2.4.1 Introduction to libraries

A library consists of a “file” (some assemblage of text) that contains a library form, which might look like this:

(library (sample)
  (export cube)
  (import (rnrs))
  (define cube
    (lambda (x)
      (* x x x))))

notice the import clause. No library is imported by default; therefore, if we want to write some general purpose code, we have to import at least one library that exports enough features to compose a programming language; there multiple libraries of this kind, for example (rnrs) and (vicare).

We can import (sample) into another library, a script, or a Vicare top–level session:

> (import (sample))
> (cube 3)
27

Library names are lists, thus allowing the writer of one or more libraries to group related libraries together. For example, Vicare installs a whole hierarchy of libraries under (vicare language-extensions):

(vicare language-extensions amb)
(vicare language-extensions conditions-and-restarts))
...

Vicare’s own Scheme libraries are under the hierarchies: (vicare ---), (srfi ---) and (nausicaa ---).

Vicare’s boot image and distributed libraries are installed in the directory:

$(libdir)/vicare-scheme

on 32-bit GNU+Linux systems:

/usr/local/lib/vicare-scheme

on 64-bit GNU+Linux systems:

/usr/local/lib64/vicare-scheme

for example the library (vicare ffi) on 32-bit GNU+Linux systems is installed as:

/usr/local/lib/vicare-scheme/vicare/ffi.fasl