======== Tutorial ======== .. figure:: _static/cuddles-transparent-small.png :alt: Karen Rustard's Cuddles Hy's mascot, Cuddles the cuttlefish. This chapter provides a quick introduction to Hy. It assumes a basic background in programming, but no specific prior knowledge of Python or Lisp. Lisp-stick on a Python ====================== Let's start with the classic:: (print "Hy, world!") This program calls the :func:`print` function, which, like all of Python's :ref:`built-in functions `, is available in Hy. All of Python's :ref:`binary and unary operators ` are available, too, although ``==`` is spelled ``=`` in deference to Lisp tradition. Here's how we'd use the addition operator ``+``:: (+ 1 3) This code returns ``4``. It's equivalent to ``1 + 3`` in Python and many other languages. Languages in the `Lisp `_ family, including Hy, use a prefix syntax: ``+``, just like ``print`` or ``sqrt``, appears before all of its arguments. The call is delimited by parentheses, but the opening parenthesis appears before the operator being called instead of after it, so instead of ``sqrt(2)``, we write ``(sqrt 2)``. Multiple arguments, such as the two integers in ``(+ 1 3)``, are separated by whitespace. Many operators, including ``+``, allow more than two arguments: ``(+ 1 2 3)`` is equivalent to ``1 + 2 + 3``. Here's a more complex example:: (- (* (+ 1 3 88) 2) 8) This code returns ``176``. Why? We can see the infix equivalent with the command ``echo "(- (* (+ 1 3 88) 2) 8)" | hy2py``, which returns the Python code corresponding to the given Hy code, or by passing the ``--spy`` option to Hy when starting the REPL, which shows the Python equivalent of each input line before the result. The infix equivalent in this case is: .. code-block:: python ((1 + 3 + 88) * 2) - 8 To evaluate this infix expression, you'd of course evaluate the innermost parenthesized expression first and work your way outwards. The same goes for Lisp. Here's what we'd get by evaluating the above Hy code one step at a time:: (- (* (+ 1 3 88) 2) 8) (- (* 92 2) 8) (- 184 8) 176 The basic unit of Lisp syntax, which is similar to a C or Python expression, is the **form**. ``92``, ``*``, and ``(* 92 2)`` are all forms. A Lisp program consists of a sequence of forms nested within forms. Forms are typically separated from each other by whitespace, but some forms, such as string literals (``"Hy, world!"``), can contain whitespace themselves. An **expression** is a form enclosed in parentheses; its first child form, called the **head**, determines what the expression does, and should generally be a function or macro. Functions are the most ordinary sort of head, whereas macros (described in more detail below) are functions executed at compile-time instead and return code to be executed at run-time. Comments start with a ``;`` character and continue till the end of the line. A comment is functionally equivalent to whitespace. :: (setv password "susan") ; My daughter's name Although ``#`` isn't a comment character in Hy, a Hy program can begin with a :ref:`shebang line `, which Hy itself will ignore:: #!/usr/bin/env hy (print "Make me executable, and run me!") Literals ======== Hy has :ref:`literal syntax ` for all of the same data types that Python does. Here's an example of Hy code for each type and the Python equivalent. ============== ================ ================= Hy Python Type ============== ================ ================= ``1`` ``1`` :class:`int` ``1.2`` ``1.2`` :class:`float` ``4j`` ``4j`` :class:`complex` ``True`` ``True`` :class:`bool` ``None`` ``None`` ``NoneType`` ``"hy"`` ``'hy'`` :class:`str` ``b"hy"`` ``b'hy'`` :class:`bytes` ``#(1 2 3)`` ``(1, 2, 3)`` :class:`tuple` ``[1 2 3]`` ``[1, 2, 3]`` :class:`list` ``#{1 2 3}`` ``{1, 2, 3}`` :class:`set` ``{1 2 3 4}`` ``{1: 2, 3: 4}`` :class:`dict` ============== ================ ================= The Hy REPL prints output in Hy syntax by default, with the function :hy:func:`hy.repr`:: => [1 2 3] [1 2 3] But if you start Hy like this:: $ hy --repl-output-fn=repr the REPL will use Python's native ``repr`` function instead, so you'll see values in Python syntax:: => [1 2 3] [1, 2, 3] Basic operations ================ Set variables with :hy:func:`setv`:: (setv zone-plane 8) Access the elements of a list, dictionary, or other data structure with :hy:func:`get `:: (setv fruit ["apple" "banana" "cantaloupe"]) (print (get fruit 0)) ; => apple (setv (get fruit 1) "durian") (print (get fruit 1)) ; => durian Access a range of elements in an ordered structure with :hy:func:`cut`:: (print (cut "abcdef" 1 4)) ; => bcd Conditional logic can be built with :hy:func:`if`:: (if (= 1 1) (print "Math works. The universe is safe.") (print "Math has failed. The universe is doomed.")) As in this example, ``if`` is called like ``(if CONDITION THEN ELSE)``. It executes and returns the form ``THEN`` if ``CONDITION`` is true (according to :class:`bool`) and ``ELSE`` otherwise. What if you want to use more than form in place of the ``THEN`` or ``ELSE`` clauses, or in place of ``CONDITION``, for that matter? Use the macro :hy:func:`do` (known more traditionally in Lisp as ``progn``), which combines several forms into one, returning the last:: (if (do (print "Let's check.") (= 1 1)) (do (print "Math works.") (print "The universe is safe.")) (do (print "Math has failed.") (print "The universe is doomed."))) For branching on more than one case, try :hy:func:`cond `:: (setv somevar 33) (cond (> somevar 50) (print "That variable is too big!") (< somevar 10) (print "That variable is too small!") True (print "That variable is jussssst right!")) The macro ``(when CONDITION THEN-1 THEN-2 …)`` is shorthand for ``(if CONDITION (do THEN-1 THEN-2 …) None)``. Hy's basic loops are :hy:func:`while` and :hy:func:`for`:: (setv x 3) (while (> x 0) (print x) (setv x (- x 1))) ; => 3 2 1 (for [x [1 2 3]] (print x)) ; => 1 2 3 A more functional way to iterate is provided by the comprehension forms such as :hy:func:`lfor`. Whereas ``for`` always returns ``None``, ``lfor`` returns a list with one element per iteration. :: (print (lfor x [1 2 3] (* x 2))) ; => [2, 4, 6] Functions, classes, and modules =============================== Define named functions with :hy:func:`defn`:: (defn fib [n] (if (< n 2) n (+ (fib (- n 1)) (fib (- n 2))))) (print (fib 8)) ; => 21 Define anonymous functions with :hy:func:`fn`:: (print (list (filter (fn [x] (% x 2)) (range 10)))) ; => [1, 3, 5, 7, 9] Special symbols in the parameter list of ``defn`` or ``fn`` allow you to indicate optional arguments, provide default values, and collect unlisted arguments:: (defn test [a b [c None] [d "x"] #* e] [a b c d e]) (print (test 1 2)) ; => [1, 2, None, 'x', ()] (print (test 1 2 3 4 5 6 7)) ; => [1, 2, 3, 4, (5, 6, 7)] Set a function parameter by name with a ``:keyword``:: (test 1 2 :d "y") ; => [1, 2, None, 'y', ()] Note that unlike Python, Hy doesn't always evaluate function arguments (or the items in a literal list, or the items in a literal dictionary, etc.) in the order they appear in the code. But you can always force a particular evaluation order with :hy:func:`do`, or with other macros that provide an implicit :hy:func:`do`, like :hy:func:`when` or :hy:func:`fn`. Define classes with :hy:func:`defclass`:: (defclass FooBar [] (defn __init__ [self x] (setv self.x x)) (defn get-x [self] self.x)) Here we create a new instance ``fb`` of ``FooBar`` and access its attributes by various means:: (setv fb (FooBar 15)) (print fb.x) ; => 15 (print (. fb x)) ; => 15 (print (.get-x fb)) ; => 15 (print (fb.get-x)) ; => 15 Note that syntax like ``fb.x`` and ``fb.get-x`` only works when the object being invoked (``fb``, in this case) is a simple variable name. To get an attribute or call a method of an arbitrary form ``FORM``, you must use the syntax ``(. FORM x)`` or ``(.get-x FORM)``. Access an external module, whether written in Python or Hy, with :hy:func:`import`:: (import math) (print (math.sqrt 2)) ; => 1.4142135623730951 Python can import a Hy module like any other module so long as Hy itself has been imported first, which, of course, must have already happened if you're running a Hy program. Macros ====== Macros are the basic metaprogramming tool of Lisp. A macro is a function that is called at compile time (i.e., when a Hy program is being translated to Python :mod:`ast` objects) and returns code, which becomes part of the final program. Here's a simple example:: (print "Executing") (defmacro m [] (print "Now for a slow computation") (setv x (% (** 10 10 7) 3)) (print "Done computing") x) (print "Value:" (m)) (print "Done executing") If you run this program twice in a row, you'll see this:: $ hy example.hy Now for a slow computation Done computing Executing Value: 1 Done executing $ hy example.hy Executing Value: 1 Done executing The slow computation is performed while compiling the program on its first invocation. Only after the whole program is compiled does normal execution begin from the top, printing "Executing". When the program is called a second time, it is run from the previously compiled bytecode, which is equivalent to simply:: (print "Executing") (print "Value:" 1) (print "Done executing") Our macro ``m`` has an especially simple return value, an integer, which at compile-time is converted to an integer literal. In general, macros can return arbitrary Hy forms to be executed as code. There are several helper macros that make it easy to construct forms programmatically, such as :hy:func:`quote` (``'``), :hy:func:`quasiquote` (`````), :hy:func:`unquote` (``~``), :hy:func:`unquote-splice` (``~@``), and :hy:func:`defmacro! `. The previous chapter has :ref:`a simple example ` of using ````` and ``~@`` to define a new control construct ``do-while``. What if you want to use a macro that's defined in a different module? ``import`` won't help, because it merely translates to a Python ``import`` statement that's executed at run-time, and macros are expanded at compile-time, that is, during the translation from Hy to Python. Instead, use :hy:func:`require `, which imports the module and makes macros available at compile-time. ``require`` uses the same syntax as ``import``. :: => (require tutorial.macros) => (tutorial.macros.rev (1 2 3 +)) 6 Hy also supports reader macros, which are similar to ordinary macros, but operate on raw source text rather than pre-parsed Hy forms. They can choose how much of the source code to consume after the point they are called, and return any code. Thus, reader macros can add entirely new syntax to Hy. For example, you could add a literal notation for Python's :class:`decimal.Decimal` class like so:: => (import decimal [Decimal] fractions [Fraction]) => (defreader d ... (.slurp-space &reader) ... `(Decimal ~(.read-ident &reader))) => (print (repr #d .1)) Decimal('0.1') => (print (Fraction #d .1)) 1/10 => ;; Contrast with the normal floating-point .1: => (print (Fraction .1)) 3602879701896397/36028797018963968 ``require`` can pull in a reader macro defined in a different module with syntax like ``(require mymodule :readers [d])``. Hyrule ====== `Hyrule `_ is Hy's standard utility library. It provides a variety of functions and macros that are useful for writing Hy programs. :: => (import hyrule [inc]) => (list (map inc [1 2 3])) [2 3 4] => (require hyrule [assoc]) => (setv d {}) => (assoc d "a" 1 "b" 2) => d {"a" 1 "b" 2} Next steps ========== You now know enough to be dangerous with Hy. You may now smile villainously and sneak off to your Hydeaway to do unspeakable things. Refer to Python's documentation for the details of Python semantics. In particular, :ref:`the Python tutorial ` can be helpful even if you have no interest in writing your own Python code, because it will introduce you to the semantics, and you'll need a reading knowledge of Python syntax to understand example code for Python libraries. Refer to the rest of this manual for Hy-specific features. Like Hy itself, the manual is incomplete, but :ref:`contributions ` are always welcome. Bear in mind that Hy is still unstable, and with each release along the way to Hy 1.0, there are new breaking changes. Refer to `the NEWS file `_ for how to update your code when you upgrade Hy, and be sure you're reading the version of this manual (shown at the top of each page) that matches the version of Hy you're running.