Glossary
Each entry in this glossary has the following parts:
the term being defined, set in boldface.
the part or parts of speech, set in italics. If a term can be used as several parts of speech, there is a separate definition for each part of speech.
one or more definitions, organized as follows:
an optional number, present if there are several definitions. Lowercase letters might also be used in cases where subdefinitions of a numbered definition are necessary.
an optional part of speech, set in italics, present if the term is one of several parts of speech.
an optional discipline, set in italics, present if the term has a standard definition being repeated. For example, "Math."
an optional context, present if this definition is meaningful only in that context. For example, "(of a
symbol)".
the definition.
an optional example sentence. For example, "This is an example of an example."
optional cross references.
In addition, some terms have idiomatic usage in the Common Lisp community which is not shared by other communities, or which is not technically correct. Definitions labeled "Idiom." represent such idiomatic usage; these definitions are sometimes followed by an explanatory note.
Words in this font are words with entries in the glossary. Words in example sentences do not follow this convention.
When an ambiguity arises, the longest matching substring has precedence. For example, "complex float" refers to a single glossary entry for "complex float" rather than the combined meaning of the glossary terms "complex" and "float."
Subscript notation, as in "somethingn" means that the n-th definition of "Glossary" is intended. This notation is used only in situations where the context might be insufficient to disambiguate.
The following are abbreviations used in the glossary:
Abbreviation | Meaning |
adj. | adjective |
adv. | adverb |
ANSI | compatible with one or more ANSI standards |
Comp. | computers |
Idiom. | idiomatic |
IEEE | compatible with one or more IEEE standards |
ISO | compatible with one or more ISO standards |
Math. | mathematics |
Trad. | traditional |
n. | noun |
v. | verb |
v.t. | transitive verb |
Non-alphabetic
()
n.
an alternative notation for writing the symbol
nil, used to emphasize the use of
nil as an
empty list.
A
absolute
adj.
1. (of a
time) representing a specific point in time.
2. (of a
pathname) representing a specific position in a directory hierarchy. See
relative.
access
accessibility
accessible
accessor
active
actual adjustability
actual argument
actual array element type
actual complex part type
actual parameter
actually adjustable
adjustability
adjustable
after method
alist
alphabetic
n., adj.
-
2.
a.
n. one of several possible
constituent traits of a
character. For details, \seesection\ConstituentChars\ and \secref\ReaderAlgorithm.
-
alphanumeric
ampersand
anonymous
apparently uninterned
applicable
applicable handler
applicable method
applicable restart
n.
\issue{CONDITION-RESTARTS:PERMIT-ASSOCIATION}
apply
v.t.
(a
function to a
list) to
call the
function with arguments that are the
elements of the
list. "Applying the function
+ to a list of integers returns the sum of the elements of that list."
\issue{CONDITION-RESTARTS:PERMIT-ASSOCIATION}
argument
n.
\issue{FORMAT-STRING-ARGUMENTS:SPECIFY}
argument evaluation order
n.
the order in which
arguments are evaluated in a function call. "The argument evaluation order for Common Lisp is left to right." \Seesection\Evaluation.
argument precedence order
around method
array
n.
an
object of
type array, which serves as a container for other
objects arranged in a Cartesian coordinate system.
array element type
array total size
assign
association list
asterisk
n.
the
standard character that is variously called "asterisk" or "star" (
*
). \Seefigure\StdCharsThree.
at-sign
n.
the
standard character that is variously called "commercial at" or "at sign" (
@
). \Seefigure\StdCharsThree.
atom
n.
any
object that is not a
cons. "A vector is an atom."
atomic
adj.
being an
atom. "The number 3, the symbol
foo
, and
nil are atomic."
atomic type specifier
attribute
aux variable
auxiliary method
B
backquote
n.
the
standard character that is variously called "grave accent" or "backquote" (
`
). \Seefigure\StdCharsThree.
backslash
n.
the
standard character that is variously called "reverse solidus" or "backslash" (
\
). \Seefigure\StdCharsThree.
base character
n.
\issue{CHARACTER-VS-CHAR:LESS-INCONSISTENT-SHORT} of type base-char.
base string
before method
bidirectional
binary
bind
binding
n.
an association between a
name and that which the
name denotes. "A lexical binding is a lexical association between a name and its value." When the term
binding is qualified by the name of a
namespace, such as "variable" or "function," it restricts the binding to the indicated namespace, as in: "
let establishes variable bindings." or "
let establishes bindings of variables."
bit
bit array
bit vector
bit-wise logical operation specifier
n.
an
object which names one of the sixteen possible bit-wise logical operations that can be performed by the
boole function, and which is the
value of exactly one of the
constant variables boole-clr,
boole-set,
boole-1,
boole-2,
boole-c1,
boole-c2,
boole-and,
boole-ior,
boole-xor,
boole-eqv,
boole-nand,
boole-nor,
boole-andc1,
boole-andc2,
boole-orc1, or
boole-orc2.
block
block tag
boa lambda list
body parameter
boolean
boolean equivalent
bound
adj., v.t.
1.
adj. having an associated denotation in a
binding. "The variables named by a
let are bound within its body." See
unbound.
-
3.
v.t. the past tense of
bind.
bound declaration
bounded
adj.
(of a
sequence S, by an ordered pair of
bounding indices istart and
iend) restricted to a subrange of the
elements of
S that includes each
element beginning with (and including) the one indexed by
istart and continuing up to (but not including) the one indexed by
iend.
bounding index
n.
(of a
sequence with
length n) either of a conceptual pair of
integers,
istart and
iend, respectively called the "lower bounding index" and "upper bounding index", such that
0 <= istart <= iend <= n
, and which therefore delimit a subrange of the
sequence bounded by
istart and
iend.
bounding index designator
break loop
broadcast stream
built-in class
built-in type
n.
one of the
types in \figref\StandardizedAtomicTypeSpecs.
byte
n.
1. adjacent bits within an
integer. (The specific number of bits can vary from point to point in the program; see
function byte.)
2. an integer in a specified range. (The specific range can vary from point to point in the program; see
functions open and
write-byte.)
byte specifier
C
cadr
call
car
n.
-
2. the
object that is held in the
car1. "The function
car returns the car of a cons."
case
case sensitivity mode
n.
one of the
symbols :upcase
,
:downcase
,
:preserve
, or
:invert
.
catch
catch tag
cddr
cdr
n.
1. a. (of a
cons) the component of a
cons corresponding to the second
argument to
cons; the other component is the
car. "The function
rplacd modifies the cdr of a cons." b. (of a
list L1) either the
list L2 that contains the
elements of
L1 that follow after the first, or else
nil if
L1 is the
empty list.
2. the
object that is held in the
cdr1. "The function
cdr returns the cdr of a cons."
cell
character
n., adj.
1.
n. an
object of
type character; that is, an
object that represents a unitary token in an aggregate quantity of text; \seesection\CharacterConcepts.
2. adj.
character code
character designator
n.
\issue{CHARACTER-PROPOSAL:2-1-1}
circular
circular list
n.
a chain of
conses that has no termination because some
cons in the chain is the
cdr of a later
cons.
class
class designator
class precedence list
close
v.t.
(a
stream) to terminate usage of the
stream as a source or sink of data, permitting the
implementation to reclaim its internal data structures, and to free any external resources which might have been locked by the
stream when it was opened.
closed
closure
coalesce
code
coerce
v.t.
(an
object to a
type) to produce an
object from the given
object, without modifying that
object, by following some set of coercion rules that must be specifically stated for any context in which this term is used. The resulting
object is necessarily of the indicated
type, except when that type is a
subtype of
complex; in that case, if a
complex rational with an imaginary part of zero would result, the result is a
rational rather than a
complex - \seesection\RuleOfCanonRepForComplexRationals.
colon
comma
compilation
compilation environment
compilation unit
compile
v.t.
1. (
code) to perform semantic preprocessing of the
code, usually optimizing one or more qualities of the code, such as run-time speed of
execution or run-time storage usage. The minimum semantic requirements of compilation are that it must remove all macro calls and arrange for all
load time values to be resolved prior to run time.
-
-
compile time
compile-time definition
compiled code
compiled file
compiled function
n.
\issue{COMPILED-FUNCTION-REQUIREMENTS:TIGHTEN}
compiler
compiler macro
n.
an auxiliary macro definition for a globally defined
function or
macro which might or might not be called by any given
conforming implementation and which must preserve the semantics of the globally defined
function or
macro but which might perform some additional optimizations. (Unlike a
macro, a
compiler macro does not extend the syntax of Common Lisp; rather, it provides an alternate implementation strategy for some existing syntax or functionality.)
\issue{DEFINE-COMPILER-MACRO:X3J13-NOV89}
compiler macro expansion
n.
-
2. the
form resulting from this process.
compiler macro function
complex
complex float
complex part type
n. (of a complex)
1. the
type which is used to represent both the real part and the imaginary part of the
complex.
-
-
complex rational
complex single float
composite stream
component
n.
1.
Idiom. a constituent part of an
object.
-
-
Editor Note: This glossary entry is not a part of the original specification and was added based on context.
compound type specifier
concatenated stream
condition
condition designator
condition handler
condition reporter
conditional newline
n.
a
program, used to emphasize the fact that the
program depends for its correctness only upon documented aspects of Common Lisp, and can therefore be expected to run correctly in any
conforming implementation.
congruent
n.
conforming to the rules of
lambda list congruency, as detailed in \secref\GFMethodLambdaListCongruency.
cons
n., v.
1.
n. a compound data
object having two components called the
car and the
cdr.
2.
v. to create such an
object.
3.
v. Idiom. to create any
object, or to allocate storage.
constant
constant object
n.
an
object that is constrained (e.g. by its context in a
program or by the source from which it was obtained) to be
immutable. "A literal object that has been processed by
compile-file is a constant object."
constant variable
constituent
constituent trait
constructed stream
contagion
continuable
n.
1. a
form that establishes one or more places to which control can be transferred.
2. a
form that transfers control.
copy
n.
-
-
-
-
-
6. (of a
structure S) a
fresh structure that has the same
type as
S, and that has slot values, each of which is the
same as the corresponding slot value of
S. (Note that since the difference between a
cons, a
list, and a
tree is a matter of "view" or "intention," there can be no general-purpose
function which, based solely on the
type of an
object, can determine which of these distinct meanings is intended. The distinction rests solely on the basis of the text description within this document. For example, phrases like "a
copy of the given
list" or "copy of the
list x" imply the second definition.)
\issue{DEFSTRUCT-COPIER:ARGUMENT-TYPE}
correctable
adj. (of an error)
-
2. (when no specific
restart is mentioned)
correctable1 by at least one
restart. "
import signals a correctable error of
type package-error if any of the imported symbols has the same name as some distinct symbol already accessible in the package."
\issue{CONDITION-RESTARTS:PERMIT-ASSOCIATION}
current logical block
current output base
current package
current pprint dispatch table
current random state
current readtable
D
data type
debug I/O
debugger
declaration
declaration identifier
n.
\issue{SYNTACTIC-ENVIRONMENT-ACCESS:RETRACTED-MAR91}
declaration specifier
declare
decline
decoded time
n.
absolute time, represented as an ordered series of nine
objects which, taken together, form a description of a point in calendar time, accurate to the nearest second (except that
leap seconds are ignored). \Seesection\DecodedTime.
default method
defaulted initialization argument list
n.
a
list of alternating initialization argument
names and
values in which unsupplied initialization arguments are defaulted, used in the protocol for initializing and reinitializing
instances of
classes.
define-method-combination arguments lambda list
define-modify-macro lambda list
defined name
n.
a
symbol the meaning of which is defined by Common Lisp.
defsetf lambda list
deftype lambda list
n.
\issue{DEFTYPE-KEY:ALLOW}
\issue{DEFTYPE-DESTRUCTURING:YES}
denormalized
adj., ANSI, IEEE (of a float)
conforming to the description of "denormalized" as described by {\IEEEFloatingPoint}. For example, in an
implementation where the minimum possible exponent was
-7
but where
0.001
was a valid mantissa, the number
1.0e-10
might be representable as
0.001e-7
internally even if the
normalized representation would call for it to be represented instead as
1.0e-10
or
0.1e-9
. By their nature,
denormalized floats generally have less precision than
normalized floats.
derived type
derived type specifier
designator
n.
an
object that denotes another
object. In the dictionary entry for an
operator if a
parameter is described as a
designator for a
type, the description of the
operator is written in a way that assumes that appropriate coercion to that
type has already occurred; that is, that the
parameter is already of the denoted
type. For more detailed information, \seesection\Designators.
destructive
destructuring lambda list
different
adj.
not the
same "The strings
"FOO"
and
"foo"
are different under
equal but not under
equalp."
digit
n. (in a radix)
a
character that is among the possible digits (
0
to
9
,
A
to
Z
, and
a
to
z
) and that is defined to have an associated numeric weight as a digit in that
radix. \Seesection\Digits.
dimension
direct instance
n. (of a class C)
an
object whose
class is
C itself, rather than some
subclass of
C. "The function
make-instance always returns a direct instance of the class which is (or is named by) its first argument."
direct subclass
direct superclass
n. (of a class C1)
a
class C2 which was explicitly designated as a
superclass of
C1 in the definition of
C1.
disestablish
disjoint
dispatching macro character
displaced array
n.
an
array which has no storage of its own, but which is instead indirected to the storage of another
array, called its
target, at a specified offset, in such a way that any attempt to
access the
displaced array implicitly references the
target array.
distinct
documentation string
n. (in a defining form)
a
literal string which because of the context in which it appears (rather than because of some intrinsically observable aspect of the
string) is taken as documentation. In some cases, the
documentation string is saved in such a way that it can later be obtained by supplying either an
object, or by supplying a
name and a "kind" to the
function documentation. "The body of code in a
defmacro form can be preceded by a documentation string of kind
function."
dot
n.
the
standard character that is variously called "full stop," "period," or "dot" (
.
). \Seefigure\StdCharsThree.
dotted list
dotted pair
n.
-
2. any
cons, used to emphasize the use of the
cons as a symmetric data pair.
double float
double-quote
n.
the
standard character that is variously called "quotation mark" or "double quote" (
"
). \Seefigure\StdCharsThree.
dynamic binding
dynamic environment
dynamic extent
dynamic scope
dynamic variable
E
echo stream
effective method
element
element type
em
n., Trad.
a context-dependent unit of measure commonly used in typesetting, equal to the displayed width of of a letter "M" in the current font. (The letter "M" is traditionally chosen because it is typically represented by the widest
glyph in the font, and other characters' widths are typically fractions of an
em. In implementations providing non-Roman characters with wider characters than "M," it is permissible for another character to be the
implementation-defined reference character for this measure, and for "M" to be only a fraction of an
em wide.) In a fixed width font, a line with
n characters is
n em wide; in a variable width font,
n em is the expected upper bound on the width of such a line.
empty list
empty type
end of file
environment
n.
1. a set of
bindings. \Seesection\IntroToEnvs.
-
environment object
environment parameter
error
n.
1. (only in the phrase "is an error") a
situation in which the semantics of a program are not specified, and in which the consequences are undefined.
-
-
error output
escape
establish
evaluate
evaluation
n.
a model whereby
forms are
executed, returning zero or more values. Such execution might be implemented directly in one step by an interpreter or in two steps by first
compiling the
form and then
executing the
compiled code; this choice is dependent both on context and the nature of the
implementation, but in any case is not in general detectable by any program. The evaluation model is designed in such a way that a
conforming implementation might legitimately have only a compiler and no interpreter, or vice versa. \Seesection\EvaluationModel.
evaluation environment
execute
v.t. Trad. (code)
to perform the imperative actions represented by the
code.
execution time
exhaustive partition
exhaustive union
exit point
explicit return
explicit use
n. (of a variable V in a form F)
a reference to
V that is directly apparent in the normal semantics of
F; i.e. that does not expose any undocumented details of the
macro expansion of the
form itself. References to
V exposed by expanding
subforms of
F are, however, considered to be
explicit uses of
V.
exponent marker
n.
a character that is used in the textual notation for a
float to separate the mantissa from the exponent. The characters defined as
exponent markers in the
standard readtable are shown in the below table. For more information, \seesection\CharacterSyntax. "The exponent marker `d' in `3.0d7' indicates that this number is to be represented as a double float."
export
exported
expressed adjustability
expressed array element type
expressed complex part type
expression
n.
1. an
object, often used to emphasize the use of the
object to encode or represent information in a specialized format, such as program text. "The second expression in a
let form is a list of bindings."
2. the textual notation used to notate an
object in a source file. "The expression
'sample
is equivalent to
(quote sample)
."
expressly adjustable
extended character
extended function designator
extended lambda list
extension
n.
a facility in an
implementation of Common Lisp that is not specified by this standard.
extent
external symbol
externalizable object
F
false
fbound
adj. (of a function name)
\issue{SETF-FUNCTIONS-AGAIN:MINIMAL-CHANGES}
feature
n.
-
2. a
symbol that names a
feature1. \Seesection\Features. "The
:ansi-cl
feature is present in all conforming implementations."
feature expression
features list
file
file compiler
file position
file position designator
file stream
file system
n.
a facility which permits aggregations of data to be stored in named
files on some medium that is external to the
Lisp image and that therefore persists from
session to
session.
filename
n.
\issue{PATHNAME-HOST-PARSING:RECOGNIZE-LOGICAL-HOST-NAMES}
fill pointer
finite
adj. (of a type)
having a finite number of
elements. "The type specifier
(integer 0 5)
denotes a finite type, but the type specifiers
integer and
(integer 0)
do not."
fixnum
float
for-value
n.
\issue{FORMAT-STRING-ARGUMENTS:SPECIFY}
n.
-
2. the conceptual category of all
format directives1 which use the same dispatch character. "Both
"~3d"
and
"~3,'0D"
are valid uses of the "
~D
" format directive."
free declaration
fresh
freshline
funbound
function
function block name
function cell
function designator
function name
functional evaluation
functional value
further compilation
G
general
generalized boolean
generalized instance
n. (of a class)
an
object the
class of which is either that
class itself, or some subclass of that
class. (Because of the correspondence between types and classes, the term "generalized instance of
X" implies "object of type
X" and in cases where
X is a
class (or
class name) the reverse is also true. The former terminology emphasizes the view of
X as a
class while the latter emphasizes the view of
X as a
type specifier.)
generalized reference
n.
a reference to a location storing an
object as if to a
variable. (Such a reference can be either to
read or
write the location.) \Seesection\GeneralizedReference. See also
place.
generalized synonym stream
generic function
generic function lambda list
gensym
global declaration
global environment
global variable
glyph
go
go point
go tag
graphic
H
handle
handler
hash table
home package
I
I/O customization variable
identical
identifier
n.
-
2. a
string used the same way.
immutable
adj.
not subject to change, either because no
operator is provided which is capable of effecting such change or because some constraint exists which prohibits the use of an
operator that might otherwise be capable of effecting such a change. Except as explicitly indicated otherwise,
implementations are not required to detect attempts to modify
immutable objects or
cells; the consequences of attempting to make such modification are undefined. "Numbers are immutable."
implementation
n.
a system, mechanism, or body of
code that implements the semantics of Common Lisp.
implementation limit
implementation-defined
implementation-dependent
adj.
describing a behavior or aspect of Common Lisp which has been deliberately left unspecified, that might be defined in some
conforming implementations but not in others, and whose details may differ between
implementations. A
conforming implementation is encouraged (but not required) to document its treatment of each item in this specification which is marked
implementation-dependent, although in some cases such documentation might simply identify the item as "undefined."
implementation-independent
implicit block
implicit compilation
implicit progn
n.
an ordered set of adjacent
forms appearing in another
form, and defined by their context in that
form to be executed as if within a
progn.
implicit tagbody
n.
an ordered set of adjacent
forms and/or
tags appearing in another
form, and defined by their context in that
form to be executed as if within a
tagbody.
import
improper list
inaccessible
indefinite extent
n.
an
extent whose duration is unlimited. "Most Common Lisp objects have indefinite extent."
indefinite scope
indicator
indirect instance
inherit
initial pprint dispatch table
n.
\issue{KMP-COMMENTS-ON-SANDRA-COMMENTS:X3J13-MAR-92}
initial readtable
n.
\issue{WITH-STANDARD-IO-SYNTAX-READTABLE:X3J13-MAR-91}
initialization argument list
n.
\issue{PLIST-DUPLICATES:ALLOW}
n.
a
form used to supply the initial
value for a
slot or
variable. "The initialization form for a slot in a
defclass form is introduced by the keyword
:initform
."
instance
integer
interactive stream
n.
a
stream on which it makes sense to perform interactive querying. \Seesection\InteractiveStreams.
intern
internal symbol
internal time
internal time unit
interned
interpreted function
interpreted implementation
n.
an
implementation that uses an execution strategy for
interpreted functions that does not involve a one-time semantic analysis pre-pass, and instead uses "lazy" (and sometimes repetitious) semantic analysis of
forms as they are encountered during execution.
interval designator
n. (of type T)
an ordered pair of
objects that describe a
subtype of
T by delimiting an interval on the real number line. \Seesection\IntervalDesignators.
invalid
n.
\issue{DOTIMES-IGNORE:X3J13-MAR91}
iteration variable
K
key
keyword
n.
-
2. any
symbol, usually but not necessarily in the
package keyword
, that is used as an identifying marker in keyword-style argument passing. See
lambda.
-
keyword parameter
n.
\issue{PLIST-DUPLICATES:ALLOW}
keyword/value pair
L
lambda combination
lambda expression
lambda list
lambda list keyword
lambda variable
leaf
n.
-
2. a terminal node of a
tree2.
leap seconds
n.
additional one-second intervals of time that are occasionally inserted into the true calendar by official timekeepers as a correction similar to "leap years." All Common Lisp
time representations ignore
leap seconds; every day is assumed to be exactly 86400 seconds long.
left-parenthesis
n.
the
standard character "
(
", that is variously called "left parenthesis" or "open parenthesis" \Seefigure\StdCharsThree.
length
lexical binding
lexical closure
lexical environment
lexical scope
n.
scope that is limited to a spatial or textual region within the establishing
form. "The names of parameters to a function normally are lexically scoped."
lexical variable
Lisp image
n.
a running instantiation of a Common Lisp
implementation. A
Lisp image is characterized by a single address space in which any
object can directly refer to any another in conformance with this specification, and by a single, common,
global environment. (External operating systems sometimes call this a "core image," "fork," "incarnation," "job," or "process." Note however, that the issue of a "process" in such an operating system is technically orthogonal to the issue of a
Lisp image being defined here. Depending on the operating system, a single "process" might have multiple
Lisp images, and multiple "processes" might reside in a single
Lisp image. Hence, it is the idea of a fully shared address space for direct reference among all
objects which is the defining characteristic. Note, too, that two "processes" which have a communication area that permits the sharing of some but not all
objects are considered to be distinct
Lisp images.)
Lisp printer
n., Trad.
the procedure that prints the character representation of an
object onto a
stream. (This procedure is implemented by the
function write.)
Lisp read-eval-print loop
n., Trad.
an endless loop that
reads2 a
form,
evaluates it, and prints (i.e.
writes2) the results. In many
implementations, the default mode of interaction with Common Lisp during program development is through such a loop.
Lisp reader
list
list designator
list structure
literal
adj. (of an object)
referenced directly in a program rather than being computed by the program; that is, appearing as data in a
quote form, or, if the
object is a
self-evaluating object, appearing as unquoted data. "In the form
(cons "one" '("two"))
, the expressions
"one"
,
("two")
, and
"two"
are literal objects."
load
load time
load time value
loader
local declaration
n.
an
expression which may appear only in specially designated positions of certain
forms, and which provides information about the code contained within the containing
form; that is, a
declare expression.
local precedence order
local slot
logical block
logical host
logical host designator
logical pathname
long float
loop keyword
n., Trad.
a symbol that is a specially recognized part of the syntax of an extended
loop form. Such symbols are recognized by their
name (using
string=), not by their identity; as such, they may be in any package. A
loop keyword is not a
keyword.
lowercase
M
macro
macro character
macro expansion
n.
-
2. the
form resulting from this process.
macro function
macro lambda list
macro name
macroexpand hook
mapping
n.
one of many possible descriptions of how a
conforming implementation might implement various aspects of the Common Lisp Object System. This description is beyond the scope of this document, and no
conforming implementation is required to adhere to it except as noted explicitly in this specification. Nevertheless, its existence helps to establish normative practice, and implementors with no reason to diverge from it are encouraged to consider making their
implementation adhere to it where possible. It is described in detail in the book
The Art Of Metaobject Protocol by Gregor Kiczales.
method
method combination
method-defining operator
minimal compilation
n.
actions the
compiler must take at compile time. \Seesection\CompilationSemantics.
modified lambda list
most recent
multiple escape
multiple values
n.
1. more than one
value. "The function
truncate returns multiple values."
2. a variable number of
values, possibly including zero or one. "The function
values returns multiple values."
3. a fixed number of values other than one. "The macro
multiple-value-bind is among the few operators in Common Lisp which can detect and manipulate multiple values."
N
name
n., v.t.
-
2.
v.t. to give a
name to.
3.
n. (of an
object having a name component) the
object which is that component. "The string which is a symbol's name is returned by
symbol-name."
-
-
named constant
namespace
n.
1.
bindings whose denotations are restricted to a particular kind. "The bindings of names to tags is the tag namespace."
2. any
mapping whose domain is a set of
names. "A package defines a namespace."
namestring
n.
\issue{PATHNAME-HOST-PARSING:RECOGNIZE-LOGICAL-HOST-NAMES}
newline
next method
n.
the next
method to be invoked with respect to a given
method for a particular set of arguments or argument
classes. \Seesection\ApplyMethCombToSortedMethods.
nickname
nil
non-atomic
adj.
being other than an
atom; i.e. being a
cons.
non-constant variable
non-correctable
non-empty
non-generic function
non-graphic
non-list
non-local exit
non-nil
non-null lexical environment
non-simple
non-terminating
adj. (of a macro character)
being such that it is treated as a constituent
character when it appears in the middle of an extended token. \Seesection\ReaderAlgorithm.
normal return
n.
the natural transfer of control and
values which occurs after the complete
execution of a
form.
normalized
adj., ANSI, IEEE (of a float)
conforming to the description of "normalized" as described by {\IEEEFloatingPoint}. See
denormalized.
null
adj., n.
1.
adj. a. (of a
list) having no
elements: empty. See
empty list. b. (of a
string) having a
length of zero. (It is common, both within this document and in observed spoken behavior, to refer to an empty string by an apparent definite reference, as in "the
null string" even though no attempt is made to
intern2 null strings. The phrase "a
null string" is technically more correct, but is generally considered awkward by most Lisp programmers. As such, the phrase "the
null string" should be treated as an indefinite reference in all cases except for anaphoric references.) c. (of an
implementation-defined attribute of a
character) An
object to which the value of that
attribute defaults if no specific value was requested.
-
null lexical environment
number
numeric
O
object
n.
1. any Lisp datum. "The function
cons creates an object which refers to two other objects."
-
object-traversing
open
adj., v.t. (a file)
1.
v.t. to create and return a
stream to the
file.
-
operator
optimize quality
n.
one of several aspects of a program that might be optimizable by certain compilers. Since optimizing one such quality might conflict with optimizing another, relative priorities for qualities can be established in an
optimize declaration. The
standardized optimize qualities are
compilation-speed
(speed of the compilation process),
debug
(ease of debugging),
safety
(run-time error checking),
space
(both code size and run-time space), and
speed
(of the object code).
implementations may define additional
optimize qualities.
\issue{OPTIMIZE-DEBUG-INFO:NEW-QUALITY}
optional parameter
ordinary function
ordinary lambda list
otherwise inaccessible part
output
P
package
package cell
package designator
package marker
n.
a character which is used in the textual notation for a symbol to separate the package name from the symbol name, and which is
colon in the
standard readtable. \Seesection\CharacterSyntax.
package prefix
package registry
pairwise
adv. (of an adjective on a set)
applying individually to all possible pairings of elements of the set. "The types A, B, and C are pairwise disjoint if A and B are disjoint, B and C are disjoint, and A and C are disjoint."
parallel
parameter
parameter specializer
parameter specializer name
n.
\issue{CLASS-OBJECT-SPECIALIZER:AFFIRM}
pathname
n.
an
object of
type pathname, which is a structured representation of the name of a
file. A
pathname has six components: a "host," a "device," a "directory," a "name," a "type," and a "version."
pathname designator
n.
\issue{PATHNAME-LOGICAL:ADD}
\issue{PATHNAME-HOST-PARSING:RECOGNIZE-LOGICAL-HOST-NAMES}
physical pathname
place
n.
-
2. the conceptual location referred to by such a
place1.
plist
portable
potential copy
n. (of an object O1 subject to constriants)
an
object O2 that if the specified constraints are satisfied by
O1 without any modification might or might not be
identical to
O1, or else that must be a
fresh object that resembles a
copy of
O1 except that it has been modified as necessary to satisfy the constraints.
potential number
pprint dispatch table
predicate
n.
Editor Note: This definition is imprecise, as every value in Common Lisp is a generalized boolean. The intent of a predicate is to return a truth value while not having any side effects. To quote Common Lisp the Language 2: "A predicate is a function that tests for some condition involving its arguments and returns nil if the condition is false, or some non-nil value if the condition is true."
present
pretty print
pretty printer
n.
the procedure that prints the character representation of an
object onto a
stream when the
value of
*print-pretty* is
true, and that uses layout techniques (e.g. indentation) that tend to highlight the structure of the
object in a way that makes it easier for human readers to parse visually. See
*print-pprint-dispatch* and \secref\PPrinter.
pretty printing stream
primary method
primary value
principal
adj. (of a value returned by a Common Lisp function that implements a mathematically irrational or transcendental function defined in the complex domain)
of possibly many (sometimes an infinite number of) correct values for the mathematical function, being the particular
value which the corresponding Common Lisp
function has been defined to return.
print name
n., Trad. (usually of a symbol)
printer control variable
printer escaping
n.
\issue{PRINT-READABLY-BEHAVIOR:CLARIFY}
printing
process
processor
proclaim
proclamation
prog tag
program
programmer
n.
an active entity, typically a human, that writes a
program, and that might or might not also be a
user of the
program.
programmer code
proper list
proper name
proper sequence
proper subtype
property
property indicator
property list
n.
\issue{PLIST-DUPLICATES:ALLOW}
property value
v.
make a good-faith claim of conformance. This term expresses intention to conform, regardless of whether the goal of that intention is realized in practice. For example, language implementations have been known to have bugs, and while an
implementation of this specification with bugs might not be a
conforming implementation, it can still
purport to conform. This is an important distinction in certain specific cases; e.g. See
*features*.
Q
qualified method
qualifier
query I/O
quoted object
R
radix
n.
an
integer between 2 and 36, inclusive, which can be used to designate a base with respect to which certain kinds of numeric input or output are performed. (There are
n
valid digit characters for any given
radix n
, and those digits are the first
n
digits in the sequence
0, 1, …, 9, A, B, …, Z
, which have the weights
0, 1, …, 9, 10, 11, …, 35
, respectively. Case is not significant in parsing numbers of radix greater than
10
, so "9b8a" and "9B8A" denote the same
radix 16
number.)
random state
rank
ratio
ratio marker
n.
a character which is used in the textual notation for a
ratio to separate the numerator from the denominator, and which is
slash in the
standard readtable. \Seesection\CharacterSyntax.
rational
read
v.t.
\issue{IGNORE-USE-TERMINOLOGY:VALUE-ONLY}
readably
adv. (of a manner of printing an object O1
)
reader
reader macro
n.
1. a textual notation introduced by dispatch on one or two
characters that defines special-purpose syntax for use by the
Lisp reader, and that is implemented by a
reader macro function. \Seesection\ReaderAlgorithm.
-
reader macro function
readtable
readtable case
readtable designator
recognizable subtype
recursion
reference
registered package
relative
adj.
-
2. (of a
pathname) representing a position in a directory hierarchy by motion from a position other than the root, which might therefore vary. "The notation
#P"../foo.text"
denotes a relative pathname if the host file system is Unix." See
absolute.
repertoire
report
report message
required parameter
rest list
rest parameter
restart
restart designator
restart function
return
return value
right-parenthesis
n.
the
standard character "
)
", that is variously called "right parenthesis" or "close parenthesis" \Seefigure\StdCharsThree.
run time
run-time compiler
run-time definition
run-time environment
S
safe
safe call
same
adj.
-
2. (of
objects if no predicate is implied by context) indistinguishable by
eql. Note that
eq might be capable of distinguishing some
numbers and
characters which
eql cannot distinguish, but the nature of such, if any, is
implementation-dependent. Since
eq is used only rarely in this specification,
eql is the default predicate when none is mentioned explicitly. "The conses returned by two successive calls to
cons are never the same."
-
satisfy the test
scope
script
secondary value
section
self-evaluating object
semi-standard
adj. (of a language feature)
not required to be implemented by any
conforming implementation, but nevertheless recommended as the canonical approach in situations where an
implementation does plan to support such a feature. The presence of
semi-standard aspects in the language is intended to lessen portability problems and reduce the risk of gratuitous divergence among
implementations that might stand in the way of future standardization.
semicolon
sequence
sequence function
sequential
sequentially
serious condition
session
n.
the conceptual aggregation of events in a
Lisp image from the time it is started to the time it is terminated.
set
setf expander
n.
\issue{SETF-METHOD-VS-SETF-METHOD:RENAME-OLD-TERMS}
setf expansion
n.
a set of five
expressions1 that, taken together, describe how to store into a
place and which
subforms of the macro call associated with the
place are evaluated. \Seesection\SetfExpansions.
\issue{SETF-METHOD-VS-SETF-METHOD:RENAME-OLD-TERMS}
setf function
setf function name
n. (of a symbol S)
\issue{LISP-SYMBOL-REDEFINITION-AGAIN:MORE-FIXES}
shadow
shadowing symbol
shadowing symbols list
shared slot
sharpsign
n.
the
standard character that is variously called "number sign," "sharp," or "sharp sign" (
#
). \Seefigure\StdCharsThree.
short float
sign
signal
v.
to announce, using a standard protocol, that a particular situation, represented by a
condition, has been detected. \Seesection\ConditionSystemConcepts.
signature
similar
similarity
n.
a two-place conceptual equivalence predicate, which is independent of the
Lisp image so that two
objects in different
Lisp images can be understood to be equivalent under this predicate. \Seesection\LiteralsInCompiledFiles.
simple
simple array
simple bit array
simple bit vector
simple condition
simple general vector
simple string
simple vector
single escape
single float
single-quote
n.
the
standard character that is variously called "apostrophe," "acute accent," "quote," or "single quote" (
'
). \Seefigure\StdCharsThree.
singleton
situation
slash
n.
the
standard character that is variously called "solidus" or "slash" (
/
). \Seefigure\StdCharsThree.
slot
slot specifier
n.
a representation of a
slot that includes the
name of the
slot and zero or more
slot options. A
slot option pertains only to a single
slot.
source code
n.
\issue{DEFINE-COMPILER-MACRO:X3J13-NOV89}
source file
space
special operator
n.
one of a fixed set of
symbols, enumerated in \figref\CLSpecialOps, that may appear in the
car of a
form in order to identify the
form as a
special form.
special variable
specialize
specialized
specialized lambda list
spreadable argument list designator
n.
a
designator for a
list of
objects; that is, an
object that denotes a
list and that is a
non-nil list L1
of length
n
, whose last element is a
list L2
of length
m
(denoting a list
L3
of length
m+n-1
whose
elements are
L1i
for
i < n-1
followed by
L2j
for
j < m
). "The list (1 2 (3 4 5)) is a spreadable argument list designator for the list (1 2 3 4 5)."
stack allocate
stack-allocated
standard character
standard class
standard generic function
standard method combination
standard object
standard output
standard pprint dispatch table
n.
\issue{KMP-COMMENTS-ON-SANDRA-COMMENTS:X3J13-MAR-92}
standard readtable
n.
\issue{WITH-STANDARD-IO-SYNTAX-READTABLE:X3J13-MAR-91}
standard syntax
n.
the syntax represented by the
standard readtable and used as a reference syntax throughout this document. \Seesection\TheStandardSyntax.
standardized
startup environment
step
v.t., n.
-
2.
n. the
code that identifies how the next value in an iteration is to be computed.
3.
v.t. (
code) to specially execute the
code, pausing at intervals to allow user confirmation or intervention, usually for debugging.
stream
n.
an
object that can be used with an input or output function to identify an appropriate source or sink of
characters or
bytes for that operation.
stream associated with a file
n.
\issue{CLOSED-STREAM-FUNCTIONS:ALLOW-INQUIRY}
\issue{PATHNAME-STREAM:FILES-OR-SYNONYM}
stream designator
stream element type
stream variable
stream variable designator
string
n.
a specialized
vector that is of
type string, and whose elements are \oftypes{character}.
string designator
n.
\issue{STRING-COERCION:MAKE-CONSISTENT}
string equal
string stream
structure
structure class
structure name
style warning
subclass
subexpression
subrepertoire
subtype
n.
a
type whose membership is the same as or a proper subset of the membership of another
type, called a
supertype. (Every
type is a
subtype of itself.)
superclass
supertype
supplied-p parameter
symbol
symbol macro
synonym stream
synonym stream symbol
syntax type
n. (of a character)
one of several classifications, enumerated in \figref\PossibleSyntaxTypes, that are used for dispatch during parsing by the
Lisp reader. \Seesection\CharacterSyntaxTypes.
system class
system code
n.
code supplied by the
implementation to implement this specification (e.g. the definition of
mapcar) or generated automatically in support of this specification (e.g. during method combination); that is,
code that is not
programmer code.
T
t
n.
1.
a. the
boolean representing true. See
t.
-
-
-
tag
tail
n. (of a list)
an
object that is the
same as either some
cons which makes up that
list or the
atom (if any) which terminates the
list. "The empty list is a tail of every proper list."
target
terminal I/O
terminating
tertiary value
throw
tilde
time
time zone
n.
a
rational multiple of
1/3600
between
-24
(inclusive) and
24
(inclusive) that represents a time zone as a number of hours offset from Greenwich Mean Time. Time zone values increase with motion to the west, so Massachusetts, U.S.A. is in time zone
5
, California, U.S.A. is time zone
8
, and Moscow, Russia is time zone
-3
. (When "daylight savings time" is separately represented as an
argument or
return value, the
time zone that accompanies it does not depend on whether daylight savings time is in effect.)
\issue{TIME-ZONE-NON-INTEGER:ALLOW}
token
n.
a textual representation for a
number or a
symbol. \Seesection\InterpOfTokens.
trace output
tree
n.
1. a binary
recursive data structure made up of
conses and
atoms: the
conses are themselves also
trees (sometimes called "subtrees" or "branches"), and the
atoms are terminal nodes (sometimes called
leaves). Typically, the
leaves represent data while the branches establish some relationship among that data.
2. in general, any
recursive data structure that has some notion of "branches" and
leaves.
tree structure
true
truename
two-way stream
type
n.
1. a set of
objects, usually with common structure, behavior, or purpose. (Note that the expression "
X is of type
Sa" naturally implies that "
X is of type
Sb" if
Sa is a
subtype of
Sb.)
2. (immediately following the name of a
type) a
subtype of that
type. "The type
vector is an array type."
type declaration
type equivalent
adj. (of two types X
and Y
)
type expand
v.
to fully expand a
type specifier, removing any references to
derived types. (Common Lisp provides no program interface to cause this to occur, but the semantics of Common Lisp are such that every
implementation must be able to do this internally, and some situations involving
type specifiers are most easily described in terms of a fully expanded
type specifier.)
type specifier
U
unbound
adj.
not having an associated denotation in a
binding. See
bound.
unbound variable
undefined function
unintern
uninterned
universal time
unqualified method
unregistered package
unsafe
adj. (of code)
not
safe. (Note that, unless explicitly specified otherwise, if a particular kind of error checking is guaranteed only in a
safe context, the same checking might or might not occur in that context if it were
unsafe; describing a context as
unsafe means that certain kinds of error checking are not reliably enabled but does not guarantee that error checking is definitely disabled.)
unsafe call
n.
a
call that is not a
safe call. For more detailed information, \seesection\SafeAndUnsafeCalls.
upgrade
v.t. (a declared type to an actual type)
upgraded array element type
upgraded complex part type
uppercase
use
use list
user
n.
an active entity, typically a human, that invokes or interacts with a
program at run time, but that is not necessarily a
programmer.
V
valid array dimension
n.
\issue{ARRAY-DIMENSION-LIMIT-IMPLICATIONS:ALL-FIXNUM}
valid array index
n. (of an array)
a
fixnum suitable for use as one of possibly several indices needed to name an
element of the
array according to a multi-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. Such a
fixnum must be greater than or equal to zero, and must be less than the corresponding
dimension1 of the
array. (Unless otherwise explicitly specified, the phrase "a
list of
valid array indices" further implies that the
length of the
list must be the same as the
rank of the
array.) "For a
2
by
3
array, valid array indices for the first dimension are
0
and
1
, and valid array indices for the second dimension are
0
,
1
and
2
."
\issue{ARRAY-DIMENSION-LIMIT-IMPLICATIONS:ALL-FIXNUM}
valid array row-major index
n. (of an array, which might have any number of dimensions2)
\issue{ARRAY-DIMENSION-LIMIT-IMPLICATIONS:ALL-FIXNUM}
valid fill pointer
n. (of an array)
\issue{ARRAY-DIMENSION-LIMIT-IMPLICATIONS:ALL-FIXNUM}
valid logical pathname host
n.
\issue{PATHNAME-UNSPECIFIC-COMPONENT:NEW-TOKEN}
valid pathname device
valid pathname directory
n.
\issue{PATHNAME-SUBDIRECTORY-LIST:NEW-REPRESENTATION}
valid pathname host
valid pathname name
valid pathname type
valid pathname version
n.
a non-negative
integer, or one of
:wild
,
:newest
,
:unspecific
, or
nil.
The symbols :oldest
, :previous
, and :installed
are
semi-standard special version symbols.
valid physical pathname host
n.
any of a
string, a
list of
strings, or the symbol
:unspecific
, that is recognized by the implementation as the name of a host.
valid sequence index
n. (of a sequence)
\issue{ARRAY-DIMENSION-LIMIT-IMPLICATIONS:ALL-FIXNUM}
value
value cell
variable
vector
vertical-bar
W
whitespace
wild
adj.
-
2. (of a
pathname) a structured representation of a name which might "match" any of possibly several
pathnames, and which can therefore be used to refer to the aggregate of the
files named by those
pathnames. The set of
wild pathnames includes, but is not restricted to,
pathnames which have a component which is
:wild
, or which have a directory component which contains
:wild
or
:wild-inferors
. See
wild-pathname-p.
write
v.t.
\issue{IGNORE-USE-TERMINOLOGY:VALUE-ONLY}
writer
Y
yield