LabLISP Guide

LabLISP versions.

Change log of important versions.

Version 1.5.1.4 on 20.01.2025:

• 31 real math functions like SIN, SQRT, etc.
• updated ROUND with divisor, and added FLOOR, CEILING, TRUNCATE
• bugfix: CA..DR type functions now know their names
• bugfix: function arguments are evaled in the local temporary context

Version 1.5.1.0 on 27.08.2024:

• LabLispHost added support for extension to LabApps::Device with initSymbols()
• LabLispHost can provide optional packages

Version 1.5.0.5 on 27.05.2024:

• Serious refactoring of c++ code, but no changes in LabLisp
• Only new function time-stamp
• For Qt 5.15.2 and c++17, compiles with mingw 8.1 64bit
• Separate c++ modules: IDE, ProcessControl and Environment
• Now the hosting app just needs to create IDE, thread and window are then included automagically
• Simplified attachment of LabLispHost
• Interface for hosted functions is streamlined

Version 1.3.4.0 on 07.03.2023:

• Small polishing of code, shorter waiting time, now 10 ms.
• Introduced form and result history symbols +, ++, +++, *, etc. /, etc.

Version 1.3.3.0 on 05.12.2022:

• Big rewrite of Reader, introduces reading modes #“ ”#, #* *# and anchor #1= and link #1# system.
• Reader now issues comments on syntax errors, but handles them elegantly.
• Reader dot operator ., together with the anchor-link system allows creation of cyclic lists directly from reader.
• Although lablisp is safe against cyclic data lists, the eval algorithm itself is not - please do not write cyclic programs.
• Special opearator ,. aka hard-splice.
• Process can be aborted with self-kill.

Version 1.3.0.1 on 29.03.2022:

• All functions safe against cyclic data lists.
• proper-list-p predicate.
• Printing safely cyclic lists, option *print-shared* for non-cyclic, but shared list structure.
• Destruction of dropped cyclic list is still not handled and will leak memory.
• Function definitions with &optional and &rest parameters, also &whole and &body for macros.
• List-making functions nconc and append.
• Application functions mapcar, maplist, mapcan, mapcon, mapc and mapl.
• Comments and warnings come with “;” prepended.

Version 1.2.8.0 on 07.09.2021

• Major change that introduces multiple values, as in function intern, find-symbol, macroexpand.
• Multiple-valued round and values functions.
• Rewrote the macro system, now local macros are possible with macrolet.
• macroexpand and macroexpand-1 now behave properly.
• Introduced setf-able places, and setf special form.
• Accessors nthcdr, first to tenth, also rest.
• Function last.
• The setf-able places make it possible to create cyclic lists, and that leads to crashes - don't make cyclic lists!

Version 1.2.6.4 on 07.07.2021

• Changes to symbol bindings, allows defconstant.
• String functions write-to-string and concatenate.
• Function set.
• Integer atom now works with long long integer type.
• User accessible flag *allow-non-literal-const*.

Version 1.2.6.0 on 14.05.2021

• Small change to the LabLispHost attachment. Polishing the multi-process evaluation algorithms internally.
• sleep special function.
• dolist and dotimes now accept optional result form.
• Special forms flet and labels for local function definitions.
• load now has optional argument to make it silent.

Version 1.2.5.3 on 20.04.2021

• Applicative functions funcall and apply.
• cond special operator.
• setq now accepts multiple pairs.

Version 1.2.4.7 on 09.04.2021

• Changed the old read/eval mechanism for the expansions of quoting characters, now they are done by reader already.
• Split the value and function namespaces.
• To that, adding boundp, fboundp, symbol-value, symbol-function, functionp, packagep, special-operator-p.
• function and sharp-quote (#’) expansion.

Version 1.2.3.7 on 26.01.2021

• Rebuilt LabLispHost attachment mechanics.
• Functions read and particularly load.
• Added integerp.
• Rebuilt lexical closures, now free variables from closure are evaluated in the dynamic environment.
• Introduced lambda form.

Version 1.2.3.0 on 12.12.2020

• Added several functions for packaging: make-symbol, intern, import, export, unintern, unexport, package-use-list, package-used-by-list, package-internal-symbols, package-external-symbols, unuse-package.
• Whole packaging system is upgraded to work pretty much as in Common LISP, but still missing shadowing of symbols.
• Reader and printer follow the colon and double colon rules for external and internal symbols in packages.
• Renamed the predicate functions to be consistent with Common LISP (symbolp instead of symbol? etc.).
• In general, realized that it make sense to stick to Common LISP language.
• Corrected some hidden artefacts of quoting.

Version 1.2.1.5 on 19.11.2020

• Macro system with defmacro and macroexpand function.

Version 1.2.0.6 on 04.11.2020

• Fixed the command history and colors in output window.
• Generalized the constant function to symbols and lists (constant expressions).
• Whole multithreaded processing with name-process and kill functions.
• Smart wait.
• Backquoting, unquoting and splicing.

Version 1.1.1.9 was initially deployed in lab on 16.07.2020

• Single LISP expression eval.
• Very basic dialect, no macros, no lexical closures, single value and function namespace.