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[Emacs-diffs] Changes to emacs/lispref/internals.texi
From: |
Richard M. Stallman |
Subject: |
[Emacs-diffs] Changes to emacs/lispref/internals.texi |
Date: |
Thu, 11 May 2006 00:59:35 +0000 |
Index: emacs/lispref/internals.texi
diff -u emacs/lispref/internals.texi:1.48 emacs/lispref/internals.texi:1.49
--- emacs/lispref/internals.texi:1.48 Sun May 7 16:02:26 2006
+++ emacs/lispref/internals.texi Thu May 11 00:59:35 2006
@@ -615,32 +615,37 @@
values. They have types @code{int} and @address@hidden *}}.
Within the function @code{For} itself, note the use of the macros
address@hidden and @code{UNGCPRO}. @code{GCPRO1} is used to ``protect''
-a variable from garbage collection---to inform the garbage collector that
-it must look in that variable and regard its contents as an accessible
-object. This is necessary whenever you call @code{Feval} or anything
-that can directly or indirectly call @code{Feval}. At such a time, any
-Lisp object that you intend to refer to again must be protected somehow.
address@hidden cancels the protection of the variables that are
-protected in the current function. It is necessary to do this explicitly.
address@hidden and @code{UNGCPRO}. @code{GCPRO1} is used to
+``protect'' a variable from garbage collection---to inform the garbage
+collector that it must look in that variable and regard its contents
+as an accessible object. GC protection is necessary whenever you call
address@hidden or anything that can directly or indirectly call
address@hidden At such a time, any Lisp object that this function may
+refer to again must be protected somehow.
It suffices to ensure that at least one pointer to each object is
-GC-protected; as long as the object is not recycled, all pointers to
-it remain valid. So if you are sure that a local variable points to
-an object that will be preserved by some other pointer, that local
-variable does not need a @code{GCPRO}. (Formerly, strings were an
-exception to this rule; in older Emacs versions, every pointer to a
-string needed to be marked by GC.)
+GC-protected; that way, the object cannot be recycled, so all pointers
+to it remain valid. Thus, a particular local variable can do without
+protection if it is certain that the object it points to will be
+preserved by some other pointer (such as another local variable which
+has a @code{GCPRO})@footnote{Formerly, strings were a special
+exception; in older Emacs versions, every local variable that might
+point to a string needed a @code{GCPRO}.}. Otherwise, the local
+variable needs a @code{GCPRO}.
The macro @code{GCPRO1} protects just one local variable. If you
-want to protect two, use @code{GCPRO2} instead; repeating
address@hidden will not work. Macros, @code{GCPRO3}, @code{GCPRO4},
address@hidden, and @code{GCPRO6} also exist. These macros implicitly
-use local variables such as @code{gcpro1}; you must declare these
-explicitly, with type @code{struct gcpro}. Thus, if you use
+want to protect two variables, use @code{GCPRO2} instead; repeating
address@hidden will not work. Macros @code{GCPRO3}, @code{GCPRO4},
address@hidden, and @code{GCPRO6} also exist. All these macros
+implicitly use local variables such as @code{gcpro1}; you must declare
+these explicitly, with type @code{struct gcpro}. Thus, if you use
@code{GCPRO2}, you must declare @code{gcpro1} and @code{gcpro2}.
Alas, we can't explain all the tricky details here.
+ @code{UNGCPRO} cancels the protection of the variables that are
+protected in the current function. It is necessary to do this
+explicitly.
+
Built-in functions that take a variable number of arguments actually
accept two arguments at the C level: the number of Lisp arguments, and
a @code{Lisp_Object *} pointer to a C vector containing those Lisp