/errors.65

.c This file is part of the Lisp Machine Manual.  -*-Bolio-*-
.c Error system.

.chapter Errors and Debugging
.cindex error system
.cindex handling errors
.setq error-chapter chapter-number

The first section of this chapter explains how programs
can handle errors, by means of condition handlers.  It also explains how
a program can signal an error if it detects something it doesn't like.

The second explains how users can handle errors, by means of an interactive debugger;
that is, it explains how to recover if you do something wrong.
A new user of the Lisp Machine, or someone who just wants to know how
to deal with errors and not how to cause them, should ignore the first
section and skip ahead to (debugger).

	The remaining sections describe some other debugging facilities.
Anyone who is going to be writing programs for the Lisp Machine should
familiarize himself with these.

	The 2trace* facility provides the ability to perform certain
actions at the time a function is called or at the time it returns.  The
actions may be simple typeout, or more sophisticated debugging functions.

	The 2advise* facility is a somewhat similar facility for modifying
the behavior of a function.

	The 2step* facility allows the evaluation of a form to be
intercepted at every step so that the user may examine just what is happening
throughout the execution of the form.

	The 2MAR* facility provides the ability to cause a trap
on any memory reference to a word (or a set of words) in memory.  If
something is getting clobbered by agents unknown, this can help track
down the source of the clobberage.

.section The Error System

.subsection Conditions
.cindex conditions
.setq condition section-page

	Programmers often want to control what action is taken by their
programs when errors or other exceptional situations occur.  Usually
different situations are handled in different ways, and in order to express
what kind of handling each situation should have, each situation
must have an associated name.  In Zetalisp there is the
concept of a 2condition*.  Every condition has a name, which is a
symbol.  When an unusual situation occurs, some condition is 2signalled*, and a
2handler* for that condition is invoked.

	When a condition is signalled, the system (essentially) searches
up the stack of nested function invocations looking for a handler
established to handle that condition.  The handler is a function which
gets called to deal with the condition.  The condition mechanism itself
is just a convenient way for finding an appropriate handler function
given the name of an exceptional situation.  On top of this is built the
error-condition system, which defines what arguments are passed to a
handler function and what is done with the values returned by a handler
function.  Almost all current use of the condition mechanism is for
errors, but the user may find other uses for the underlying mechanism.

.need 1000
.cindex signaller
.cindex signalling conditions
The search for an appropriate handler is done by the function 3signal*:

.defun signal condition-name &rest args
3signal* searches through all currently-established condition handlers,
starting with the most recent.  If it finds one that will handle
the condition 2condition-name*, then it calls that handler with a first argument
of 2condition-name*, and with 2args* as the rest of the arguments.
If the first value returned by the handler is 3nil*, 3signal*
will continue searching for another handler; otherwise,
it will return the first two values returned by the handler.
If 3signal* doesn't find any handler that returns a non-3nil*
value, it will return 3nil*.
.end_defun

.cindex condition handler
.cindex handling conditions

Condition handlers are established through the 3condition-bind* special form:

.defspec condition-bind
The 3condition-bind* special form is used for establishing handlers for conditions.
It looks like:
.lisp
(condition-bind ((2cond-1* 2hand-1*)
                 (2cond-2* 2hand-2*)
                 ...)
  2body*)
.end_lisp
Each 2cond-n* is either the name of a condition, or a list of names of conditions,
or 3nil*.  If it is 3nil*, a handler is set up for 2all* conditions
(this does not mean that the handler really has to handle all
conditions, but it will be offered the chance to do so, and can return
3nil* for conditions which it is not interested in).
Each 2hand-n* is a form which is evaluated to produce a handler function.
The handlers are established sequentially such that the 2cond-1*
handler would be looked at first.
.lisp
.exdent 96 Example:
(condition-bind ((:wrong-type-argument 'my-wta-handler)
                 ((lossage-1 lossage-2) lossage-handler))
    (princ "Hello there.")
    (= t 69))
.end_lisp
This first sets up the function 3my-wta-handler* to handle
the 3:wrong-type-argument* condition.  Then, it sets up the value
of the symbol 3lossage-handler* to handle both the 3lossage-1*
and 3lossage-2* conditions.  With these handlers set up, it prints out a message and
then runs headlong into a wrong-type-argument error by calling the
function 3=* with an argument which is not a number.
The condition handler 3my-wta-handler* will be given a chance to
handle the error.  3condition-bind*
makes use of ordinary variable binding, so that if the
3condition-bind* form is thrown through, the handlers will be
disestablished.  This also means that condition handlers are established
only within the current stack-group.
.end_defspec

.subsection Error Conditions

[This section is incorrect.  The mechanism by which errors are
signalled does not work.  It will be redesigned someday.]

The use of the condition mechanism by the error system defines an
additional protocol for what arguments are passed to error-condition
handlers and what values they may return.

There are basically four possible responses to an error: 2proceeding*,
2restarting*, 2throwing*, or entering the 2debugger*.
The default action, taken if no handler exists or deigns to handle
the error (returns non-3nil*), is to enter the debugger.
A handler may give up on the execution that produced the error by
throwing (see 3*throw*, (*throw-fun)).  2Proceeding* means to
repair the error and continue execution.  The exact meaning of this
depends on the particular error, but it generally takes the form of
supplying a replacement for an unacceptable argument to some function,
and retrying the invocation of that function.  2Restarting* means
throwing to a special standard catch-tag, 3error-restart*.  Handlers
cause proceeding and restarting by returning certain special values,
described below.

	Each error condition is signalled with some parameters, the meanings of which
depend on the condition.  For example, the condition 3:unbound-variable*,
which means that something tried to find the value of a symbol which was unbound,
is signalled with at least one parameter, the unbound symbol.  It is always
all right to signal an error condition with extra parameters beyond those whose
meanings are defined by the condition.

	An error condition handler is applied to several arguments.  The first
argument is the name of the condition that was signalled (a symbol).
This allows the same function to handle several different conditions,
which is useful if the handling of those conditions is very similar.
(The first argument is also the name of the condition for non-error conditions.)
The second argument is a 3format* control string (see the description
of 3format*, on (format-fun)).  The third argument
is 3t* if the error is 2proceedable*; otherwise it is 3nil*.  The
fourth argument is 3t* if the error is 2restartable*; otherwise it
is 3nil*.
The fifth argument is the name of the function that signalled the
error, or 3nil* if the signaller can't figure out the correct name to pass.
The rest of the arguments are the parameters with which the condition was signalled.
If the 3format* control string is used with these parameters,
a readable English message should be produced.  Since more
information than just the parameters might be needed to print a reasonable
message, the program signalling the condition is free to pass any extra
parameters it wants to, after the parameters which the condition is 2defined*
to take.  This means that every handler must expect to be called
with an arbitrarily high number of arguments, so every handler should
have a 3&rest* argument (see (&rest)).

	An error condition handler may return any of several values.  If it
returns 3nil*, then it is stating that it does not wish to handle
the condition after all; the process of signalling will continue
looking for a prior handler (established farther down on the stack) as
if the handler which returned 3nil* had not existed at all.
(This is also true for non-error conditions.)
If the handler does wish to handle the condition, it can try to
proceed from the error if it is proceedable, or restart from it if it
is restartable, or it can throw to a catch tag.
Proceeding and restarting are done by returning two values.  The first value
is one of the following symbols:
.table 3
.item :return
If the error was signalled by calling 3cerror*, the second value is returned
as the value of 3cerror*.  If the error was signalled by calling 3ferror*,
proceeding is not allowed.  If the error was detected by the Lisp system, the
error will be proceeded from, using the second value if a data object is needed.
For example, for an 3:undefined-function* error, the handler's second value will
be used as the function to be called, in place of the non-existent function definition.

.item eh:return-value
If the error was signalled by calling 3ferror* or 3cerror*, the second value
is returned from that function, regardless of whether the error was proceedable.
If the error was detected by the Lisp system, the second value is returned as the
result of the function in which the error was detected.  It should be obvious
that 3:return-value* allows you to do things that are totally unanticipated by
the program that got the error.

.item :error-restart
The second value is thrown to the catch tag 3error-restart*.
.end_table
The condition handler must not return any other sort of values.  However,
it can legitimately throw to any tag instead of returning at all.
If a handler tries to proceed an unproceedable error or
restart an unrestartable one, an error is signalled.

	Note that if the handler returns 3nil*, it is not said to have
handled the error; rather, it has decided not to handle it, but to "continue to signal"
it so that someone else may handle it.  If an error is signalled
and none of the handlers for the condition decide to handle it, the
debugger is entered.

	Here is an example of an excessively simple handler for the 3:wrong-type-argument*
condition.

[Note that this code does not work in system 56.]

.lisp
;;; This function handles the :wrong-type-argument condition,
;;; which takes two defined parameters: a symbol indicating
;;; the correct type, and the bad value.
(defun sample-wta-handler (condition control-string
			   proceedable-flag restartable-flag
			   function correct-type bad-value
			   &rest rest)
 (prog ()
   (format error-output "~%There was an error in ~S~%" function)
   (lexpr-funcall (function format) error-output
		  control-string correct-type bad-value rest)
   (cond ((and proceedable-flag
	       (yes-or-no-p "Do you want use nil instead?"))
	  (return 'return nil))
	 (t (return nil))))) ;don't handle
.end_lisp

If an error condition reaches the error handler, the 3RESUME* (or control-C) command may be
used to continue from it.  If the condition name has a 3eh:proceed* property,
that property is called as a function with two arguments, the stack-group and
the "ete" (an internal error-handler data structure).  Usually it will ignore
these arguments.  If this function returns, its value will be returned from the
3ferror* or 3cerror* that signalled the condition.  If no such property
exists, the error-handler asks the user for a form, evaluates it, and causes
3ferror* or 3cerror* to return that value.  Putting such a property on can
be used to change the prompt for this form, avoid asking the user, or change
things in more far-reaching ways.

.subsection Signalling Errors
.cindex signalling errors

	Some error conditions are signalled by the Lisp system when it detects
that something has gone wrong.  Lisp programs can also signal errors,
by using any of the functions 3ferror*, 3cerror*, or 3error*.
3ferror* is the most commonly used of these.  3cerror* is used
if the signaller of the error wishes to make the error be 2proceedable*
or 2restartable*, or both.  3error* is provided for Maclisp compatibility.

	A 3ferror* or 3cerror* that doesn't have any particular
condition to signal should use 3nil* as the condition name.  The
only kind of handler that will be invoked by the signaller in this case is the kind
that handles 2all* conditions, such as is set up by
.lisp
(condition-bind ((nil 2something*) ...) ...)
.end_lisp
In practice, the 3nil* condition is used a great deal.
.cindex nil, used as a condition name

.defun ferror condition-name control-string &rest params
3ferror* signals the error condition 2condition-name*.  The associated error
message is obtained by calling 3format* (see (format)) on 2control-string*
and 2params*.  The error is neither proceedable nor restartable, so 3ferror*
will not return unless the user forces it to by intervening with the debugger.
In most cases 2condition-name* is 3nil*, which means that no condition-handler
is likely to be found and the debugger will be entered.

.lisp
.exdent 96 Examples:
(cond ((> sz 60)
       (ferror nil
	       "The size, ~S, was greater than the maximum"
	       sz))
      (t (foo sz)))

(defun func (a b)
   (cond ((and (> a 3) (not (symbolp b)))
          (ferror ':wrong-type-argument
                  "The name, ~1G~S, must be a symbol"
                  'symbolp
                  b))
         (t (func-internal a b))))
.end_lisp

If the error is not handled and the debugger is entered, the error message is printed by
calling 3format* with 2control-string* as the control string and the elements of
2params* as the additional arguments.  Alternatively, the formatted output functions
((format:outfmt-fun)) can be used to generate the error message:

.lisp
(ferror nil
  (format:outfmt "Frob has "
		 (format:plural (format:onum n-elts)
				" element")
		 " which is too few"))
.end_lisp
In this case 2params* are not used for printing the error message, and often none are
needed.  They may still be useful as information for condition handlers, and those that a
condition is documented to expect should always be supplied.
.end_defun

.defun cerror proceedable-flag restartable-flag condition-name control-string &rest params
3cerror* is just like 3ferror* (see above) except for
2proceedable-flag* and 2restartable-flag*.  If 3cerror* is called with a
non-3nil* 2proceedable-flag*, the caller should be prepared
to accept the returned value of 3cerror* and use it to retry the
operation that failed.  Similarly, if he passes 3cerror* a non-3nil* 2restartable-flag*,
he should be sure that there is a 3*catch* above him for the tag 3error-restart*.

If 2proceedable-flag* is 3t* and the error goes to the debugger, if the
user says to proceed from the error he will be asked for a replacement object
which 3cerror* will return.  If 2proceedable-flag* is not 3t* and not
3nil*, the user will not be asked for a replacement object and 3cerror*
will return no particular value when the error is proceeded.

Note:  Many programs that want to signal restartable errors will want to use
the 3error-restart* special form; see (error-restart-fun).
.lisp
.exdent 96 Example:
(do ()
    ((symbolp a))
  1; Do this stuff until *a1 becomes a symbol.*
  (setq a (cerror t nil ':wrong-type-argument
	   "The argument ~2G~A was ~1G~S, which is not ~3G~A"
	   'symbolp a 'a "a symbol")))
.end_lisp
Note: the form in this example is so useful that there is a standard
special form to do it, called 3check-arg* (see (check-arg-fun)).
.end_defun

.defun error message &optional object interrupt
3error* is provided for Maclisp compatibility.  In Maclisp,
the functionality of 3error* is, essentially, that 2message*
gets printed, preceeded by 2object* if present, and that
2interrupt*, if present, is a user interrupt channel to be invoked.

	In order to fit this definition into Zetalisp way of handling
errors, 3error* is defined to be:
.lisp
(cerror (not (null 2interrupt*))
        nil
        (or (get 2interrupt* 'eh:condition-name)
            2interrupt*)
        (if (missing? 2object*) ;1If no 3object* given*
	    "~*~A"
	    "~S ~A")
        2object*
        2message*)
.end_lisp

	Here is what that means in English: first of all, the condition
to be signalled is 3nil* if 2interrupt* is 3nil*.  If there is some
condition whose meaning is close to that of one of the Maclisp user interrupt
channels, the name of that channel has an 3eh:condition-name* property,
and the value of that property is the name of the condition to signal.
Otherwise, 2interrupt* is the name of the condition to signal; probably
there will be no handler and the debugger will be entered.

	If 2interrupt* is specified, the error will be proceedable.
The error will not be restartable.  The 3format* control string
and the arguments are chosen so that the right error message gets printed,
and the handler is passed everything there is to pass.
.end_defun

.defmac error-restart body...
3error-restart* is useful for denoting a section of a program
that can be restarted if certain errors occur during its execution.
The forms of the body are evaluated sequentially.  If an error occurs
within the evaluation of the body and is restarted (by a condition handler
or the debugger), the evaluation resumes at the beginning of the 3error-restart*'s
body.  The only way a restartable error can occur is if 3cerror* is called
with a second argument of 3t*.
.lisp
1Example:*
(error-restart
  (setq a (* b d))
  (cond ((> a maxtemp)
         (cerror nil t 'overheat
	    "The frammistat will overheat by ~D. degrees!"
	    (- a maxtemp))))
  (setq q (cons a a)))
.end_lisp
If the 3cerror* happens, and the handler invoked (or the debugger) restarts
the error, then evaluation will continue with the 3(setq a (* b d))*,
and the condition 3(> a maxtemp)* will get checked again.

.lisp
13error-restart* is implemented as a macro that expands into:*
(prog ()
 loop (*catch 'error-restart
              (return (progn
                         2form-1*
                         2form-2*
                         2...*)))
      (go loop))
.end_lisp
.end_defmac

.defmac check-arg var-name predicate description [type-symbol]
'cindex argument checking
The 3check-arg* form is useful for checking arguments
to make sure that they are valid.  A simple example is:
.lisp
(check-arg foo stringp "a string")
.end_lisp
3foo* is the name of an argument whose value should be a string.
3stringp* is a predicate of one argument, which returns 3t*
if the argument is a string.  3"a string"* is an English description
of the correct type for the variable.

The general form of 3check-arg* is
.lisp
(check-arg 2var-name*
           2predicate*
           2description*
	   2type-symbol*)
.end_lisp
2var-name* is the name of the variable
whose value is of the wrong type.  If the error is proceeded this variable will
be 3setq*'ed to a replacement value.  2predicate* is a test for whether the
variable is of the correct type.  It can be either a symbol whose function definition
takes one argument and returns non-3nil* if the type is correct, or it can be a non-atomic
form which is evaluated to check the type, and presumably contains a reference to
the variable 2var-name*.  2description* is a string which expresses 2predicate*
in English, to be used in error messages.  2type-symbol* is a symbol which
is used by condition handlers to determine what type of argument was expected.
It may be omitted if it is to be the same as 2predicate*, which must be a symbol
in that case.

The use of the 2type-symbol* is not really well-defined yet, but the intention
is that if it is 3numberp* (for example), the
condition handlers can tell that a number was needed, and might try to
convert the actual supplied value to a number and proceed.

[We need to establish a conventional way of "registering" the
type-symbols to be used for various expected types.  It might as well
be in the form of a table right here.]

The 2predicate* is usually a symbol such as 3fixp*, 3stringp*,
3listp*, or 3closurep*, but when there isn't any convenient predefined
predicate, or when the condition is complex, it can be a form.  In this case
you should supply a 2type-symbol* which encodes the type.  For example:
.lisp
(check-arg a
           (and (numberp a) ( a 10.) (> a 0.))
           "a number from one to ten"
           one-to-ten)
.end_lisp
If this error got to the debugger, the message
.lisp
The argument a was 17, which is not a number from one to ten.
.end_lisp
would be printed.

In general, what constitutes a valid argument is specified in three
ways in a 3check-arg*.  2description* is human-understandable,
2type-symbol* is program-understandable, and 2predicate* is
executable.  It is up to the user to ensure that these three
specifications agree.

3check-arg* uses 2predicate* to determine
whether the value of the variable is of the correct type.  If it is not,
3check-arg* signals the 3:wrong-type-argument* condition, with four
parameters.  First, 2type-symbol* if it was supplied, or else 2predicate*
if it was atomic, or else 3nil*.  Second, the bad value.
Third, the name of the argument (2var-name*).
Fourth, a string describing the proper type (2description*).
If the error is proceeded, the variable is set to the value returned,
and 3check-arg* starts over, checking the type again.
Note that only the first two of these parameters are defined for
the 3:wrong-type-argument* condition, and so 3:wrong-type-argument*
handlers should only depend on the meaning of these two.
.end_defmac

.defmac check-arg-type var-name type-name [description]
This is a useful variant of the 3check-arg* form.  A simple example
is:
.lisp
(check-arg foo :number)
.end_lisp
3foo* is the name of an argument whose value should be a number.
3:number* is a value which is passed as a second argument to 3typep*
(see (typep-fun)); that is, it is a symbol that specifies a data type.
The English form of the type name, which gets put into the error message,
is found automatically.

The general form of 3check-arg-type* is:
.lisp
(check-arg-type 2var-name*
                2type-name*
                2description*)
.end_lisp
2var-name* is the name of the variable whose value is of the wrong
type.  If the error is proceeded this variable will be 3setq*'ed to a
replacement value.  2type-name* describes the type which the
variable's value ought to have.  It can be exactly those things
acceptable as the second argument to 3typep*.  2description* is a
string which expresses 2predicate* in English, to be used in error
messages.  It is optional.  If it is omitted, and 2type-name* is one
of the keywords accepted by 3:typep*, which describes a basic Lisp
data type, then the right 2description* will be provided correctly.
If it is omitted and 2type-name* describes some other data type, then
the description will be the word "a" followed by the printed
representation of 2type-name* in lower-case.
.end_defmac

.subsection Standard Condition Names

	Some condition names are used by the kernel Lisp system, and are
documented below; since they are of global interest, they are on
the keyword package.  Programs outside the kernel system are free
to define their own condition names; it is intended that the
description of a function include a description of any conditions
that it may signal, so that people writing programs that call
that function may handle the condition if they desire.  When you
decide what package your condition names should be in, you should
apply the same criteria you would apply for determining which package
a function name should be in; if a program
defines its own condition names, they should 2not* be on the
keyword package. For example, the condition names 3chaos:bad-packet-format*
and 3arpa:bad-packet-format* should be distinct.  For further
discussion, see (package).

	The following table lists all standard conditions and the
parameters they take; more will be added in the future.
These are all error-conditions, so in addition to the condition name
and the parameters, the handler receives the other arguments described above.

.table 3
.item :wrong-type-argument  2type-name*  2value*
2value* is the offending argument, and 2type-name* is
a symbol for what type is required.  Often, 2type-name*
is a predicate which returns non-3nil* if applied to an acceptable value.
If the error is proceeded, the value returned by the handler
should be a new value for the argument to be used instead of
the one which was of the wrong type.

.item :inconsistent-arguments  2list-of-inconsistent-argument-values*
These arguments were inconsistent with each other, but the fault
does not belong to any particular one of them.
This is a catch-all, and it would be good to identify subcases
in which a more specific categorization can be made.
If the error is proceeded, the value returned by the
handler will be returned by the function whose arguments were inconsistent.

.item :wrong-number-of-arguments  2function*  2number-of-args-supplied*  2list-of-args-supplied*
2function* was invoked with the wrong number of arguments.
The elements of 2list-of-args-supplied* have already been evaluated.
If the error is proceeded, the value returned should be
a value to be returned by 2function*.

.item :invalid-function  2function-name*
The name had a function definition but it was no good for calling.
You can proceed, supplying a value to return as the value of the
call to the function.

.item :invalid-form  2form*
The so-called 2form* was not a meaningful form for 3eval*.
Probably it was of a bad data type.
If the error is proceeded, the value returned
should be a new form; 3eval* will use it instead.

.item :undefined-function  2function-name*
The symbol 2function-name* was not defined as a function.
If the error is proceeded, then the value returned will be used instead
of the (non-existent) definition of 2function-name*.

.item :unbound-variable  2variable-name*
The symbol 2variable-name* had no value.
If the error is proceeded, then the value returned will be used instead
of the (non-existent) value of 2variable-name*.
.end_table

.subsection "Errset"

As in Maclisp, there is an 3errset* facility which allows a very simple
form of error handling.  If an error occurs inside an errset, and no condition
handler handles it, i.e. the debugger would be entered, control is
returned (2thrown*) to the errset.  The errset can control whether or
not the debugger's error message is printed.  All errors are caught by
3errset*, whether they are signalled by 3ferror*, 3cerror*, 3error*,
or the Lisp system itself.

	A problem with 3errset* is that it is 2too* powerful;
it will apply to any unhandled error at all.  If you are writing code
that anticipates some specific error, you should find out what condition
that error signals and set up a handler.  If you use 3errset* and
some unanticipated error crops up, you may not be told--this can cause
very strange bugs.  Note that the variable 3errset* allows all 3errset*s
to be disabled for debugging purposes.

.defspec errset form [flag]
The 3errset* special form catches errors during
the evaluation of 2form*.  If an error occurs, the usual error message
is printed unless 2flag* is 3nil*.  Then control is thrown and the errset-form
returns 3nil*.  2flag* is evaluated first and is optional, defaulting to 3t*.
If no error occurs, the value of the errset-form is a list of one element,
the value of 2form*.
.end_defspec

.defspec catch-error form [flag]
3catch-error* is a variant of 3errset*.  This special form
catches errors during the evaluation of
2form*, and returns two values.  Normally the first value is the value of
2form* and the second value is 3nil*.  If an error occurs, the usual
error message is printed unless 2flag* is 3nil*, and then control is thrown
out of the 3catch-error* form, which returns two values: first 3nil* and second a
non-3nil* value that indicates the occurrence of an error.  2flag* is
evaluated first and is optional, defaulting to 3t*.
.end_defspec

.defvar errset
If this variable is non-3nil*, 3errset* forms are not allowed to trap errors.
The debugger is entered just as if there were no errset.  This is intended mainly
for debugging.  The initial value of 3errset* is 3nil*.
.end_defvar

.defspec err
This is for Maclisp compatibility only and should not be used.

3(err)* is a dumb way to cause an error.  If executed inside an errset,
that errset returns 3nil*, and no message is printed.
Otherwise an unseen throw-tag error occurs.

3(err 2form*)* evaluates 2form* and causes the containing errset
to return the result.  If executed when not inside an errset, an unseen
throw-tag error occurs.

3(err 2form* 2flag*)*, which exists in Maclisp, is not supported.
.end_defspec

.section The Debugger
.cindex debugger
.setq debugger section-page

	When an error condition is signalled and no handlers decide to
handle the error, an interactive debugger is entered to allow the user to
look around and see what went wrong, and to help him continue the program
or abort it.  This section describes how to use the debugger.

.subsection Entering the Debugger

	There are two kinds of errors; those generated by the Lisp Machine's
microcode, and those generated by Lisp programs (by using 3ferror* or
related functions).  When there
is a microcode error, the debugger prints out a message such as the following:
.lisp
>>TRAP 5543 (TRANS-TRAP)
The symbol FOOBAR is unbound.
While in the function *EVAL  SI:LISP-TOP-LEVEL1
.end_lisp

	The first line of this error message indicates entry to
the debugger and contains some mysterious internal microcode information:
the micro program address, the microcode trap name and parameters, and a microcode backtrace.
Users can ignore this line in most cases.  The second line contains a description
of the error in English.  The third line indicates where the error
happened by printing a very abbreviated "backtrace" of the stack (see
below); in the example, it is saying that the error was signalled inside the
function 3*eval*, which was called by 3si:lisp-top-level1*.

	Here is an example of an error from Lisp code:
.lisp
>>ERROR: The argument X was 1, which is not a symbol,
While in the function FOO  *EVAL  SI:LISP-TOP-LEVEL1
.end_lisp

	Here the first line contains the English description of the
error message, and the second line contains the abbreviated backtrace.
3foo* signalled the error by calling 3ferror*, however 3ferror*
is censored out of the backtrace.

	After the debugger's initial message it prints the function that
got the error and its arguments.

	The debugger can be manually entered either by causing an error
(e.g. by typing a ridiculous symbol name such as 3ahsdgf* at the Lisp
read-eval-print loop) or by typing the 3BREAK* key with the 3META* shift
held down while the program is reading from the terminal.  Typing the 3BREAK*
key with both 3CONTROL* and 3META* held down will force the program
into the debugger immediately, even if it is running.  If the 3BREAK*
key is typed without 3META*, it puts you into a read-eval-print loop
using the 3break* function (see (break-fun)) rather into the debugger.

.defun eh process
Stops 2process* and calls the debugger on it so that you can look at its
current state.  Exit the debugger with the Control-Z command and 3eh*
will release the process and return.  2process* can be a window, in which
case the window's process will be used.

If 2process* is not a process but a stack group, the current state of the
stack group will be examined.  The caller should ensure that no one tries
to resume that stack group while the debugger is looking at it.
.end_defun

.subsection How to Use the Debugger

	Once inside the debugger, the user may give a wide variety
of commands.  This section describes how to give the commands, and then
explains them in approximate order of usefulness.  A summary is provided
at the end of the listing.

	When the error hander is waiting for a command, it prompts
with an arrow:

.lisp

.end_lisp

At this point, you may either type in a Lisp expression, or type a
command (a Control or Meta character is interpreted as a command,
whereas most normal characters are interpreted as the first character of
an expression).  If you type the 3HELP* key or the 3?* key, you will
get some introductory help with the error handler.

If you type a Lisp expression, it will be interpreted as a Lisp form,
and will be evaluated in the context of the function which got the
error.  That is, all bindings which were in effect at the time of the
error will be in effect when your form is evaluated, with certain
exceptions explained below.  The result of the evaluation will be
printed, and the debugger will prompt again with an arrow.  If, during
the typing of the form, you change your mind and want to get back to the
debugger's command level, type the 3ABORT* key or a Control-G; the debugger will respond
with an arrow prompt.  In fact, at any time that typein is expected from
you, while you are in the debugger, you may type 3ABORT* or Control-G to flush
what you are doing and get back to command level.  This
3read-eval-print* loop maintains the values of 3+*, 3**, and
3-* just as the top-level one does.

If an error occurs in the evaluation of the Lisp expression you type,
you will get into a second error handler looking at the new error.  You
can abort the computation and get back to the first error by typing the
3ABORT* key (see below).  However, if the error is trivial the abort
will be done automatically and the original error message will be reprinted.

Various debugger commands ask for Lisp objects, such as an
object to return, or the name of a catch-tag.  Whenever it tries to get
a Lisp object from you, it expects you to type in a 2form*; it will
evaluate what you type in.  This provides greater generality, since
there are objects to which you might want to refer that cannot be
typed in (such as arrays).  If the form you type is non-trivial (not
just a constant form), the debugger will show you the result of
the evaluation, and ask you if it is what you intended.  It expects a Y
or N answer (see the function 3y-or-n-p*, (y-or-n-p-fun)), and if you answer negatively
it will ask you for another form.  To quit out of the command, just type
3ABORT* or Control-G.

When the debugger evaluates a form, the variable bindings at the point of error
are in effect with the following exceptions:

3terminal-io* is rebound to the stream the error handler is using.  3eh:old-terminal-io*
is bound to the value 3terminal-io* had at the point of error.

3standard-input* and 3standard-output* are rebound to be synonymous with
3terminal-io*; their old bindings are saved in 3eh:old-standard-input*
and 3eh:old-standard-output*.

3+* and 3** are rebound to the error handler's previous form and previous value.
When the debugger is first entered, 3+* is the last form typed, which is typically
the one that caused the error, and 3** is the value of the 2previous* form.

3evalhook* (see (evalhook-var)) is rebound to 3nil*, turning off
the 3step* facility if it had been in use when the error occurred.

Note that the variable bindings are those in effect at the point of
error, 2not* those of the current frame being looked at.  This may be
changed in the future.

.subsection "Debugger Commands"

All debugger commands are single characters, usually with the Control or
Meta bits.  The single most useful command is 3ABORT* (or Control-Z),
which exits from the debugger and throws out of the computation that got
the error.  This is the 3ABORT* key, not a 5-letter command.  ITS
users should note that Control-Z is not 3CALL*.  Often you are not
interested in using the debugger at all and just want to get back to
Lisp top level; so you can do this in one character.  

The 3ABORT* command returns control to the most recent read-eval-print loop.
This can be Lisp top level, a 3break*, or the debugger command loop
associated with another error.  Typing 3ABORT* multiple times will throw
back to successively older read-eval-print or command loops until top level
is reached.  Typing Control-Meta-3ABORT*, on the other hand, will always throw
to top level.  Control-Meta-3ABORT* is not a debugger command, but a system
command which is always available no matter what program you are in.

Note that typing 3ABORT* in the middle of typing a form to be evaluated
by the debugger aborts that form, and returns to the debugger's command level,
while typing 3ABORT* as a debugger command returns out of the debugger
and the erring program, to the 2previous* command level.

Self-documentation is provided by the 3HELP* or 3?* command,
which types out some documentation on the debugger commands, including any
special commands which apply to the particular error currently being handled.

Often you want to try to proceed from the error.  To do this,
use the 3RESUME* (or Control-C) command.  The exact way 3RESUME* works depends on
the kind of error that happened.  For some errors, there is no standard
way to proceed at all, and 3RESUME* will just tell you this and
return to the debugger's command level.  For the very common "unbound variable" error,
it will get a Lisp object from you, which will be used in place of the (nonexistent) value
of the symbol.  For unbound-variable or undefined-function
errors, you can also just type Lisp forms to set the variable or define
the function, and then type 3RESUME*; it will proceed without asking
anything.

The debugger knows about a "current stack frame", and there
are several commands which use it.  The initially "current" stack frame
is the one which signalled the error; either the one which got the microcode-detected
error, or the one which called 3ferror*, 3cerror*, or 3error*.
When the debugger starts it up it shows you this frame in the following format:
.lisp
FOO:
   Arg 0 (X): 13
   Arg 1 (Y): 1
.end_lisp
and so on.  This means that 3foo* was called
with two arguments, whose names (in the Lisp source code) are 3x* and 3y*.
The current values of 3x* and 3y* are 313* and 31* respectively.  These
may not be the original arguments if 3foo* happens to 3setq* its argument variables.

The 3CLEAR-SCREEN* (or Control-L) command clears the screen, retypes
the error message that was initially printed when the debugger was
entered, and then prints out a description of the current frame, in the
above format.

Several commands are provided to allow you to examine the Lisp control
stack and to make other frames current than the one which got the error.
The control stack (or "regular pdl") keeps a record of all functions which are currently
active.  If you call 3foo* at Lisp's top level, and it calls 3bar*,
which in turn calls 3baz*, and 3baz* gets an error, then a
backtrace (a backwards trace of the stack) would show all of this
information.  The debugger has two backtrace commands.  Control-B
simply prints out the names of the functions on the stack; in the above
example it would print
.lisp
BAZ  BAR  FOO  SI:*EVAL  SI:LISP-TOP-LEVEL1  SI:LISP-TOP-LEVEL
.end_lisp
The arrows indicate the direction of calling.  The Meta-B command prints
a more extensive backtrace, indicating the names of the arguments to the functions
and their current values; for the example above it might look like:
.lisp
BAZ:
   Arg 0 (X): 13
   Arg 1 (Y): 1

BAR:
   Arg 0 (ADDEND): 13

FOO:
   Arg 0 (FROB): (A B C . D)
.end_lisp
and so on.

The Control-N command moves "down" to the "next" frame (that is, it
changes the current frame to be the frame which called it), and prints
out the frame in this same format.  Control-P moves "up" to the
"previous" frame (the one which this one called), and prints out the
frame in the same format.  Meta-< moves to the top of the stack, and
Meta-> to the bottom; both print out the new current frame.  Control-S
asks you for a string, and searches the stack for a frame whose
executing function's name contains that string.  That frame becomes
current and is printed out.  These commands are easy to remember since
they are analogous to editor commands.

Meta-L prints out the current frame in "full screen" format, which shows
the arguments and their values, the local variables and their values,
and the machine code with an arrow pointing to the next instruction to
be executed.  Refer to (understanding-compiled-code) for help in reading
this machine code.

Meta-N moves to the next frame and prints it out in
full-screen format, and Meta-P moves to the previous frame and prints it
out in full-screen format.  Meta-S is like Control-S but does a
full-screen display.

Commands such as Control-N and Meta-N, which are meaningful to repeat,
take a prefix numeric argument and repeat that many types.  The numeric argument
is typed by using Control- or Meta- and the number keys, as in the editor.

Control-E puts you into the editor, looking at the source code for the
function in the current frame.  This is useful when you have found a function
which caused the error and needs to be fixed.  The editor command Control-Z
will return to the error handler, if it is still there.

Meta-C is similar to Control-C, but in the case of an unbound variable or undefined
function, actually 3setq*s the variable or defines the function, so that the error
will not happen again.  Control-C (or 3RESUME*) provides a replacement value
but does not actually change the variable.

Control-R is used to return a value from the current frame; the frame
that called that frame continues running as if the function of the current frame
had returned.  This command prompts you for a form, which it will evaluate;
it returns the resulting value, possibly after confirming it with you.

The Control-T command does a 3*throw* to a given tag with a given value; you
are prompted for the tag and the value.

Control-Meta-R is a variation of Control-R; it starts the current frame over with
the same function and arguments.  If the function has been redefined in the meantime
(perhaps you edited it and fixed its bug) the new definition is used.  Control-Meta-R
asks for confirmation before doing it.

The Control-Meta-N, Control-Meta-P, and Control-Meta-B commands are
like the corresponding Control- commands but don't censor the stack.
When running interpreted code, the error handler usually tries to skip
over frames that belong to functions of the interpreter, such as
3*eval*, 3prog*, and 3cond*, and only show "interesting"
functions.  Control-Meta-N, Control-Meta-P, and Control-Meta-B show
everything.  They also show frames that are not yet active; that is,
frames whose arguments are still being computed for functions that are
going to be called.  The Control-Meta-U command goes up the stack
to the next interesting function, and makes that the current frame.

Control-Meta-A takes a numeric argument 2n*, and prints out
the value of the 2n*th argument of the current frame.  It leaves 3**
set to the value of the argument, so that you can use the Lisp 3read-eval-print*
loop to examine it.  It also leaves 3+* set to a locative pointing to the
argument on the stack, so that you can change that argument (by calling
3rplacd* on the locative).  Control-Meta-L is similar,
but refers to the 2n*th local variable of the frame.  Control-Meta-F is similar
but refers to the function executing in the frame; it ignores its numeric argument
and doesn't allow you to change the function.

Another way to examine and set the arguments, locals and values of a
frame is with the functions 3eh-arg*, 3eh-loc*, 3eh-val* and
3eh-fun*.  Use these functions in expressions you evaluate inside
the error handler, and they refer to the arguments, locals, values and
function, respectively, of the error handler's current frame.

.defun eh-arg arg-number-or-name
When used in an expression evaluated in the error handler, 3eh-arg*
returns the value of the specifed argument in the error handler's
current frame.  Argument names are compared ignoring packages; only
the pname of the symbol you supply is relevant.  3eh-arg* can appear
in 3setf* and 3locf* to set an argument or get its location.
.end_defun

.defun eh-loc local-numer-or-name
3eh-loc* is just like 3eh-arg* but accesses the current frame's
locals instead of its arguments.
.end_defun

.defun eh-val &optional value-number
3eh-val* is used in an expression evaluated in the error handler
when the current frame is returning multiple values, to examine those
values.  This is only useful if the function has already begun to
return some values (as in a trap-on-exit), since otherwise they are
all 3nil*.  Which value is specified only by number, because values
do not normally have names.

3eh-val* can be used with 3setf* and 3locf*.  You can make a
frame return a specific sequence of values by setting all but the last
value with 3eh-val* and doing Control-R to return the last value.

3eh-val* with no argument returns a list of all the
values this frame is returning.

3eh-val* is currently not useful on a frame which has not been asked
to return multiple values.
.end_defun

.defun eh-fun
3eh-fun* can be called in an expression being evalued inside the
error handler to return the function-object being called in the
current frame.  It can be used with 3setf* and 3locf*.
.end_defun

Control-Meta-W calls the window error handler, a display-oriented debugger which
is not documented in this manual.  It should, however, be usable without further
documentation.

.subsection "Summary of Commands"

.table 1 0 1500
.item Control-A
Print argument list of function in current frame.
.item Control-Meta-A
Examine or change the 2n*th argument of the current frame.
.item Control-B
Print brief backtrace.
.item Meta-B
Print longer backtrace.
.item Control-Meta-B
Print longer backtrace with no censoring of interpreter functions.
.item Control-C or 3RESUME*
Attempt to continue.
.item Meta-C
Attempt to continue, 3setq*ing the unbound variable or otherwise
"permanently" fixing the error.
.item Control-Meta-C
Attempt to restart (see the 3error-restart* special form, (error-restart-fun)).
.item Control-E
Edit the source code for the function in the current frame.
.item Control-Meta-F
Set 3** to the function in the current frame.
.item Control-G or ABORT
Quit to command level.  This is not a command, but something you can type to escape from
typing in a form.
.item Control-L or 3CLEAR SCREEN*
Redisplay error message and current frame.
.item Meta-L
Full-screen typeout of current frame.
.item Control-Meta-L
Get local variable 2n*.
.item Control-N or 3LINE*
Move to next frame.  With argument, move down 2n* frames.
.item Meta-N
Move to next frame with full-screen typeout.  With argument, move down 2n* frames.
.item Control-Meta-N
Move to next frame even if it is "uninteresting" or still accumulating
arguments.  With argument, move down 2n* frames.
.item Control-P or 3RETURN*
Move to previous frame.  With argument, move up 2n* frames.
.item Meta-P
Move to previous frame with full-screen typeout.  With argument, move up 2n* frames.
.item Control-Meta-P
Move to previous frame even if it is "uninteresting" or still
accumulating arguments.  With argument, move up 2n* frames.
.item Control-R
Return a value from the current frame.
.item Meta-R
Return multiple values from the current frame (doesn't work currently).
.item Control-Meta-R
Reinvoke the function in the current frame (throw back to it and start it over
at its beginning.)
.item Control-S
Search for a frame containing a specified function.
.item Meta-S
Same as control-S but does a full display.
.item Control-T
Throw a value to a tag.
.item Control-Meta-U
Move up the stack to the previous "interesting" frame.
.item Control-Meta-W
Call the window error handler.
.item Control-Z or 3ABORT*
Abort the computation and throw back to the most recent
3break* or debugger, to the program's "command level",
or to Lisp top level.
.item ? or Help
Print a help message.
.item Meta-<
Go to top of stack.
.item Meta->
Go to bottom of stack.
.item Control-0 through Control-Meta-9
Numeric arguments to the following command are specified by typing a decimal number
with Control and/or Meta held down.
.end_table