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20 Overview of the Guile API
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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.
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* Primitives Identical function for Scheme and C.
* C Only Elements only available in C.
* Scheme Only Elements only available in Scheme.
* Reference Layout The layout of this part of the manual.
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