3. LISTS
One of the most useful datatypes in Interlisp is the list cell, a data structure which contains pointers to two other objects, known as the CAR and the CDR of the list cell (after the accessing functions). Very complicated structures can be built out of list cells, including lattices and trees, but list cells are most frequently used for representing simple linear lists of objects.
The following functions are used to manipulate list cells:
(CONS X Y) [Function]
CONS is the primary list construction function. It creates and returns a new list cell containing pointers to X and Y. If Y is a list, this returns a list with X added at the beginning of Y.
(LISTP X) [Function]
Returns X if X is a list cell, e.g., something created by CONS; NIL otherwise.
(LISTP NIL) = NIL.
(NLISTP X) [Function]
(NOT (LISTP X)). Returns T if X is not a list cell, NIL otherwise.
(NLISTP NIL) = T.
(CAR X) [Function]
Returns the first element of the list X. CAR of NIL is always NIL. For all other nonlists (e.g., litatoms, numbers, strings, arrays), the value returned is controlled by CAR/CDRERR (below).
(CDR X) [Function]
Returns all but the first element of the list X. CDR of NIL is always NIL. The value of CDR for other nonlists is controlled by CAR/CDRERR (below).
CAR/CDRERR [Variable]
The variable CAR/CDRERR controls the behavior of CAR and CDR when they are passed non-lists (other than NIL).
If CAR/CDRERR=NIL (the current default), then CAR or CDR of a non-list (other than NIL) return the string "{car of non-list}" or "{cdr of non-list}". If CAR/CDRERR=T, then CAR and CDR of a non-list (other than NIL) causes an error.
If CAR/CDRERR=ONCE, then CAR or CDR of a string causes an error, but CAR or CDR of anything else returns the string "{car of non-list}" or "{cdr of non-list}" as above. This catches loops which repeatedly take CAR or CDR of an object, but it allows one-time errors to pass undetected.
If CAR/CDRERR=CDR, then CAR of a non-list returns "{car of non-list}" as above, but CDR of a non-list causes an error. This setting is based on the observation that nearly all infinite loops involving non-lists occur from taking CDRs, but a fair amount of careless code takes CAR of something it has not tested to be a list
Often, combinations of the CAR and CDR functions are used to extract various components of complex list structures. Functions of the form C...R may be used for some of these combinations:
(CAAR X) ==> (CAR (CAR X))
(CADR X) ==> (CAR (CDR X))
(CDDDDR X) ==> (CDR (CDR (CDR (CDR X))))
All 30 combinations of nested CARs and CDRs up to 4 deep are included in the system.
(RPLACD X Y) [Function]
Replaces the CDR of the list cell X with Y. This physically changes the internal structure of X, as opposed to CONS, which creates a new list cell. It is possible to construct a circular list by using RPLACD to place a pointer to the beginning of a list in a spot at the end of the list.
The value of RPLACD is X. An attempt to RPLACD NIL will cause an error, ATTEMPT TO RPLAC NIL (except for (RPLACD NIL NIL)). An attempt to RPLACD any other non-list will cause an error, ARG NOT LIST.
(RPLACA X Y) [Function]
Similar to RPLACD, but replaces the CAR of X with Y. The value of RPLACA is X. An attempt to RPLACA NIL will cause an error, ATTEMPT TO RPLAC NIL, (except for (RPLACA NIL NIL)). An attempt to RPLACA any other non-list will cause an error, ARG NOT LIST.
(RPLNODE X A D) [Function]
Performs (RPLACA X A), (RPLACD X D), and returns X.
(RPLNODE2 X Y) [Function]
Performs (RPLACA X (CAR Y)), (RPLACD X (CDR Y)) and returns X.
(FRPLACD X Y) [Function]
(FRPLACA X Y) [Function]
(FRPLNODE X A D) [Function]
(FRPLNODE2 X Y) [Function]
Faster versions of RPLACD, etc.
Usually, single list cells are not manipulated in isolation, but in structures known as "lists". By convention, a list is represented by a list cell whose CAR is the first element of the list, and whose CDR is the rest of the list (usually another list cell or the "empty list," NIL). List elements may be any Interlisp objects, including other lists.
The input syntax for a list is a sequence of Interlisp data objects (litatoms, numbers, other lists, etc.) enclosed in parentheses or brackets. Note that () is read as the litatom NIL. A right bracket can be used to match all left parenthesis back to the last left bracket, or terminate the lists, e.g. (A (B (C].
If there are two or more elements in a list, the final element can be preceded by a period delimited on both sides, indicating that CDR of the final list cell in the list is to be the element immediately following the period, e.g. (A . B) or (A B C . D), otherwise CDR of the last list cell in a list will be NIL. Note that a list does not have to end in NIL. It is simply a structure composed of one or more list cells. The input sequence (A B C . NIL) is equivalent to (A B C), and (A B . (C D)) is equivalent to (A B C D). Note however that (A B . C D) will create a list containing the five litatoms A, B, %., C, and D.
Lists are printed by printing a left parenthesis, and then printing the first element of the list, then printing a space, then printing the second element, etc. until the final list cell is reached. The individual elements of a list are printed by PRIN1 if the list is being printed by PRIN1, and by PRIN2 if the list is being printed by PRINT or PRIN2. Lists are considered to terminate when CDR of some node is not a list. If CDR of this terminal node is NIL (the usual case), CAR of the terminal node is printed followed by a right parenthesis. If CDR of the terminal node is not NIL, CAR of the terminal node is printed, followed by a space, a period, another space, CDR of the terminal node, and then the right parenthesis. Note that a list input as (A B C . NIL) will print as (A B C), and a list input as (A B . (C D)) will print as (A B C D). Note also that PRINTLEVEL affects the printing of lists (page X.XX), and that carriage returns may be inserted where dictated by LINELENGTH (page X.XX).
Note: One must be careful when testing the equality of list structures. EQ will be true only when the two lists are the exact same list. For example,
← (SETQ A '(1 2))
(1 2)
← (SETQ B A)
(1 2)
← (EQ A B)
T
← (SETQ C '(1 2))
(1 2)
← (EQ A C)
NIL
← (EQUAL A C)
T
In the example above, the values of A and B are the exact same list, so they are EQ. However, the value of C is a totally different list, although it happens to have the same elements. EQUAL should be used to compare the elements of two lists. In general, one should notice whether list manipulation functions use EQ or EQUAL for comparing lists. This is a frequent source of errors.
Interlisp provides an extensive set of list manipulation functions, described in the following sections.
3.1 Creating Lists
(MKLIST X) [Function]
"Make List." If X is a list or NIL, returns X; Otherwise, returns (LIST X).
(LIST X1 X2 ... XN) [NoSpread Function]
Returns a list of its arguments, e.g.
(LIST 'A 'B '(C D)) => (A B (C D))
(LIST* X1 X2 ... XN) [NoSpread Function]
Returns a list of its arguments, using the last argument for the tail of the list. This is like an iterated CONS: (LIST* A B C) == (CONS A (CONS B C)). For example,
(LIST* 'A 'B 'C) => (A B . C)
(LIST* 'A 'B '(C D)) => (A B C D)
(APPEND X1 X2 ... XN) [NoSpread Function]
Copies the top level of the list X1 and appends this to a copy of the top level of the list X2 appended to ... appended to XN, e.g.,
(APPEND '(A B) '(C D E) '(F G)) => (A B C D E F G)
Note that only the first N-1 lists are copied. However N=1 is treated specially; (APPEND X) copies the top level of a single list. To copy a list to all levels, use COPY.
The following examples illustrate the treatment of non-lists:
(APPEND '(A B C) 'D) => (A B C . D)
(APPEND 'A '(B C D)) => (B C D)
(APPEND '(A B C . D) '(E F G)) => (A B C E F G)
(APPEND '(A B C . D)) => (A B C . D)
(NCONC X1 X2 ... XN) [NoSpread Function]
Returns the same value as APPEND, but actually modifies the list structure of X1 ... Xn-1.
Note that NCONC cannot change NIL to a list:
←(SETQ FOO NIL)
NIL
←(NCONC FOO '(A B C))
(A B C)
←FOO
NIL
Although the value of the NCONC is (A B C), FOO has not been changed. The "problem" is that while it is possible to alter list structure with RPLACA and RPLACD, there is no way to change the non-list NIL to a list.
(NCONC1 LST X) [Function]
(NCONC LST (LIST X))
(ATTACH X L) [Function]
"Attaches" X to the front of L by doing a RPLACA and RPLACD. The value is EQUAL to (CONS X L), but EQ to L, which it physically changes (except if L is NIL). (ATTACH X NIL) is the same as (CONS X NIL). Otherwise, if L is not a list, an error is generated, ARG NOT LIST.
3.2 Building Lists From Left to Right
(TCONC PTR X) [Function]
TCONC is similar to NCONC1; it is useful for building a list by adding elements one at a time at the end. Unlike NCONC1, TCONC does not have to search to the end of the list each time it is called. Instead, it keeps a pointer to the end of the list being assembled, and updates this pointer after each call. This can be considerably faster for long lists. The cost is an extra list cell, PTR. (CAR PTR) is the list being assembled, (CDR PTR) is (LAST (CAR PTR)). TCONC returns PTR, with its CAR and CDR appropriately modified.
PTR can be initialized in two ways. If PTR is NIL, TCONC will create and return a PTR. In this case, the program must set some variable to the value of the first call to TCONC. After that, it is unnecessary to reset the variable, since TCONC physically changes its value. Example:
←(SETQ FOO (TCONC NIL 1))
((1) 1)
←(for I from 2 to 5 do (TCONC FOO I))
NIL
←FOO
((1 2 3 4 5) 5)
If PTR is initially (NIL), the value of TCONC is the same as for PTR=NIL. but TCONC changes PTR. This method allows the program to initialize the TCONC variable before adding any elements to the list. Example:
←(SETQ FOO (CONS))
(NIL)
←(for I from 1 to 5 do (TCONC FOO I))
NIL
←FOO
((1 2 3 4 5) 5)
(LCONC PTR X) [Function]
Where TCONC is used to add elements at the end of a list, LCONC is used for building a list by adding lists at the end, i.e., it is similar to NCONC instead of NCONC1. Example:
←(SETQ FOO (CONS))
(NIL)
←(LCONC FOO '(1 2))
((1 2) 2)
←(LCONC FOO '(3 4 5))
((1 2 3 4 5) 5)
←(LCONC FOO NIL)
((1 2 3 4 5) 5)
LCONC uses the same pointer conventions as TCONC for eliminating searching to the end of the list, so that the same pointer can be given to TCONC and LCONC interchangeably. Therefore, continuing from above,
←(TCONC FOO NIL)
((1 2 3 4 5 NIL) NIL)
←(TCONC FOO '(3 4 5))
((1 2 3 4 5 NIL (3 4 5)) (3 4 5))
The functions DOCOLLECT and ENDCOLLECT also permit building up lists from left-to-right like TCONC, but without the overhead of an extra list cell. The list being maintained is kept as a circular list. DOCOLLECT adds items; ENDCOLLECT replaces the tail with its second argument, and returns the full list.
(DOCOLLECT ITEM LST) [Function]
"Adds" ITEM to the end of LST. Returns the new circular list. Note that LST is modified, but it is not EQ to the new list. The new list should be stored and used as LST to the next call to DOCOLLECT.
(ENDCOLLECT LST TAIL) [Function]
Takes LST, a list returned by DOCOLLECT, and returns it as a non-circular list, adding TAIL as the terminating CDR.
Here is an example using DOCOLLECT and ENDCOLLECT. HPRINT is used to print the results because they are circular lists. Notice that FOO has to be set to the value of DOCOLLECT as each element is added.
←(SETQ FOO NIL]
NIL
←(HPRINT (SETQ FOO (DOCOLLECT 1 FOO]
↑(1 . {1})
←(HPRINT (SETQ FOO (DOCOLLECT 2 FOO]
↑(2 1 . {1})
←(HPRINT (SETQ FOO (DOCOLLECT 3 FOO]
↑(3 1 2 . {1})
←(HPRINT (SETQ FOO (DOCOLLECT 4 FOO]
↑(4 1 2 3 . {1})
←(SETQ FOO (ENDCOLLECT FOO 5]
(1 2 3 4 . 5)
The following two functions are useful writing programs that wish to reuse a scratch list to collect together some result (Both of these compile open):
(SCRATCHLIST LST X1 X2 ... XN) [NLambda NoSpread Function]
SCRATCHLIST sets up a context in which the value of LST is used as a "scratch" list. The expressions X1, X2, ... XN are evaluated in turn. During the course of evaluation, any value passed to ADDTOSCRATCHLIST will be saved, reusing CONS cells from the value of LST. If the value of LST is not long enough, new CONS cells will be added onto its end. If the value of LST is NIL, the entire value of SCRATCHLIST will be "new" (i.e. no CONS cells will be reused).
(ADDTOSCRATCHLIST VALUE) [Function]
For use under calls to SCRATCHLIST. VALUE is added on to the end of the value being collected by SCRATCHLIST. When SCRATCHLIST returns, its value is a list containing all of the things that ADDTOSCRATCHLIST has added.
3.3 Copying Lists
(COPY X) [Function]
Creates and returns a copy of the list X. All levels of X are copied down to non-lists, so that if X contains arrays and strings, the copy of X will contain the same arrays and strings, not copies. COPY is recursive in the CAR direction only, so very long lists can be copied.
Note: To copy just the top level of X, do (APPEND X).
(COPYALL X) [Function]
Like COPY except copies down to atoms. Arrays, hash-arrays, strings, user data types, etc., are all copied. Analagous to EQUALALL (page X.XX). Note that this will not work if given a data structure with circular pointers; in this case, use HCOPYALL.
(HCOPYALL X) [Function]
Similar to COPYALL, except that it will work even if the data structure contains circular pointers.
3.4 Extracting Tails of Lists
(TAILP X Y) [Function]
Returns X, if X is a tail of the list Y; otherwise NIL. X is a tail of Y if it is EQ to 0 or more CDRs of Y.
Note: If X is EQ to 1 or more CDRs of Y, X is called a "proper tail."
(NTH X N) [Function]
Returns the tail of X beginning with the Nth element. Returns NIL if X has fewer than N elements. Examples:
(NTH '(A B C D) 1) => (A B C D)
(NTH '(A B C D) 3) => (C D)
(NTH '(A B C D) 9) => NIL
(NTH '(A . B) 2) => B
For consistency, if N=0, NTH returns (CONS NIL X):
(NTH '(A B) 0) => (NIL A B)
(FNTH X N) [Function]
Faster version of NTH that terminates on a null-check.
(LAST X) [Function]
Returns the last list cell in the list X. Returns NIL if X is not a list. Examples:
(LAST '(A B C)) => (C)
(LAST '(A B . C)) => (B . C)
(LAST 'A) => NIL
(FLAST X) [Function]
Faster version of LAST that terminates on a null-check.
(NLEFT L N TAIL) [Function]
NLEFT returns the tail of L that contains N more elements than TAIL. If L does not contain N more elements than TAIL, NLEFT returns NIL. If TAIL is NIL or not a tail of L, NLEFT returns the last N list cells in L. NLEFT can be used to work backwards through a list. Example:
←(SETQ FOO '(A B C D E))
(A B C D E)
←(NLEFT FOO 2)
(D E)
←(NLEFT FOO 1 (CDDR FOO))
(B C D E)
←(NLEFT FOO 3 (CDDR FOO))
NIL
(LASTN L N) [Function]
Returns (CONS X Y), where Y is the last N elements of L, and X is the initial segment, e.g.,
(LASTN '(A B C D E) 2) => ((A B C) D E)
(LASTN '(A B) 2) => (NIL A B)
Returns NIL if L is not a list containing at least N elements.
3.5 Counting List Cells
(LENGTH X) [Function]
Returns the length of the list X, where "length" is defined as the number of CDRs required to reach a non-list. Examples:
(LENGTH '(A B C)) => 3
(LENGTH '(A B C . D)) => 3
(LENGTH 'A) => 0
(FLENGTH X) [Function]
Faster version of LENGTH that terminates on a null-check.
(EQLENGTH X N) [Function]
Equivalent to (EQUAL (LENGTH X) N), but more efficient, because EQLENGTH stops as soon as it knows that X is longer than N. Note that EQLENGTH is safe to use on (possibly) circular lists, since it is "bounded" by N.
(COUNT X) [Function]
Returns the number of list cells in the list X. Thus, COUNT is like a LENGTH that goes to all levels. COUNT of a non-list is 0. Examples:
(COUNT '(A)) => 1
(COUNT '(A . B)) => 1
(COUNT '(A (B) C)) => 4
In this last example, the value is 4 because the list (A X C) uses 3 list cells for any object X, and (B) uses another list cell.
(COUNTDOWN X N) [Function]
Counts the number of list cells in X, decrementing N for each one. Stops and returns N when it finishes counting, or when N reaches 0. COUNTDOWN can be used on circular structures since it is "bounded" by N. Examples:
(COUNTDOWN '(A) 100) => 99
(COUNTDOWN '(A . B) 100) => 99
(COUNTDOWN '(A (B) C) 100) => 96
(COUNTDOWN (DOCOLLECT 1 NIL) 100) => 0
(EQUALN X Y DEPTH) [Function]
Similar to EQUAL, for use with (possibly) circular structures. Whenever the depth of CAR recursion plus the depth of CDR recursion exceeds DEPTH, EQUALN does not search further along that chain, and returns the litatom ?. If recursion never exceeds DEPTH, EQUALN returns T if the expressions X and Y are EQUAL; otherwise NIL.
(EQUALN '(((A)) B) '(((Z)) B) 2) => ?
(EQUALN '(((A)) B) '(((Z)) B) 3) => NIL
(EQUALN '(((A)) B) '(((A)) B) 3) => T
3.6 Logical Operations
(LDIFFERENCE X Y) [Function]
"List Difference." Returns a list of those elements in X that are not members of Y (using EQUAL to compare elements).
Note: If X and Y share no elements, LDIFFERENCE returns a copy of X.
(INTERSECTION X Y) [Function]
Returns a list whose elements are members of both lists X and Y (using EQUAL to compare elements).
Note that (INTERSECTION X X) gives a list of all members of X without any duplications.
(UNION X Y) [Function]
Returns a (new) list consisting of all elements included on either of the two original lists (using EQUAL to compare elements). It is more efficient to make X be the shorter list.
The value of UNION is Y with all elements of X not in Y CONSed on the front of it. Therefore, if an element appears twice in Y, it will appear twice in (UNION X Y). Since (UNION '(A) '(A A)) = (A A), while (UNION '(A A) '(A)) = (A), UNION is non-commutative.
(LDIFF LST TAIL ADD) [Function]
TAIL must be a tail of LST, i.e., EQ to the result of applying some number of CDRs to LST. (LDIFF LST TAIL) returns a list of all elements in LST up to TAIL.
If ADD is not NIL, the value of LDIFF is effectively (NCONC ADD (LDIFF LST TAIL)), i.e., the list difference is added at the end of ADD.
If TAIL is not a tail of LST, LDIFF generates an error, LDIFF: NOT A TAIL. LDIFF terminates on a null-check, so it will go into an infinite loop if LST is a circular list and TAIL is not a tail.
Example:
←(SETQ FOO '(A B C D E F))
(A B C D E F)
←(CDDR FOO)
(C D E F)
←(LDIFF FOO (CDDR FOO))
(A B)
←(LDIFF FOO (CDDR FOO) '(1 2))
(1 2 A B)
←(LDIFF FOO '(C D E F))
LDIFF: not a tail
(C D E F)
Note that the value of LDIFF is always new list structure unless TAIL=NIL, in which case the value is LST itself.
3.7 Searching Lists
(MEMB X Y) [Function]
Determines if X is a member of the list Y. If there is an element of Y EQ to X, returns the tail of Y starting with that element. Otherwise, returns NIL. Examples:
(MEMB 'A '(A (W) C D)) => (A (W) C D)
(MEMB 'C '(A (W) C D)) => (C D)
(MEMB 'W '(A (W) C D)) => NIL
(MEMB '(W) '(A (W) C D)) => NIL
(FMEMB X Y) [Function]
Faster version of MEMB that terminates on a null-check.
(MEMBER X Y) [Function]
Identical to MEMB except that it uses EQUAL instead of EQ to check membership of X in Y. Examples:
(MEMBER 'C '(A (W) C D)) => (C D)
(MEMBER 'W '(A (W) C D)) => NIL
(MEMBER '(W) '(A (W) C D)) => ((W) C D)
(EQMEMB X Y) [Function]
Returns T if either X is EQ to Y, or else Y is a list and X is an FMEMB of Y.
3.8 Substitution Functions
(SUBST NEW OLD EXPR) [Function]
Returns the result of substituting NEW for all occurrences of OLD in the expression EXPR. Substitution occurs whenever OLD is EQUAL to CAR of some subexpression of EXPR, or when OLD is atomic and EQ to a non-NIL CDR of some subexpression of EXPR. For example:
(SUBST 'A 'B '(C B (X . B))) => (C A (X . A))
(SUBST 'A '(B C) '((B C) D B C))
=> (A D B C) not (A D . A)
SUBST returns a copy of EXPR with the appropriate changes. Furthermore, if NEW is a list, it is copied at each substitution.
(DSUBST NEW OLD EXPR) [Function]
Similar to SUBST, except it does not copy EXPR, but changes the list structure EXPR itself. Like SUBST, DSUBST substitutes with a copy of NEW. More efficient than SUBST.
(LSUBST NEW OLD EXPR) [Function]
Like SUBST except NEW is substituted as a segment of the list EXPR rather than as an element. For instance,
(LSUBST '(A B) 'Y '(X Y Z)) => (X A B Z)
Note that if NEW is not a list, LSUBST returns a copy of EXPR with all OLD's deleted:
(LSUBST NIL 'Y '(X Y Z)) => (X Z)
(SUBLIS ALST EXPR FLG) [Function]
ALST is a list of pairs:
((OLD1 . NEW1) (OLD2 . NEW2) ... (OLDN . NEWN))
Each OLDi is an atom. SUBLIS returns the result of substituting each NEWi for the corresponding OLDi in EXPR, e.g.,
(SUBLIS '((A . X) (C . Y)) '(A B C D)) => (X B Y D)
If FLG=NIL, new structure is created only if needed, so if there are no substitutions, the value is EQ to EXPR. If FLG=T, the value is always a copy of EXPR.
(DSUBLIS ALST EXPR FLG) [Function]
Similar to SUBLIS, except it changes the list structure EXPR itself instead of copying it.
(SUBPAIR OLD NEW EXPR FLG) [Function]
Similar to SUBLIS, except that elements of NEW are substituted for corresponding atoms of OLD in EXPR, e.g.,
(SUBPAIR '(A C) '(X Y) '(A B C D)) => (X B Y D)
As with SUBLIS, new structure is created only if needed, or if FLG=T, e.g., if FLG=NIL and there are no substitutions, the value is EQ to EXPR.
If OLD ends in an atom other than NIL, the rest of the elements on NEW are substituted for that atom. For example, if OLD=(A B . C) and NEW=(U V X Y Z), U is substituted for A, V for B, and (X Y Z) for C. Similarly, if OLD itself is an atom (other than NIL), the entire list NEW is substituted for it. Examples:
(SUBPAIR '(A B . C) '(W X Y Z) '(C A B B Y)) => ((Y Z) W X X Y)
Note that SUBST, DSUBST, and LSUBST all substitute copies of the appropriate expression, whereas SUBLIS, and DSUBLIS, and SUBPAIR substitute the identical structure (unless FLG=T). For example:
← (SETQ FOO '(A B))
(A B)
← (SETQ BAR '(X Y Z))
(X Y Z)
← (DSUBLIS (LIST (CONS 'X FOO)) BAR)
((A B) Y Z)
← (DSUBLIS (LIST (CONS 'Y FOO)) BAR T)
((A B) (A B) Z)
← (EQ (CAR BAR) FOO)
T
← (EQ (CADR BAR) FOO)
NIL
3.9 Association Lists and Property Lists
A commonly-used data structure is one that associates an arbitrary set of property names (NAME1, NAME2, etc.), with a set of property values (VALUE1, VALUE2, etc.). Two list structures commonly used to store such associations are called "property lists" and "association lists." A list in "association list" format is a list where each element is a dotted pair whose CAR is a property name, and whose CDR is the value:
( (NAME1 . VALUE1) (NAME2 . VALUE2) ...)
A list in "property list" format is a list where the first, third, etc. elements are the property names, and the second, forth, etc. elements are the associated values:
( NAME1 VALUE1 NAME2 VALUE2 ...)
The functions below provide facilities for searching and changing lists in property list or association list format.
Note: Property lists are contained within many Interlisp-D system datatypes. There are special functions that can be used to set and retrieve values from the property lists of litatoms (see page X.XX), from properties of windows (see page X.XX), etc.
Note: Another data structure that offers some of the advantages of association lists and property lists is the hash array data type (see page X.XX).
(ASSOC KEY ALST) [Function]
ALST is a list of lists. ASSOC returns the first sublist of ALST whose CAR is EQ to KEY. If such a list is not found, ASSOC returns NIL. Example:
(ASSOC 'B '((A . 1) (B . 2) (C . 3))) => (B . 2)
(FASSOC KEY ALST) [Function]
Faster version of ASSOC that terminates on a null-check.
(SASSOC KEY ALST) [Function]
Same as ASSOC but uses EQUAL instead of EQ when searching for KEY.
(PUTASSOC KEY VAL ALST) [Function]
Searches ALST for a sublist CAR of which is EQ to KEY. If one is found, the CDR is replaced (using RPLACD) with VAL. If no such sublist is found, (CONS KEY VAL) is added at the end of ALST. Returns VAL. If ALST is not a list, generates an error, ARG NOT LIST.
Note that the argument order for ASSOC, PUTASSOC, etc. is different from that of LISTGET, LISTPUT, etc.
(LISTGET LST PROP) [Function]
Searches LST two elements at a time, by CDDR, looking for an element EQ to PROP. If one is found, returns the next element of LST, otherwise NIL. Returns NIL if LST is not a list. Example:
(LISTGET '(A 1 B 2 C 3) 'B) => 2
(LISTGET '(A 1 B 2 C 3) 'W) => NIL
(LISTPUT LST PROP VAL) [Function]
Searches LST two elements at a time, by CDDR, looking for an element EQ to PROP. If PROP is found, replaces the next element of LST with VAL. Otherwise, PROP and VAL are added to the end of LST. If LST is a list with an odd number of elements, or ends in a non-list other than NIL, PROP and VAL are added at its beginning. Returns VAL. If LST is not a list, generates an error, ARG NOT LIST.
(LISTGET1 LST PROP) [Function]
Like LISTGET, but searches LST one CDR at a time, i.e., looks at each element. Returns the next element after PROP. Examples:
(LISTGET1 '(A 1 B 2 C 3) 'B) => 2
(LISTGET1 '(A 1 B 2 C 3) '1) => B
(LISTGET1 '(A 1 B 2 C 3) 'W) => NIL
Note: LISTGET1 used to be called GET.
(LISTPUT1 LST PROP VAL) [Function]
Like LISTPUT, except searches LST one CDR at a time. Returns the modified LST. Example:
←(SETQ FOO '(A 1 B 2))
(A 1 B 2)
←(LISTPUT1 FOO 'B 3)
(A 1 B 3)
←(LISTPUT1 FOO 'C 4)
(A 1 B 3 C 4)
←(LISTPUT1 FOO 1 'W)
(A 1 W 3 C 4)
←FOO
(A 1 W 3 C 4)
Note that if LST is not a list, no error is generated. However, since a non-list cannot be changed into a list, LST is not modified. In this case, the value of LISTPUT1 should be saved. Example:
←(SETQ FOO NIL)
NIL
←(LISTPUT1 FOO 'A 5)
(A 5)
←FOO
NIL
3.10 Sorting Lists
(SORT DATA COMPAREFN) [Function]
DATA is a list of items to be sorted using COMPAREFN, a predicate function of two arguments which can compare any two items on DATA and return T if the first one belongs before the second. If COMPAREFN is NIL, ALPHORDER is used; thus (SORT DATA) will alphabetize a list. If COMPAREFN is T, CAR's of items that are lists are given to ALPHORDER, otherwise the items themselves; thus (SORT A-LIST T) will alphabetize an assoc list by the CAR of each item. (SORT X 'ILESSP) will sort a list of integers.
The value of SORT is the sorted list. The sort is destructive and uses no extra storage. The value returned is EQ to DATA but elements have been switched around. Interrupting with control D, E, or B may cause loss of data, but control H may be used at any time, and SORT will break at a clean state from which ↑ or control characters are safe. The algorithm used by SORT is such that the maximum number of compares is N*log2N, where N is (LENGTH DATA).
Note: if (COMPAREFN A B) = (COMPAREFN B A), then the ordering of A and B may or may not be preserved.
For example, if (FOO . FIE) appears before (FOO . FUM) in X, (SORT X T) may or may not reverse the order of these two elements. Of course, the user can always specify a more precise COMPAREFN.
(MERGE A B COMPAREFN) [Function]
A and B are lists which have previously been sorted using SORT and COMPAREFN. Value is a destructive merging of the two lists. It does not matter which list is longer. After merging both A and B are equal to the merged list. (In fact, (CDR A) is EQ to (CDR B)). MERGE may be aborted after control-H.
(ALPHORDER A B CASEARRAY) [Function]
A predicate function of two arguments, for alphabetizing. Returns a non-NIL value if its arguments are in lexicographic order, i.e., if B does not belong before A. Numbers come before literal atoms, and are ordered by magnitude (using GREATERP). Literal atoms and strings are ordered by comparing the character codes in their print names. Thus (ALPHORDER 23 123) is T, whereas (ALPHORDER 'A23 'A123) is NIL, because the character code for the digit 2 is greater than the code for 1.
Atoms and strings are ordered before all other data types. If neither A nor B are atoms or strings, the value of ALPHORDER is T, i.e., in order.
If CASEARRAY is non-NIL, it is a casearray (page X.XX that the characters of A and B are translated through before being compared. Note that numbers are not passed through CASEARRAY.
Note: If either A or B is a number, the value returned in the "true" case is T. Otherwise, ALPHORDER returns either EQUAL or LESSP to discriminate the cases of A and B being equal or unequal strings/atoms.
Note: ALPHORDER does no UNPACKs, CHCONs, CONSes or NTHCHARs. It is several times faster for alphabetizing than anything that can be written using these other functions.
(UALPHORDER A B) [Function]
Defined as (ALPHORDER A B UPPERCASEARRAY). UPPERCASEARRAY (page X.XX) is a casearray that maps every lowercase character into the corresponding uppercase character.
(MERGEINSERT NEW LST ONEFLG) [Function]
LST is NIL or a list of partially sorted items. MERGEINSERT tries to find the "best" place to (destructively) insert NEW, e.g.,
(MERGEINSERT 'FIE2 '(FOO FOO1 FIE FUM))
=> (FOO FOO1 FIE FIE2 FUM)
Returns LST. MERGEINSERT is undoable.
If ONEFLG=T and NEW is already a member of LST, MERGEINSERT does nothing and returns LST.
MERGEINSERT is used by ADDTOFILE (page X.XX) to insert the name of a new function into a list of functions. The algorithm is essentially to look for the item with the longest common leading sequence of characters with respect to NEW, and then merge NEW in starting at that point.
3.11 Other List Functions
(REMOVE X L) [Function]
Removes all top-level occurrences of X from list L, returning a copy of L with all elements EQUAL to X removed. Example:
(REMOVE 'A '(A B C (A) A)) => (B C (A))
(REMOVE '(A) '(A B C (A) A)) => (A B C A)
(DREMOVE X L) [Function]
Similar to REMOVE, but uses EQ instead of EQUAL, and actually modifies the list L when removing X, and thus does not use any additional storage. More efficient than REMOVE.
Note that DREMOVE cannot change a list to NIL:
←(SETQ FOO '(A))
(A)
←(DREMOVE 'A FOO)
NIL
←FOO
(A)
The DREMOVE above returns NIL, and does not perform any CONSes, but the value of FOO is still (A), because there is no way to change a list to a non-list. See NCONC.
(REVERSE L) [Function]
Reverses (and copies) the top level of a list, e.g.,
(REVERSE '(A B (C D))) => ((C D) B A)
If L is not a list, REVERSE just returns L.
(DREVERSE L) [Function]
Value is the same as that of REVERSE, but DREVERSE destroys the original list L and thus does not use any additional storage. More efficient than REVERSE.
(COMPARELISTS X Y) [Function]
Compares the list structures X and Y and prints a description of any differences to the terminal. If X and Y are EQUAL lists, COMPARELISTS simply prints out SAME. Returns NIL.
COMPARELISTS prints a terse description of the differences between the two list structures, highlighting the items that have changed. This printout is not a complete and perfect comparison. If X and Y are radically different list structures, the printout will not be very useful. COMPARELISTS is meant to be used as a tool to help users isolate differences between similar structures.
When a single element has been changed for another, COMPARELISTS prints out items such as (A -> B), for example:
←(COMPARELISTS '(A B C D) '(X B E D))
(A -> X) (C -> E)
NIL
When there are more complex differences between the two lists, COMPARELISTS prints X and Y, highlighting differences and abbreviating similar elements as much as possible. "&" is used to signal a single element that is present in the same place in the two lists; "--" signals an arbitrary number of elements in one list but not in the other; "-2-," "-3-," etc signal a sequence of two, three, etc. elements that are the same in both lists. Examples:
(COMPARELISTS '(A B C D) '(A D))
(A B C --)
(A D)
←(COMPARELISTS '(A B C D E F G H) '(A B C D X))
(A -3- E F --)
(A -3- X)
←(COMPARELISTS '(A B C (D E F (G) H) I) '(A B (G) C (D E F H) I))
(A & & (D -2- (G) &) &)
(A & (G) & (D -2- &) &)
(NEGATE X) [Function]
For a form X, returns a form which computes the negation of X . For example:
(NEGATE '(MEMBER X Y)) => (NOT (MEMBER X Y))
(NEGATE '(EQ X Y)) => (NEQ X Y)
(NEGATE '(AND X (NLISTP X))) => (OR (NULL X) (LISTP X))
(NEGATE NIL) => T
Copyright (c) 1985 Xerox Corporation. All rights reserved.