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A location is a place where a value can be stored.
An lvalue is an expression that refers to a location.
(The name "lvalue" refers to the fact that the left operand
of set!
is an lvalue.)
The only kind of lvalue in standard Scheme is a variable.
Kawa also allows computed lvalues. These are procedure
calls used in "lvalue context", such as the left operand of set!
.
You can only use procedures that have an associated setter.
In that case, (set! (f arg ...) value)
is equivalent to ((setter f) value arg ...)
(It is possible the definition will change
to ((setter f) arg ... value)
if Guile goes for that.)
Currently, only a few procedures have associated setter
s,
and only builtin procedures written in Java can have setter
s.
For example:
(set! (car x) 10)is equivalent to:
(set-car! x 10)
Kawa also gives you access to locations as first-class values:
location lvalue | Syntax |
Returns a location object for the given lvalue.
You can get its value (by applying it, as if it were a procedure),
and you can set its value (by using set! on the application).
The lvalue can be a local or global variable, or a procedure
call using a procedure that has a setter .
(define x 100) (define lx (location x)) (set! (lx) (cons 1 2)) ;; set x to (1 . 2) (lx) ;; returns (1 . 2) (define lc (location (car x))) (set! (lc) (+ 10 (lc))) ;; x is now (11 . 2) |
define-alias variable lvalue | Syntax |
Define variable as an alias for lvalue.
In other words, makes it so that (location variable)
is equivalent to (location lvalue) .
This works both top-level and inside a function.
|
Some people might find it helpful to think of a location
as a settable thunk. Others may find it useful to
think of the location
syntax as similar to the C &
operator;
for the *
indirection operator, Kawa uses procedure application.