;; This code defines a ring data structure. A ring is a
;; (hd-index length . vector)
-;; list. You can insert to, remove from, and rotate a ring. When the ring
+;; list. You can insert to, remove from, and rotate a ring. When the ring
;; fills up, insertions cause the oldest elts to be quietly dropped.
;;
;; In ring-ref, 0 is the index of the newest element. Higher indexes
-;; correspond to older elements until they wrap.
+;; correspond to older elements; when the index equals the ring length,
+;; it wraps to the newest element again.
;;
-;; hd-index = index of the newest item on the ring.
-;; length = number of ring items.
+;; hd-index = vector index of the oldest ring item.
+;; Newer items follow this item; at the end of the vector,
+;; they wrap around to the start of the vector.
+;; length = number of items currently in the ring.
+;; This never exceeds the length of the vector itself.
;;
;; These functions are used by the input history mechanism, but they can
;; be used for other purposes as well.
(cons 0 (cons 0 (make-vector size nil))))
(defun ring-insert-at-beginning (ring item)
- "Add to RING the item ITEM. Add it at the front (the early end)."
+ "Add to RING the item ITEM. Add it at the front, as the oldest item."
(let* ((vec (cdr (cdr ring)))
(veclen (length vec))
(hd (car ring))
(setcar (cdr ring) ln)))
(defun ring-plus1 (index veclen)
- "INDEX+1, with wraparound"
+ "INDEX+1, with wraparound."
(let ((new-index (+ index 1)))
(if (= new-index veclen) 0 new-index)))
(defun ring-minus1 (index veclen)
- "INDEX-1, with wraparound"
+ "INDEX-1, with wraparound."
(- (if (= 0 index) veclen index) 1))
(defun ring-length (ring)
- "Number of elements in the ring."
+ "Number of elements in the ring RING."
(car (cdr ring)))
(defun ring-empty-p (ring)
(defun ring-ref (ring index)
"Returns RING's INDEX element.
+INDEX = 0 is the most recently inserted; higher indices
+correspond to older elements.
INDEX need not be <= the ring length, the appropriate modulo operation
-will be performed. Element 0 is the most recently inserted; higher indices
-correspond to older elements until they wrap."
+will be performed."
(if (ring-empty-p ring)
- (error "indexed empty ring")
+ (error "Accessing an empty ring")
(let* ((hd (car ring)) (ln (car (cdr ring))) (vec (cdr (cdr ring))))
(aref vec (ring-index index hd ln (length vec))))))