST &BODY BODY)
Documentation:
Wrap `DEFUN' and save the original form.
DEFUN: Define a function at top level.
Source file: /home/brpocock/Private/wrap-defining-form.lisp
; No value
Without Function-Lambda-List, the wrapper looks like
Lambda-list: (&REST UNKNOWN-LAMBDA-LIST)
… which is not very helpful.
wrap-defining-form.lisp
EDIT: Debugged in Clozure. Posted to https://github.com/brpocock/wrap-defining-forms also.
;;;; Wrap--Defining-Forms
;;; -*- Lisp -*-
(defpackage wrap-defining-forms
(:use :common-lisp)
(:documentation "Wrap defining forms so that they (try to) save the
source code of the definition being passed.")
(:export #:wrap-defining-form #:dump-definitions
#:defclass$
#:defconstant$
#:defgeneric$
#:define-compiler-macro$
#:define-condition$
#:define-method-combination$
#:define-modify-macro$
#:define-setf-expander$
#:define-symbol-macro$
#:defmacro$
#:defmethod$
#:defpackage$
#:defparameter$
#:defsetf$
#:defstruct$
#:deftype$
#:defun$
#:defvar$))
(defpackage wrap-defining-forms.shadowing
(:documentation "Wrapped forms like DEFUN$ are exported here with the
names of the forms that they wrap, like DEFUN, for
shadowing imports.")
(:export #:defclass
#:defconstant
#:defgeneric
#:define-compiler-macro
#:define-condition
#:define-method-combination
#:define-modify-macro
#:define-setf-expander
#:define-symbol-macro
#:defmacro
#:defmethod
#:defpackage
#:defparameter
#:defsetf
#:defstruct
#:deftype
#:defun
#:defvar)
(:use))
;; Clozure appears to be “smart” and adds Common-Lisp even though we
;; didn't ask for it (and explicily don't want it)
#+ccl (unuse-package '(:ccl :common-lisp)
:wrap-defining-forms.shadowing)
(defpackage :common-lisp-user/save-defs
(:nicknames :cl-user$)
(:use :common-lisp :common-lisp-user)
(:import-from :wrap-defining-forms #:dump-definitions)
(:shadowing-import-from :wrap-defining-forms.shadowing
#:defclass
#:defconstant
#:defgeneric
#:define-compiler-macro
#:define-condition
#:define-method-combination
#:define-modify-macro
#:define-setf-expander
#:define-symbol-macro
#:defmacro
#:defmethod
#:defpackage
#:defparameter
#:defsetf
#:defstruct
#:deftype
#:defun
#:defvar))
;; Clone any other functions you may have packed into CL-User.
(with-package-iterator (next-symbol :common-lisp-user :internal)
(loop for symbol = (next-symbol)
while symbol
for sibling = (intern (symbol-name symbol) (find-package :cl-user$))
when (and (fboundp symbol)
(not (fboundp sibling)))
do (setf (fdefinition sibling) (fdefinition symbol))))
(in-package "WRAP-DEFINING-FORMS")
(defvar *definitions* (make-hash-table)
"Copies of forms defined by the wrappers created by
`WRAP-DEFINING-FORM' which can be stashed with `DUMP-DEFINITIONS'")
#+ccl
(defun ccl-mock-lambda-list (function)
(if (macro-function function)
(list '&rest 'macro-lambda-list)
(multiple-value-bind (required optional restp
keywords)
(ccl:function-args (fdefinition function))
(concatenate ' list
(loop repeat required
collect (gensym "ARG-"))
(when (and optional (plusp optional))
(cons '&optional
(loop repeat optional
collect (gensym "OPT-"))))
(when restp
(list '&rest 'rest))
(when (and keywords (plusp keywords))
(list '&key '&allow-other-keys))))))
(defun find-function-lambda-list ()
"Find the implementation's version of `FUNCTION-LAMBDA-LIST' if there
is one. That way, Slime and friends can still give the proper
lambda-list for the wrapped form. If it can't be found, this will
return a stub with just a &rest-var."
(or
#+sbcl #'sb-introspect:function-lambda-list
#+ccl #'ccl-mock-lambda-list
#-(or ccl sbcl)
(dolist (package (list-all-packages))
(let ((sym (find-symbol "FUNCTION-LAMBDA-LIST" package)))
(when (fboundp sym)
(return-from find-function-lambda-list sym))))
(lambda (function)
(declare (ignore function))
(list '&rest 'unknown-lambda-list))))
(defmacro wrap-defining-form (cl-form)
"Assuming that CL-FORM is a symbol for a macro or function which
defines something interesting (eg, “Defun”), this will create a macro
with the same name with a trailing “$” that will save the source tree
before passing on the form to CL-FORM.
EG: (wrap-defining-form defun) provides a “defun$” which has the
additional side effect of storing the source form in *DEFINITIONS*.
Definitions saved can be recovered by `DUMP-DEFINITIONS'.
This is not industrial-strength; in particular, I expect it to cope
poorly with DEFMETHOD."
(check-type cl-form symbol)
(let ((wrapper (intern (concatenate 'string (symbol-name cl-form) "$")))
(wrapper.shadow (intern (symbol-name cl-form) :wrap-defining-forms.shadowing))
(wrapped-lambda-list (funcall (find-function-lambda-list) 'defun)))
(setf (gethash cl-form *definitions*) (make-hash-table))
`(prog1
(defmacro ,wrapper (&whole whole ,#wrapped-lambda-list)
(declare (ignore ,#(remove-if (lambda (form) (member form lambda-list-keywords))
wrapped-lambda-list)))
,(concatenate 'string "Wrap `" (symbol-name cl-form) "' and save the original form." #(#\newline #\newline)
(symbol-name cl-form) ": " (or (documentation cl-form 'function)
"(see CLHS; no documentation here)"))
(let ((defined (cons ',cl-form (cdr whole))))
(setf (gethash (second whole) (gethash ',cl-form *definitions*))
defined)
defined))
(defmacro ,wrapper.shadow (&whole whole ,#wrapped-lambda-list)
(declare (ignore ,#(remove-if (lambda (form) (member form lambda-list-keywords))
wrapped-lambda-list)))
,(concatenate 'string "Wrap `COMMON-LISP:" (symbol-name cl-form) "' and save the original form."
#(#\newline #\newline)
(symbol-name cl-form) ": " (or (documentation cl-form 'function)
"(see CLHS; no documentation here)"))
(let ((defined (cons ',cl-form (cdr whole))))
(setf (gethash (second whole) (gethash ',cl-form *definitions*))
defined)
defined)))))
(wrap-defining-form defclass)
(wrap-defining-form defconstant)
(wrap-defining-form defgeneric)
(wrap-defining-form define-compiler-macro)
(wrap-defining-form define-condition)
(wrap-defining-form define-method-combination)
(wrap-defining-form define-modify-macro)
(wrap-defining-form define-setf-expander)
(wrap-defining-form define-symbol-macro)
(wrap-defining-form defmacro)
(wrap-defining-form defmethod)
(wrap-defining-form defpackage)
(wrap-defining-form defparameter)
(wrap-defining-form defsetf)
(wrap-defining-form defstruct)
(wrap-defining-form deftype)
(wrap-defining-form defun)
(wrap-defining-form defvar)
(defun dump-definitions (&optional pathname)
"Write out the definitions saved by `WRAP-DEFINING-FORM'-built
wrappers to PATHNAME (or *STANDARD-OUTPUT*)."
(let (output
(*print-case* :capitalize)
;; If writing to file, set margin at 79, but try to keep things under 72.
(*print-right-margin* (if pathname 79 *print-right-margin*))
(*print-miser-width* (if pathname 72 *print-miser-width*)))
(unwind-protect
(progn (setq output (if pathname
(open pathname :direction :output
:if-exists :rename
:if-does-not-exist :create)
*standard-output*))
(multiple-value-bind (sec min hr d m y) (decode-universal-time (get-universal-time))
(declare (ignore sec))
(format output
"~&~|~%;;; definitions as of ~d-~d-~d # ~d:~2,'0d:
\(In-Package #:~a)
~{~{~2%~:<~W ~#_~:I~W ~:_~W~1I ~_~W~:>~}~^~|~}~%~|~%" ; from CLHS 22.2.2 SIMPLE-PPRINT-DEFUN
y m d hr min
(package-name *package*)
(remove-if #'null
(loop for form being the hash-keys of *definitions*
for defs = (gethash form *definitions*)
collect (loop for definition being the hash-values of defs
collect definition))))))
(when output (ignore-errors (close output))))))
Sample Usage
CL-USER> (load "wrap-defining-form.lisp")
T
CL-USER> (use-package :wrap-defining-form)
T
CL-USER> (defun$ trash-word (word)
(let ((s (string word)))
(sort (remove-if-not #'alpha-char-p s) #'char<)))
WARNING: redefining COMMON-LISP-USER::TRASH-WORD in DEFUN
TRASH-WORD
CL-USER> (trash-word 'Blatherscythe)
"ABCEEHHLRSTTY"
CL-USER> (describe 'trash-word)
COMMON-LISP-USER::TRASH-WORD
[symbol]
TRASH-WORD names a compiled function:
Lambda-list: (WORD)
Derived type: (FUNCTION (T) (VALUES SEQUENCE &OPTIONAL))
Source form:
(SB-INT:NAMED-LAMBDA TRASH-WORD
(WORD)
(BLOCK TRASH-WORD
(LET ((S (STRING WORD)))
(SORT (REMOVE-IF-NOT #'ALPHA-CHAR-P S) #'CHAR<))))
; No value
CL-USER> (macroexpand-1 '(defun$ trash-word (word)
(let ((s (string word)))
(sort (remove-if-not #'alpha-char-p s) #'char<))))
(DEFUN TRASH-WORD (WORD)
(LET ((S (STRING WORD)))
(SORT (REMOVE-IF-NOT #'ALPHA-CHAR-P S) #'CHAR<)))
T
CL-USER> (dump-definitions)
;;; definitions as of 2016-12-1 # 15:23:
(In-Package #:COMMON-LISP-USER)
(Defun Trash-Word (Word)
(Let ((S (String Word)))
(Sort (Remove-If-Not #'Alpha-Char-P S) #'Char<)))
NIL
CL-USER> (in-package :Common-Lisp-User/Save-Defs)
#<PACKAGE "COMMON-LISP-USER/SAVE-DEFS">
CL-USER$> (defun 2+ (n) (+ 2 n))
2+
CL-USER$> (describe '2+)
COMMON-LISP-USER/SAVE-DEFS::2+
[symbol]
2+ names a compiled function:
Lambda-list: (N)
Derived type: (FUNCTION (T) (VALUES NUMBER &OPTIONAL))
Source form:
(SB-INT:NAMED-LAMBDA 2+
(N)
(BLOCK 2+ (+ 2 N)))
; No value
CL-USER$> (macroexpand-1 '(defun 2+ (n) (+ 2 n)))
(COMMON-LISP:DEFUN 2+ (N) (+ 2 N))
T
CL-USER$> (documentation 'defun 'function)
"Wrap `COMMON-LISP:DEFUN' and save the original form.
DEFUN: Define a function at top level."
CL-USER$> (dump-definitions)
;;; definitions as of 2016-12-1 # 15:32:
(In-Package #:COMMON-LISP-USER/SAVE-DEFS)
(Common-Lisp:Defun 2+ (N) (+ 2 N))
(Common-Lisp:Defun Trash-Word (Word)
(Let ((S (String Word)))
(Sort (Remove-If-Not #'Alpha-Char-P S) #'Char<)))
NIL
File Backup
Dump-Definitions also will write to a file. (It sets :If-Exists :Rename, so you could have one-level-UNDO protection as well.)
CL-USER$> (dump-definitions "saved.lisp")
NIL
Here is an interactive session with CCL:
? (declaim (optimize (debug 3)))
NIL
The above is not strictly required here, but it doesn't hurt to develop with high debugging levels.
? (defun foo (x) (+ 3 x))
FOO
? (inspect 'foo)
[0] FOO
[1] Type: SYMBOL
[2] Class: #<BUILT-IN-CLASS SYMBOL>
Function
[3] INTERNAL in package: #<Package "COMMON-LISP-USER">
[4] Print name: "FOO"
[5] Value: #<Unbound>
[6] Function: #<Compiled-function FOO #x3020004B3F7F>
[7] Arglist: (X)
[8] Plist: NIL
Inspect> 6
[0] #<Compiled-function FOO #x3020004B3F7F>
[1] Name: FOO
[2] Arglist (analysis): (X)
[3] Bits: 8388864
[4] Plist: (CCL::PC-SOURCE-MAP #(17 70 15 22) CCL::FUNCTION-SYMBOL-MAP
(#(X) . #(63 17 70)) CCL::%FUNCTION-SOURCE-NOTE ...)
[5] Source Location: #<SOURCE-NOTE Interactive "(defun foo (x) (+ 3 x))">
Inspect 1> 5
[0] #<SOURCE-NOTE Interactive "(defun foo (x) (+ 3 x))">
[1] Type: SOURCE-NOTE
[2] Class: #<STRUCTURE-CLASS SOURCE-NOTE>
[3] SOURCE: #(40 100 101 102 117 ...)
[4] FILENAME: NIL
[5] FILE-RANGE: 23
You can see that even from within the REPL, and without running Slime which might also store information about the Emacs environment, you can have access to the source code of FOO. This can be used if you know which function you want to recover. For a recording of your interactive session, follow jkiiski's advice about DRIBBLE.
Perhaps you can easily implement something like this yourself:
(defun my-repl (&optional (file-path "cl-history.lisp"))
"Saves commands to a file"
(loop
(with-open-file (stream file-path
:direction :output
:if-does-not-exist :create
:if-exists :append)
(print '>)
(let ((input (read)))
(format stream "~A~%" input)
(print (eval input))))))
To exit the inner loop you should type (quit).
Alternatively you can use com.informatimago.common-lisp.interactive.interactive:repl

The format function looping over a dotted alist

I am working on a function that transforms an alist into a query parameters. So far it looks like this.
(defun encode-options (opts)
"Turns an alist into url query parameters."
(format nil "~{~{~A=~A~}~^&~}" opts))
This works perfectly for alists like ((a b) (c d)) (Resulting in "A=B&C=D"), but fails for dotted alists like ((a . b) (c . d)). (Resulting in The value B is not of type LIST.)
My question is: Is it possible to format the dotted alist to give me the expected results and how?
Is it possible to format the dotted alist?
No, format iterates over proper lists.
There are many possible ways to implement what you want. Here I present two of them.
Keep control string, change data
(defun ensure-proper-list (value)
(typecase value
(null nil)
(cons (cons (car value)
(ensure-proper-list (cdr value))))
(t (list value))))
Now, you transform the option argument so that all elements are proper lists:
(defun encode-options (options)
"Turns an alist into url query parameters."
(format nil
"~{~{~A=~A~}~^&~}"
(mapcar #'ensure-proper-list options)))
Keep data, change control string
(defun print-alist (stream data &optional colonp atsignp)
(declare (ignore colonp atsignp))
(destructuring-bind (head . tail) data
(format stream "~A=~A" head (if (consp tail) (first tail) tail))))
With this new format control, print the list as given:
(defun encode-options (options)
"Turns an alist into url query parameters."
(format nil
"~{~/lib:print-alist/~^&~}"
options))
Note that I added a package prefix lib because without a package, print-alist would be looked up in the user package (a.k.a. COMMON-LISP-USER), which in my opinion is rarely what you want. From 22.3.5.4 Tilde Slash: Call Function:
The function corresponding to a ~/name/ directive is obtained by
looking up the symbol that has the indicated name in the indicated
package. If name does not contain a ":" or "::", then the whole name
string is looked up in the COMMON-LISP-USER package.
That's why I would recommend to always mention the package with ~/ directives.

Is there a way to concatenate two general objects, like so?: (foo 'a 'b) => 'ab

Does anything like this exist? It seems like an elementary function, but I can't find anything like it.
Onlisp (page 57, section 4.7, Symbols and Strings) has a solution that is a little more general:
(defun mkstr (&rest args)
(with-output-to-string (s)
(dolist (a args) (princ a s))))
(defun symb (&rest args)
(values (intern (apply #'mkstr args))))
Using symb you can concatenate strings, symbols, numbers, whatever.
(defun concatoms (a b)
(intern (concatenate 'string (symbol-name a) (symbol-name b))))
What you are trying to do is to generate new symbols. You can do this either with intern or with make-symbol (depending on if you want the symbol interned or not). However, it is also a signal that you're doing something that should require a bit more thinking, generating symbols from concatenation of the symbol-names of other symbols is seldom the best thing.
If you absolutely need to create new symbols, something like this ought to do the job:
(defun concatenate-symbols (a b &optional (package *package*))
(intern (concatenate 'string (symbol-name a) (symbol-name b)) package))

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