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1 #+title: Calling it quits without parentheses
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2 #+author: Robert McIntyre & Dylan Holmes
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3 #+EMAIL: rlm@mit.edu
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4 #+SETUPFILE: ../../aurellem/org/setup.org
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5 #+INCLUDE: ../../aurellem/org/level-0.org
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6
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7
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8 # * Calling it quits without parentheses
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9 Is it possible to make a =quit= command for Clojure such that simply
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10 typing the word =quit= at an REPL exits the REPL? An intuitive =quit=
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11 command would be especially useful for people new to Lisp syntax or
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12 the REPL; the challenge is to make a genuine Clojure command that
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13 executes without being called with parentheses. We found three
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14 solutions.
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15
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16 #+srcname: header
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17 #+begin_src clojure :results silent
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18 (ns abomination.no-parens
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19 (:use clojure.contrib.def))
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20 #+end_src
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21
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22 * By modifying =toString=
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23 #+srcname: toString
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24 #+begin_src clojure
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25 (in-ns 'abomination.no-parens)
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26 (gen-class :name abomination.no-parens.Quit
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27 :prefix quit-)
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28
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29 (defn quit-toString
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30 [this]
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31 (System/exit 0))
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32
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33
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34 (defvar quit (abomination.no-parens.Quit.)
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35 "a sneaky way to support a `quit` command")
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36 #+end_src
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37
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38 When you type any variable at the REPL, the REPL attempts to print it
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39 as a nicely-formatted string by calling its =toString= method. Our
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40 trick is to define a class with a =toString= method that exits the
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41 REPL; this trick ensures that any variable of that class will close
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42 the REPL when the REPL attempts to print it.
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43
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44 First, we use =gen-class= to make a new class named Quit; in that same
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45 line, we use =:prefix= to establish the convention that any function
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46 named =quit-[something]= will be adopted as the =[something]= method
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47 for the newly-defined Quit class. We use this convention to write our
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48 own =toString= method for Quit.
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49
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50 Next, we define a suitable =toString= method for the Quit class so
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51 that attempting to print an instance of the Quit class has the effect
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52 of closing the REPL. We do this by defining a function =quit-toString=
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53 which closes the REPL; by the convention established above, the Quit
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54 class automatically adopts =quit-toString= as its =toString= method.
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55
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56 Finally, we use =defvar= to create an instance of the Quit class; we
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57 name this instance =quit=. Now when you type =quit= into the REPL, the
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58 REPL executes the =toString= method of the Quit class, exiting the
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59 REPL instead of returning a string.
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60
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61 #+begin_src clojure :exports both
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62 (binding [*compile-path* "/home/r/proj/abomination/classes"]
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63 (compile 'abomination.no-parens))
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64
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65 #+end_src
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66
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67 #+results:
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68 : abomination.no-parens
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69
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70 * By wrapping the command in a lazy sequence
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71 #+srcname: lazy-seq
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72 #+begin_src clojure :results silent
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73 (in-ns 'abomination.no-parens)
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74 (defvar quit* (lazy-seq :the-great-bringer-of-death! (System/exit 0))
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75 "the first time it's evaulated it will kill the JVM")
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76 #+end_src
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77
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78 * By =delay=-ing the command
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79 #+srcname: delay
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80 #+begin_src clojure :results silent
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81 (in-ns 'abomination.no-parens)
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82 (defvar quit** (delay (System/exit 0))
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83 "when this is evaulated at the REPL, it will exit the JVM.")
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84 #+end_src
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85
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86 The same thing, accomplished in a much more elegant and clojureish
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87 way.
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88
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89 # STUD CRUFT PIZZA
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90
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91 #+begin_quote
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92 And death i think is no parenthesis
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93 \mdash{}E. E. Cummings
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94 #+end_quote
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95
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96
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97 * COMMENT code generation
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98 #+begin_src clojure :tangle ../src/abomination/no_parens.clj :results silent :exports none :noweb yes
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99 <<header>>
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100 <<toString>>
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101 <<lazy-seq>>
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102 <<delay>>
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103 #+end_src
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