GNU bug report logs - #19767
25.0.50; cl-defgeneric docs

Previous Next

To add a comment to this bug, you must first unarchive it, by sending
a message to control AT debbugs.gnu.org, with unarchive 19767 in the body.
You can then email your comments to 19767 AT debbugs.gnu.org in the normal way.

Toggle the display of automated, internal messages from the tracker.

Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Teodor Zlatanov <tzz <at> lifelogs.com>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: 25.0.50; cl-defgeneric docs
Date: Wed, 04 Feb 2015 07:22:59 -0500

I see lisp/emacs-lisp/cl-generic.el was added recently, and that's great.
But the CL manual hasn't been updated, I think?

The EIEIO manual for this functionality in (info "(eieio) Generics") and
(info "(eieio) Methods") is technically OK but for a *novice*, I think
it's almost incomprehensible and lacks examples.

I could try to help here, but I haven't used this facility before so I
need some pointers.

Thanks
Ted

Message #8 received at 19767 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> IRO.UMontreal.CA>
To: Teodor Zlatanov <tzz <at> lifelogs.com>
Cc: 19767 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#19767: 25.0.50; cl-defgeneric docs
Date: Wed, 04 Feb 2015 10:32:13 -0500

> I see lisp/emacs-lisp/cl-generic.el was added recently, and that's great.
> But the CL manual hasn't been updated, I think?

Indeed, that's the main missing part of cl-generic right now.

> I could try to help here, but I haven't used this facility before so I
> need some pointers.

cl-generic tries to implement generic function part of CLOS (CLOS
is the set of object-oriented features of Common-Lisp, and it includes
the definition of objects&classes as well as the definition of methods
which use the "generic function" approach).  I tried to follow CLOS
pretty closely for all the things where CLOS seemed sane (i.e. that
excludes method-combinations).

So there's existing docs ain the form of the "Common Lisp Hyperspec",
such as http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/HyperSpec/Body/07_fb.htm
but the copyright status of this is kind of murky (for example, the GCL
doc includes it, but Debian took it out from its gcl-doc package because
of this legal uncertainty), so we can't just use that, sadly.


        Stefan

Previous Next

GNU bug tracking system
Copyright (C) 1999 Darren O. Benham, 1997,2003 nCipher Corporation Ltd, 1994-97 Ian Jackson.