Reference › Containers — 66 commands
:container
Input: none
Output: none
A colon : indicates a container, with the name of the word following the colon. turtleSpaces 'resolves' a :container 'tag' into the value of that container when an instruction is executed, such that if the value of :container is 5, then forward :container becomes 'resolved' to forward 5, before the instruction is executed.
show :container
:=
Input: expression | expression
Output: none
Assigns the value of the second expression to the container name resolved by the first expression. See make for more details
So, for example, "frog := 5 puts the value 5 in the container named frog. However, :frog := 5 puts the value of 5 in the container named whatever is inside the container named frog.
"frog := "duck
:frog = 5
show :duck
5
buryname
Input: name or [list]
Output: none
Buries the provided container names.
buryname "container
cleardatabase
Input: database (word)
Output: none
Clears the given database. Unlike erasedatabase, the database is still defined. See newdatabase
cleardatabase "mydb
cleardictionary
Input: dictionary (word)
Output: none
Clears the given dictionary. Unlike erasedictionary, the dictionary is still defined. See enter, lookup, newdictionary, erasedictionary, dictionary, dictionaryp, copydictionary, savedictionary, loaddictionary
cleardictionary "mydict
copydatabase
Input: source | destination
Output: none
Copies a database with the name source to another database with the name destination. See database, newdatabase
copydatabase "from "to
copydictionary
Input: source | destination
Output: none
Copies a dictionary with the name source to another dictionary with the name destination. See dictionary, newdictionary
copydictionary "from "to
database
Input: databasename (word)
Output: contents
Outputs a list containing the contents of the specified database in the format [key1 [container1 [values] container2 [values]…] key2…] See newdatabase
show database "mydb
dequeue
Input: container
Output: item
Similar to pop, except removes the item from the end of the list. See pop
show dequeue "container
dictionary
Input: dictionary (word)
Output: list
Returns a list containing the contents of the given dictionary. See enter, lookup, erasedictionary, cleardictionary, newdictionary, dictionaryp, copydictionary, savedictionary, loaddictionary
show dictionary "mydict
edn
Input: containername (word)
Output: none
Inserts a make statement into the prompt containing the specified container name and its contents for editing.
edn "container
edns
Input: containername(s) (list)
Output: none
Opens the editor with a list of the provided containers and their contents, which are updated when the editor is exited.
edns [container1 container2]
enter
Input: dictionary (name) | key (name) | value (word or list)
Output: none
Associates the given value with the given key in the given dictionary. See newdictionary, lookup, erasedictionary, cleardictionary, dictionary, dictionaryp, copydictionary, savedictionary, loaddictionary
enter "mydict "stooges [moe larry curly]
enter "mydict "ducks 5
erasedatabase
Input: database (word)
Output: none
Erases the given database. Unlike cleardatabase, the database is no longer defined. See newdatabase
erasedatabase "mydb
erasedictionary
Input: dictionary (word)
Output: none
Erases the given dictionary. Unlike cleardictionary, the dictionary is no longer defined. See enter, lookup, newdictionary, cleardictionary, dictionary, dictionaryp, copydictionary, savedictionary, loaddictionary
erasedictionary "mydict
eraselocal
Input: container (word)
Output: none
Erases the named local container. See local
erase "localcontainer
erasename
Also: ern
Input: container (word)
Output: none
Erases the name off of a specified container (unallocating it), and empties its contents.
erasename "mycontainer
erasenames
Also: erns
Input: none
Output: none
Erases the names off of all the containers held by the turtle that calls it, and empties their contents
erasenames
eraseprivate
Input: container (word)
Output: none
Erases the named private container. See private
eraseprivate "privatecontainer
eraseshare
Input: container (word)
Output: none
Erases the specified shared container.
eraseshare "sharedcontainer
eraseshares
Input: none
Output: none
Erases all shared containers and their contents.
erprops
Input: none
Output: none
Erases all property lists.
erprops
get
Input: surname | container
Output: value
Returns the value of the specified container under the given surname. See setsurname, set
show get "jones "car
camry
global
Input: containername (word)
Output: none
Marks a specified container as a global container, one that is accessible by all procedures inside of a turtle. global converts any local or private container at the same level. To make a container accessible by multiple turtles, see share. To make a container accessible only inside a particular procedure see local and private.
global "mycontainer
gprop
Input: name | property
Output: value
Returns the value of the property in the named property list. See plist
show gprop "john "phone
in
Input: anything
Output: anything
in simply passes whatever is passed to it. It is useful in two main contexts: first, to improve the readability of the make alternative put, as in put 5 in "container; second, to retrieve the value of another turtle's container using query, as in query "myrtle [in :container].
pr query speedy [in :suspensions]
increment
Also: inc
Input: name (word)
Output: none
Increments the contents of the named container by one. Has no effect if the value of the container is not a number.
show "container
4
inc "container
show "container
5
inherit
Input: container (name)
Output: none
Travels back down the stack of procedures to find an instance of a container of the given name, and then creates a pointer to it at the local container level in the current procedure. This means that changes to this container will also change at the parent level.
inherit "mycontainer
listnames
Input: none
Output: none
Lists the calling turtle's global variables
listnamess
listshares
Input: none
Output: none
Prints the names of the currently shared containers, one per line. See share, shares, unshare
listshares
local
Input: word or list
Output: none
Changes the scope of the container(s) specified by the supplied word or list to local - that is, they are only accessible by the current procedure, and only while it is executing. To preserve the state of the container when the procedure is not executing, use private. See make
local "container
local [container1 container2]
lookup
Input: dictionary (name) | key (name)
Output: value(s)
Returns the values associated with the specified key within the specified dictionary. See enter, newdictionary, erasedictionary, cleardictionary, dictionary, dictionaryp, copydictionary, savedictionary, loaddictionary
show lookup "mydict "ducks
make
Input: name (word) | word, list, evaluated-list, expression or number, names (list) | list of words, numbers or lists
Output: none
Make creates a container (also known as a container) with the name specified by the first parameter, containing the item(s) specified or generated by the second parameter. It also works with lists of both the former and the latter (see examples), but if you want to assign the returns from advisers you will need to use a softlist {}. See name and put
make "container 5
print container
5
make "container [dog pig cow]
show "container
[dog pig cow]
make [ducks frogs pigs] [4 3 1]
show :ducks
4
show :frogs
3
make [x y z] {xpos ypos zpos}
make!
Input: name (word) | expression
Output: none
Contains a runtime-evaluated expression, or 'mutated' container. This allow expressions to be stored inside containers, and rather than being evaluated when stored, they are evaluated when recalled. A container that contains a REX may only contain a single REX and nothing else. See also name! and put!
make! "moo iterate (array 1 + random 10) ["moo]
pr :moo
make! "clock (se hours minutes seconds)
pr :clock
name
Input: number, word, phrase, list, expression or container | name (word)
Output: none
An alternative to make. Traditionally used for constants, eg name 3.14 "pi. See make, put
name 3.14 "pi
name!
Input: expression | name (word)
Output: none
Creates a mutated container, one whose expression is re-evaluated whenever it is accessed. See make!
name! (se hours minutes seconds) "clock
names
Input: none
Output: list
Returns a list of the defined containers (their names).
show names
newdatabase
Also: newdb
Input: name (word)
Output: none
Creates a new database. Databases store keys and containers. For more information, see store, retrieve. See also savedatabase, loaddatabase
newdatabase "animals
newdictionary
Input: name (word)
Output: none
Creates a special type of container called a dictionary. Dictionaries contain a list of 'name value pairs' – a series of containers. See enter, lookup, erasedictionary, cleardictionary, dictionary, dictionaryp, copydictionary, savedictionary, loaddictionary
newdictionary "mydict
nopersist
Input: "name
Output: none
Stops persisting the container or table "name and removes it from storage. The container itself is left in place; use erase to get rid of it. See persist
nopersist "score
persist
Input: "name
Output: none
Indicates that the container or table "name should be stored and updated with the project and with the browser session, and reloaded with both. Persisted containers survive reset and resetall, but not loading or creating another project. See nopersist, share
persist "score
plist
Input: propertylistname (word)
Output: propertylist (list)
Outputs the property list associated with the supplied name. Any word can have a property list associated with it – a list of 'properties' and their values. plist returns a list of these pairs sequentially: [property1 value1 property2 value2 etc.] See pprop
show plist "propertylist
pon
Input: container(s) (word or list)
Output: none
Prints out the name and value of the named container(s)
pon "container
pons
Input: none
Output: none
Prints out the names and values of every container in the workspace.
pons
pop
Input: container
Output: item
'Pops' the item at the front of the container and returns it, removing it from the contained word or list. Equivalent to: make "pop first :list make "list butfirst :list
See push
make "result pop "pushlist
pprop
Input: name | property | value
Output: none
Property lists are a special type of container that hold multiple property / value pairs. You can have a property list and a non-property list container with the same name.
pprop "addresses [Marty McFly] [9303 Lyon Drive, Lyon Estates, Hill Valley CA 95420]
pps
Input: none
Output: none
Prints the property list containers belonging to the calling turtle.
pps
private
Input: word
Output: none
Initialises a private container with the name provided. A private container is a container which only exists and whose value persists inside of a procedure. This allows you to construct a procedure that modifies and stores internal parameters without losing them when that procedure exits, and needing to store them in the turtle. See the examples.
TO test
if not namep "frog [private "frog make "frog 1 stop]
inc "frog
show :frog
END
TO test :switch
private "var
if :switch = "a [make "var 1]
if :switch = "b [inc "var show :var]
END
put
Input: input (number, word, phrase, list, primitive or container) | in | name (word)
Output: none
Another syntax for make used by some Logos. 'in' is a simple prmitive that forwards whatever is passed to it. See in
put 5 in "counter
put!
Input: expression | in | name (word)
Output: none
See make!
put! (se hours minutes seconds) in "clock
push
Input: item | container
Output: none
"Pushes" the item on to the front of the specified container, making it the first item, and pushing the rest of the items to the right. If the container contains a word, push pushes the item on to the start of the word. If the container contains a list, push pushes the item on to the front of the list. To pull the item out of the container, use pop. Also see queue and dequeue (which do similar but to the end of the container).
push "frog "animals
queue
Input: item | container
Output: none
Similar to push, except adds the provided item to the end of the container, appending it to the word or list inside it. See push
queue "item "container
remprop
Input: name | property
Output: none
Removes the given property from the named property list.
remprop "proplist "property
rename
Input: oldname | newname
Output: none
Renames a container.
rename "oldname "newname
retrieve
Input: database (word) | key (word)
Output: none
Restores the values of the containers stored in the given database under the given key using the store primitive. For example, if you stored the containers :ducks and :pigs under the key "animals, then retrieving "animals would restore the values of :ducks and :pigs to the values they had when they are stored. See newdatabase, store
retrieve "farm "livestock
(show :pigs :ducks :cows)
set
Input: surname | container | value
Output: none
Sets the contents of the named container in the named surname to the provided value. See setsurname, surname, get
set "jones "car "camry
setsurname
Input: "surname
Output: none
Used to select the 'surname', otherwise more commonly known as the 'container space', to use. All the containers (or variables) in turtleSpace have a surname, or family they belong to. Changing the surname allows you to use code containing single-dimension containers in different contexts (for example, different players) without having to modify it. You just set a different surname and run the code again. The default surname is "default
setsurname "player1
make "score 5
setsurname "player2
make "score 10
setsurname "player1
print :score
5
setvar
Input: turtle (word) | container (word) | value (word, number, list or boolean)
Output: none
Changes the contents of the container held by the specified turtle to the specified value. Technically bad form, but sometimes necessary.
setvar "myrtle "container 50
share
Input: "name
Output: none
Indicates that the container "name should be shared amongst all turtles. Sharing does not store the container: use persist to have it saved with the project or browser session. See persist
share "lives
shares
Input: none
Output: list
Returns a list of all the currently shared containers.
show shares
store
Input: database (name) | key (name) | container (name) OR [container1 container2…] (list)
Output: none
Inserts or updates a record in a database with the key name. Store stores container names and their contents, which can be restored later using the retrieve primitive. See newdatabase, retrieve
newdatabase "farm
make "pigs 5 make "cows 2 make "ducks 12
store "farm "livestock [pigs cows ducks]
surname
Input: none
Output: namespace (word)
Returns the surname of the current container (name) space. The default surname is 'default'. See setsurname.
print surname
default
swap
Input: container1 (word) | container2 (word)
Output: none
Exchanges the contents of two containers. Note that the name of the container is specified as a word, eg "container. See make
swap "container1 "container2
thing
Input: containername (word]
Output: output
Returns the contents of (the 'thing' in) the calling turtle's container of the provided container name. A longhand way of invoking the shortcut :container
show thing in "mycontainer
make "mycontainer thing in "mycontainer + 5
unburyname
Input: word or list
Output: none
Unburies the container(s) named in its input. See bury
unburyname "container
unshare
Input: name (word) or names (list)
Output: none
Unlike eraseshare which erases the share and its container, unshare changes the share back into a 'global' (turtle-internal) container.
unshare "container