bug#37086: Guile Ice-9 Readline with-readline-completion-function

[Mark H Weaver <mhw@netris.org>]

tags 37086 + notabug
close 37086
thanks

Hi Matthew,

Matthew Henry <mcthenry@gmail.com> writes:

> Seen in: guile (GNU Guile) 2.2.4
>
> When using the with-readline-completion-function, the passed readline
> uses the default (apropos) completion function instead of the one
> provided to with-readline-completion-function.
>
> I believe that this is because root/guile-readline/ice-9/readline.scm
> has defined with-readline-completion-function as a function instead of
> as a macro.  The readline provided in thunk is executed before the
> body of with-readline-completion-function executes and overrides
> *readline-completion-function*.
>
> As an aside, I think the API would be better if the completion
> function could be provided to readline directly.
>
> Attached is a sample program.
>
> Below is sample output of a run of the attached program.  You can see
> that it's autocompleting Guile functions and variables (the default
> apropos completion) rather than the provided one which should have had
> only 3 options with just one starting in "th".
>
> ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
> Prompt:
> Display all 1859 possibilities? (y or n)
> Prompt: th
> the-eof-object   the-scm-module   thread-exited?   thunk?
> the-root-module  thread?          throw
> Prompt: th
>
> (use-modules (ice-9 readline))
>
> (with-readline-completion-function
>  (make-completion-function '("one" "two" "three"))
>  (readline "Prompt: "))

The problem is that 'with-readline-completion-function' expects a
"thunk" as the second argument.  A "thunk" is a procedure that takes no
arguments.  Typically this means that you wrap the relevant code within
(lambda () ...), like this:

  (use-modules (ice-9 readline))
  
  (with-readline-completion-function
   (make-completion-function '("one" "two" "three"))
   (lambda () (readline "Prompt: ")))

> I'm early in my Scheme journey, but here's a suggested fix:
> 
> (define-syntax-rule (with-readline-completion-function completer expr ...)
>   "With @var{completer} as readline completion function, call @var{expr ...}."
>   (let ((old-completer *readline-completion-function*))
>     (dynamic-wind
>       (lambda ()
>     (set! *readline-completion-function* completer))
>       (lambda () expr ...)
>       (lambda ()
>     (set! *readline-completion-function* old-completer)))))
> 
> (export with-readline-completion-function)

This is fine, but it's a different API.  It's true that you need to use
a macro if you want to avoid wrapping the body within (lambda () ...),
but just like 'dynamic-wind' itself, 'with-readline-completion-function'
was designed to be an ordinary procedure that accepts the body
expression(s) as a THUNK.

   Happy hacking!
        Mark