(guile.info.gz) API Overview

 
 20 Overview of the Guile API
 ****************************
 
 Guile's application programming interface ("API") makes functionality
 available that an application developer can use in either C or Scheme
 programming.  The interface consists of "elements" that may be macros,
 functions or variables in C, and procedures, variables, syntax or other
 types of object in Scheme.  Broadly speaking, the interface as a whole
 can be divided into three groups.
 
   1. Elements that are available equivalently as C functions or Scheme
      procedures.
 
   2. Elements that are only available as macros, functions or variables
      for C programming.
 
   3. Elements that are only available as procedures or other objects in
      Scheme.
 
    Functions/procedures in the first group are often known as
 "primitives", "subrs" or "builtins".  An example is the `assq' Scheme
 procedure, which is also available as `scm_assq' in C.
 
    Elements in the second and third groups exist because they provide
 additional language-specific benefits in either Scheme or C.  Examples
 are the C macro `SCM_CONSP', which is faster and more convenient in C
 programming than the primitive `scm_pair_p', and the
 procedure-with-setter `make-object-property', which provides a more
 convenient property handling interface in Scheme than the primitives on
 which it is based.
(guile.info.gz) API Overview

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