#+TITLE: taxy.el
#+PROPERTY: LOGGING nil
# Note: This readme works with the org-make-toc <https://github.com/alphapapa/org-make-toc> package, which automatically updates the table of contents.
#+HTML: <img src="images/mascot.png" align="right">
[[https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/taxy.html][https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/taxy.svg]]
/Now, where did I put that.../
This library provides a programmable way to classify arbitrary objects into a hierarchical taxonomy. (That's a lot of fancy words to say that this lets you automatically put things in nested groups.)
Helpful features include:
+ Dynamic taxonomies :: Objects may be classified into hierarchies automatically defined at runtime based on their attributes.
+ Reusable taxonomies :: Taxonomy definitions may be stored in variables and reused in other taxonomies' descendant groups.
+ Classification domain-specific language :: Easily define a custom DSL used to classify items dynamically (which can be extended by users).
+ Flexible table view :: Based on =magit-section=, with easily defined columns (also extendable by users).
* Contents :noexport:
:PROPERTIES:
:TOC: :include siblings
:END:
:CONTENTS:
- [[#examples][Examples]]
- [[#installation][Installation]]
- [[#usage][Usage]]
- [[#changelog][Changelog]]
- [[#development][Development]]
- [[#credits][Credits]]
:END:
* Examples
:PROPERTIES:
:TOC: :include descendants :depth 1 :ignore (descendants)
:END:
:CONTENTS:
- [[#numbery-starting-basically][Numbery (starting basically)]]
- [[#lettery-filling-incrementally][Lettery (filling incrementally)]]
- [[#sporty-understanding-completely][Sporty (understanding completely)]]
- [[#applications][Applications]]
:END:
May these examples help you classify your understanding.
** Numbery (starting basically)
Let's imagine a silly taxonomy of numbers below 100:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
("Numbery" "A silly taxonomy of numbers."
(("< 10" "Numbers below 10"
;; These numbers are leftovers from the sub-taxys below.
(0 2 4 6 8)
;; These sub-taxys further classify the numbers below 10 into odd
;; and even. The odd taxy "consumes" numbers, while the even one
;; doesn't, leaving them to reappear in the parent taxy's items.
(("Odd" "(consuming)"
(1 3 5 7 9))
("Even" "(non-consuming)"
(0 2 4 6 8))))
(">= 10" "Numbers above 9"
;; Like in the "< 10" taxy, these numbers are leftovers from this
;; taxy's sub-taxys, three of which are non-consuming.
(10 11 13 14 17 19 22 23 25 26 29 31 34 35 37 38 41 43 46 47 49 50 53 55 58
59 61 62 65 67 70 71 73 74 77 79 82 83 85 86 89 91 94 95 97 98)
(("Divisible by 3" "(non-consuming)"
(12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60 63 66 69 72 75 78 81 84
87 90 93 96 99))
("Divisible by 4" "(non-consuming)"
(12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96))
("Divisible by 3 or 4" "(consuming)"
;; This taxy consumes numbers it takes in, but since these
;; numbers have already been taken in (without being consumed) by
;; the previous two sibling taxys, they may also appear in them.
(12 15 16 18 20 21 24 27 28 30 32 33 36 39 40 42 44 45 48 51 52 54 56 57 60
63 64 66 68 69 72 75 76 78 80 81 84 87 88 90 92 93 96 99))
("Divisible by 5" "(non-consuming)"
(10 25 35 50 55 65 70 85 95))))))
#+END_SRC
You might think about how to produce that by writing some imperative code, but =taxy= allows you to do so in a more declarative and functional manner:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code
(require 'taxy)
(defvar numbery
(make-taxy
:name "Numbery"
:description "A silly taxonomy of numbers."
:taxys (list (make-taxy
:name "< 10"
:description "Numbers below 10 (consuming)"
:predicate (lambda (n) (< n 10))
:taxys (list
;; These sub-taxys further classify the numbers below 10 into odd
;; and even. The odd taxy "consumes" numbers, while the even one
;; doesn't, leaving them to reappear in the parent taxy's items.
(make-taxy :name "Odd"
:description "(consuming)"
:predicate #'oddp)
(make-taxy :name "Even"
:description "(non-consuming)"
:predicate #'evenp
:then #'identity)))
(make-taxy
:name ">= 10"
:description "Numbers above 9 (consuming)"
:predicate (lambda (n) (>= n 10))
:taxys (list
;; Like in the "< 10" taxy, these sub-taxys further classify
;; the numbers, but only one of them consumes numbers it
;; takes in, leaving the rest to reappear in the parent taxy.
(make-taxy :name "Divisible by 3"
:description "(non-consuming)"
:predicate (lambda (n) (zerop (mod n 3)))
:then #'identity)
(make-taxy :name "Divisible by 4"
:description "(non-consuming)"
:predicate (lambda (n) (zerop (mod n 4)))
:then #'identity)
(make-taxy :name "Divisible by 3 or 4"
:description "(consuming)"
;; Since this taxy's `:then' function is unset,
;; it defaults to `ignore', which causes it to
;; consume numbers it takes in. Since these
;; numbers have already been taken in (without
;; being consumed) by the previous two sibling
;; taxys, they also appear in them.
:predicate (lambda (n) (or (zerop (mod n 3))
(zerop (mod n 4)))))
(make-taxy :name "Divisible by 5"
:description "(non-consuming)"
:predicate (lambda (n) (zerop (mod n 5)))
:then #'identity))))))
(let ((numbers (cl-loop for i below 100 collect i))
;; Since `numbery' is stored in a variable, we use an emptied
;; copy of it to avoid mutating the original taxy.
(taxy (taxy-emptied numbery)))
(taxy-plain (taxy-fill (reverse numbers) taxy)))
#+END_SRC
The ~taxy-fill~ function applies the numbers in a "cascade" down the hierarchy of "taxys", and the ~taxy-plain~ function returns a meaningful subset of the taxys' slots, suitable for display.
** Lettery (filling incrementally)
You can also add more items after the hierarchy has been filled. In this example we'll make a comprehensive taxonomy of letters. The first sub-taxy collects vowels, and the second, by leaving its predicate at the default value, ~identity~, collects all letters not collected by the first taxy, i.e. non-vowels.
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
(defvar lettery
(make-taxy
:name "Lettery"
:description "A comprehensive taxonomy of letters."
:taxys (list (make-taxy
:name "Vowels"
:description "You know what those are."
:predicate (lambda (l)
(member-ignore-case l '("a" "e" "i" "o" "u"))))
(make-taxy
:name "Consonants"
:description "Well, if they aren't vowels..."))))
(taxy-plain
(taxy-fill (reverse
(cl-loop for l from ?a to ?n
collect (upcase (char-to-string l))))
lettery))
#+END_SRC
That produces:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
("Lettery" "A comprehensive taxonomy of letters."
(("Vowels" "You know what those are."
("A" "E" "I"))
("Consonants" "Well, if they aren't vowels..."
("B" "C" "D" "F" "G" "H" "J" "K" "L" "M" "N"))))
#+END_SRC
Oops, we forgot the letters after N! Let's add them, too:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
(taxy-plain
(taxy-fill (reverse
(cl-loop for l from ?n to ?z
collect (upcase (char-to-string l))))
lettery))
#+END_SRC
Which gives us:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
("Lettery" "A comprehensive taxonomy of letters."
(("Vowels" "You know what those are."
("O" "U" "A" "E" "I"))
("Consonants" "Well, if they aren't vowels..."
("N" "P" "Q" "R" "S" "T" "V" "W" "X" "Y" "Z" "B" "C" "D" "F" "G" "H" "J" "K" "L" "M" "N"))))
#+END_SRC
Oh, they're out of order, now. That won't do. Let's fix that:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code :results code
(taxy-plain
(taxy-sort #'string< #'identity lettery))
#+END_SRC
That's better:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
("Lettery" "A comprehensive taxonomy of letters."
(("Vowels" "You know what those are."
("A" "E" "I" "O" "U"))
("Consonants" "Well, if they aren't vowels..."
("B" "C" "D" "F" "G" "H" "J" "K" "L" "M" "N" "N" "P" "Q" "R" "S" "T" "V" "W" "X" "Y" "Z"))))
#+END_SRC
** Sporty (understanding completely)
Let's try to understand a few things about sports. First we'll define a struct to make them easier to grasp:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code :results silent
(cl-defstruct sport
name uses venue fun)
#+END_SRC
Now we'll make a list of sports:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code :results silent
(defvar sports
(list (make-sport :name "Baseball"
:uses '(bat ball glove)
:venue 'outdoor
:fun t)
(make-sport :name "Football"
:uses '(ball)
:venue 'outdoor
:fun t)
(make-sport :name "Basketball"
:uses '(ball hoop)
:venue 'indoor
:fun t)
(make-sport :name "Tennis"
:uses '(ball racket)
:venue 'outdoor
:fun t)
(make-sport :name "Racquetball"
:uses '(ball racket)
:venue 'indoor
:fun t)
(make-sport :name "Handball"
:uses '(ball glove)
:venue 'indoor
:fun t)
(make-sport :name "Soccer"
:uses '(ball)
:venue 'outdoor
:fun nil)
(make-sport :name "Disc golf"
:uses '(disc basket)
:venue 'outdoor
:fun t)
(make-sport :name "Ultimate"
:uses '(disc)
:venue 'outdoor
:fun t)
(make-sport :name "Volleyball"
:uses '(ball)
:venue 'indoor
:fun t)))
#+END_SRC
And finally we'll define a taxy to organize them. In this, we use a helper macro to make the ~member~ function easier to use in the list of key functions:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code :results silent :lexical t
(defvar sporty
(cl-macrolet ((in (needle haystack)
`(lambda (item)
(when (member ,needle (funcall ,haystack item))
,needle))))
(make-taxy
:name "Sporty"
:take (lambda (item taxy)
(taxy-take-keyed
(list #'sport-venue
(in 'ball 'sport-uses)
(in 'disc 'sport-uses)
(in 'glove 'sport-uses)
(in 'racket 'sport-uses))
item taxy
;; We set the `:then' function of the taxys
;; created by `taxy-take-keyed' to `identity'
;; so they will not consume their items.
:then #'identity)))))
#+END_SRC
Now let's fill the taxy with the sports and format it:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code
(thread-last sporty
taxy-emptied
(taxy-fill sports)
(taxy-mapcar #'sport-name)
taxy-plain)
#+END_SRC
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code
((("Sporty"
((indoor
((ball
("Volleyball" "Basketball")
((glove
("Handball"))
(racket
("Racquetball"))))))
(outdoor
((disc
("Ultimate" "Disc golf"))
(ball
("Soccer" "Football")
((racket
("Tennis"))
(glove
("Baseball"))))))))))
#+END_SRC
That's pretty sporty. But classifying them by venue first makes the racket and glove sports not be listed together. Let's swap the key functions around so the venue is classified at the deepest level of the hierarchy:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code :results silent
(defvar sporty
(cl-macrolet ((in (needle haystack)
`(lambda (item)
(when (member ,needle (funcall ,haystack item))
,needle))))
(make-taxy
:name "Sporty"
:take (lambda (item taxy)
(taxy-take-keyed
(list (in 'ball 'sport-uses)
(in 'disc 'sport-uses)
(in 'glove 'sport-uses)
(in 'racket 'sport-uses)
#'sport-venue)
item taxy
:then #'identity)))))
(thread-last sporty
taxy-emptied
(taxy-fill sports)
(taxy-mapcar #'sport-name)
taxy-plain)
#+END_SRC
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code
((("Sporty"
((disc
((outdoor
("Ultimate" "Disc golf"))))
(ball
((racket
((indoor
("Racquetball"))
(outdoor
("Tennis"))))
(indoor
("Volleyball" "Basketball"))
(outdoor
("Soccer" "Football"))
(glove
((indoor
("Handball"))
(outdoor
("Baseball"))))))))))
#+END_SRC
That's better. But I'd also like to see a very simple classification to help me decide what to play:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code
(thread-last
(make-taxy
:name "Funny"
:take (lambda (item taxy)
(taxy-take-keyed
(list (lambda (sport)
(if (sport-fun sport)
'fun 'boring))
#'sport-venue)
item taxy)))
taxy-emptied
(taxy-fill sports)
(taxy-mapcar #'sport-name)
taxy-plain)
#+END_SRC
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code
((("Funny"
((boring
((outdoor
("Soccer"))))
(fun
((indoor
("Volleyball" "Handball" "Racquetball" "Basketball"))
(outdoor
("Ultimate" "Disc golf" "Tennis" "Football" "Baseball"))))))))
#+END_SRC
Ah, now I understand.
** Applications
Some example applications may be found in the [[file:examples/][examples directory]]:
+ Deffy shows top-level definitions and forms in an Elisp project or file:
[[images/deffy.png]]
+ Diredy rearranges a Dired buffer into groups by file size and type:
[[images/diredy.png]]
+ Musicy shows a music library with tracks categorized by genre, artist, year, album, etc:
[[images/musicy.png]]
* Installation
=taxy= is distributed in [[https://elpa.gnu.org/][GNU ELPA]], which is available in Emacs by default. Use =M-x package-install RET taxy RET=, then ~(require 'taxy)~ in your Elisp project.
* Usage
:PROPERTIES:
:TOC: :include descendants :depth 1 :ignore (descendants)
:END:
:CONTENTS:
- [[#reusable-taxys][Reusable taxys]]
- [[#threading-macros][Threading macros]]
- [[#modifying-filled-taxys][Modifying filled taxys]]
- [[#dynamic-taxys][Dynamic taxys]]
- [[#magit-section][Magit section]]
- [[#reference][Reference]]
:END:
A taxy is defined with the ~make-taxy~ constructor, like:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
(make-taxy :name "Numbery"
:description "A silly taxonomy of numbers."
:predicate #'numberp
:then #'ignore
:taxys (list ...))
#+END_SRC
The ~:predicate~ function determines whether an object fits into that taxy. If it does, ~taxy-fill~ adds the object to that taxy's descendant ~:taxys~, if present, or to its own ~:items~. The function defaults to ~identity~, so a taxy "takes in" any object by default (i.e. if you only apply objects you want to classify, there's no need to test them at the top-level taxy).
The ~:then~ function determines what happens to an object after being taken in to the taxy's ~:items~: if the function, called with the object, returns a non-nil value, that value is applied to other taxys at the same level until one of their ~:then~ functions returns nil or no more taxys remain. The function defaults to ~ignore~, which makes a taxy "consume" its items by default. Setting the function to, e.g. ~identity~, makes it not consume them, leaving them eligible to also be taken into subsequent taxys, or to appear in the parent taxy's items.
After defining a taxy, call ~taxy-fill~ with it and a list of objects to fill the taxy's hierarchy. *Note:* ~taxy-fill~ modifies the taxy given to it (filling its ~:items~ and those of its ~:taxys~), so when using a statically defined taxy (e.g. one defined with ~defvar~), you should pass ~taxy-fill~ a taxy copied with ~taxy-emptied~, which recursively copies a taxy without ~:items~.
To return a taxy in a more human-readable format (with only relevant fields included), use ~taxy-plain~. You may also use ~taxy-mapcar~ to replace items in a taxy with, e.g. a more useful representation.
** Reusable taxys
Since taxys are structs, they may be stored in variables and used in other structs (being sure to copy the root taxy with ~taxy-emptied~ before filling). For example, this shows using =taxy= to classify Matrix rooms in [[https://github.com/alphapapa/ement.el][Ement.el]]:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
(defun ement-roomy-buffer (room)
(alist-get 'buffer (ement-room-local room)))
(defvar ement-roomy-unread
(make-taxy :name "Unread"
:predicate (lambda (room)
(buffer-modified-p (ement-roomy-buffer room)))))
(defvar ement-roomy-opened
(make-taxy :name "Opened"
:description "Rooms with buffers"
:predicate #'ement-roomy-buffer
:taxys (list ement-roomy-unread
(make-taxy))))
(defvar ement-roomy-closed
(make-taxy :name "Closed"
:description "Rooms without buffers"
:predicate (lambda (room)
(not (ement-roomy-buffer room)))))
(defvar ement-roomy
(make-taxy
:name "Ement Rooms"
:taxys (list (make-taxy
:name "Direct"
:description "Direct messaging rooms"
:predicate (lambda (room)
(ement-room--direct-p room ement-session))
:taxys (list ement-roomy-opened
ement-roomy-closed))
(make-taxy
:name "Non-direct"
:description "Group chat rooms"
:taxys (list ement-roomy-opened
ement-roomy-closed)))))
#+END_SRC
Note how the taxys defined in the first three variables are used in subsequent taxys. As well, the ~ement-roomy-opened~ taxy has an "anonymous" taxy, which collects any rooms that aren't collected by its sibling taxy (otherwise those objects would be collected into the parent, "Opened" taxy, which may not always be the most useful way to present the objects).
Using those defined taxys, we then fill the ~ement-roomy~ taxy with all of the rooms in the user's session, and then use ~taxy-mapcar~ to replace the room structs with useful representations for display:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
(taxy-plain
(taxy-mapcar (lambda (room)
(list (ement-room--room-display-name room)
(ement-room-id room)))
(taxy-fill (ement-session-rooms ement-session)
(taxy-emptied ement-roomy))))
#+END_SRC
This produces:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
("Ement Rooms"
(("Direct" "Direct messaging rooms"
(("Opened" "Rooms with buffers"
(("Unread"
(("Lars Ingebrigtsen" "!nope:gnus.org")))))
("Closed" "Rooms without buffers"
(("John Wiegley" "!not-really:newartisans.com")
("Eli Zaretskii" "!im-afraid-not:gnu.org")))))
("Non-direct" "Group chat rooms"
(("Opened" "Rooms with buffers"
(("Unread"
(("Emacs" "!WfZsmtnxbxTdoYPkaT:greyface.org")
("#emacs" "!KuaCUVGoCiunYyKEpm:libera.chat")))
;; The non-unread buffers in the "anonymous" taxy.
((("magit/magit" "!HZYimOcmEAsAxOcgpE:gitter.im")
("Ement.el" "!NicAJNwJawmHrEhqZs:matrix.org")
("#emacsconf" "!UjTTDnYmSAslLTtMCF:libera.chat")
("Emacs Matrix Client" "!ZrZoyXEyFrzcBZKNis:matrix.org")
("org-mode" "!rUhEinythPhVTdddsb:matrix.org")
("This Week in Matrix (TWIM)" "!xYvNcQPhnkrdUmYczI:matrix.org")))))
("Closed" "Rooms without buffers"
(("#matrix-spec" "!NasysSDfxKxZBzJJoE:matrix.org")
("#commonlisp" "!IiGsrmKRHzpupHRaKS:libera.chat")
("Matrix HQ" "!OGEhHVWSdvArJzumhm:matrix.org")
("#lisp" "!czLxhhEegTEGNKUBgo:libera.chat")
("Emacs" "!gLamGIXTWBaDFfhEeO:matrix.org")
("#matrix-dev:matrix.org" "!jxlRxnrZCsjpjDubDX:matrix.org")))))))
#+END_SRC
** Threading macros
If you happen to like macros, ~taxy~ works well with threading (i.e. ~thread-last~ or ~->>~):
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
(thread-last ement-roomy
taxy-emptied
(taxy-fill (ement-session-rooms ement-session))
(taxy-mapcar (lambda (room)
(list (ement-room--room-display-name room)
(ement-room-id room))))
taxy-plain)
#+END_SRC
** Modifying filled taxys
Sometimes it's necessary to modify a taxy after filling it with objects, e.g. to sort the items and/or the sub-taxys. For this, use the function ~taxy-mapc-taxys~ (a.k.a. ~taxy-mapc*~). For example, in the sample application [[file:examples/musicy.el][musicy.el]], the taxys and their items are sorted after filling, like so:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
(defun musicy-files (files)
(thread-last musicy-taxy
taxy-emptied
(taxy-fill files)
;; Sort sub-taxys by their name.
(taxy-sort* #'string< #'taxy-name)
;; Sort sub-taxys' items by name.
(taxy-sort #'string< #'identity)
taxy-magit-section-pp))
#+END_SRC
** Dynamic taxys
:PROPERTIES:
:TOC: :include descendants
:END:
:CONTENTS:
- [[#multi-level-dynamic-taxys][Multi-level dynamic taxys]]
- [[#chains-of-independent-multi-level-dynamic-taxys]["Chains" of independent, multi-level dynamic taxys]]
- [[#defining-a-classification-domain-specific-language][Defining a classification domain-specific language]]
:END:
You may not always know in advance what taxonomy a set of objects fits into, so =taxy= lets you add taxys dynamically by using the ~:take~ function to add a taxy when an object is "taken into" a parent taxy's items. For example, you could dynamically classify buffers by their major mode like so:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code
(defun buffery-major-mode (buffer)
(buffer-local-value 'major-mode buffer))
(defvar buffery
(make-taxy
:name "Buffers"
:taxys (list
(make-taxy
:name "Modes"
:take (apply-partially #'taxy-take-keyed (list #'buffery-major-mode))))))
;; Note the use of `taxy-emptied' to avoid mutating the original taxy definition.
(taxy-plain
(taxy-fill (buffer-list)
(taxy-emptied buffery)))
#+END_SRC
The taxy's ~:take~ function is set to the ~taxy-take-keyed~ function, partially applied with the ~buffery-major-mode~ function as its list of ~key-fns~ (~taxy-fill~ supplies the buffer and the taxy as arguments), and it produces this taxonomy of buffers:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
("Buffers"
(("Modes"
((magit-process-mode
(#<buffer magit-process: taxy.el> #<buffer magit-process: > #<buffer magit-process: notes>))
(messages-buffer-mode
(#<buffer *Messages*>))
(special-mode
(#<buffer *Warnings*> #<buffer *elfeed-log*>))
(dired-mode
(#<buffer ement.el<emacs>>))
(Custom-mode
(#<buffer *Customize Apropos*>))
(fundamental-mode
(#<buffer *helm candidates:Bookmarks*> #<buffer *Backtrace*>))
(magit-diff-mode
(#<buffer magit-diff: taxy.el> #<buffer magit-diff: notes> #<buffer magit-diff: ement.el>))
(compilation-mode
(#<buffer *compilation*> #<buffer *Compile-Log*>))
(Info-mode
(#<buffer *helm info temp buffer*> #<buffer *info*>))
(help-mode
(#<buffer *Help*>))
(emacs-lisp-mode
(#<buffer ement.el<ement.el>> #<buffer ement-room-list.el> #<buffer *scratch*>
#<buffer ement-room.el> #<buffer init.el> #<buffer bufler.el>
#<buffer dash.el> #<buffer *Pp Eval Output*> #<buffer taxy.el> #<buffer scratch.el>))))))
#+END_SRC
*** Multi-level dynamic taxys
Of course, the point of taxonomies is that they aren't restricted to a single level of depth, so you may also use the function ~taxy-take-keyed~ to dynamically make multi-level taxys.
Expanding on the previous example, we use ~cl-labels~ to define functions which are used in the taxy's definition, which are used in the ~:take~ function, which calls ~taxy-take-keyed~ (rather than using ~apply-partially~ like in the previous example, we use a lambda function, which performs better than partially applied functions). Then when the taxy is filled, a multi-level hierarchy is created dynamically, organizing buffers first by their directory, and then by mode in each directory.
# MAYBE: A macro to define :take functions more concisely.
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code
(defvar buffery
(cl-labels ((buffer-mode (buffer) (buffer-local-value 'major-mode buffer))
(buffer-directory (buffer) (buffer-local-value 'default-directory buffer)))
(make-taxy
:name "Buffers"
:taxys (list
(make-taxy
:name "Directories"
:take (lambda (item taxy)
(taxy-take-keyed (list #'buffer-directory #'buffer-mode) item taxy)))))))
(taxy-plain
(taxy-fill (buffer-list)
(taxy-emptied buffery)))
#+END_SRC
That produces a list like:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
("Buffers"
(("Directories"
(("~/src/emacs/ement.el/"
((dired-mode
(#<buffer ement.el<emacs>))
(emacs-lisp-mode
(#<buffer ement.el<ement.el> #<buffer ement-room-list.el> #<buffer ement-room.el>))
(magit-diff-mode
(#<buffer magit-diff: ement.el>))))
("~/src/emacs/taxy.el/"
((dired-mode
(#<buffer taxy.el<emacs>))
(Info-mode
(#<buffer *info*>))
(magit-status-mode
(#<buffer magit: taxy.el>))
(emacs-lisp-mode
(#<buffer taxy-magit-section.el> #<buffer taxy.el<taxy.el> #<buffer scratch.el>))))))))
#+END_SRC
*** "Chains" of independent, multi-level dynamic taxys
:PROPERTIES:
:ID: 8aec3671-ee22-44a0-968c-81443f4dcd74
:END:
/Naming things is hard./
Going a step further, each element in the ~taxy-take-keyed~ function's ~KEY-FNS~ argument may be a list of functions (or a list of lists of functions, etc.), which creates a "chain" of "independent" dynamic taxys. Each such chain may be said to "short-circuit" the filling process in that, when an object is "taken" by the first key function in a chain, the object is not "offered" to other functions outside that chain. This allows each dynamic sub-taxy to have its own set of sub-taxys, rather than sharing the same "global" set. In effect, this creates multiple, unique taxonomies that share a single root taxy.
Building on the ~sporty~ example, let's define a taxy in which outdoor sports are classified only by whether they involve a disc, but indoor sports are additionally classified by whatever equipment they may use:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code :results silent :lexical t
(defvar sporty-dynamic
(cl-macrolet ((in (needle haystack)
`(lambda (item)
(when (member ,needle (funcall ,haystack item))
,needle))))
(cl-labels ((outdoor-p
(sport) (when (eq 'outdoor (sport-venue sport))
"Outdoor"))
(indoor-p
(sport) (when (eq 'indoor (sport-venue sport))
"Indoor"))
(disc-p
(sport) (if (funcall (in 'disc 'sport-uses) sport)
'disc
'non-disc)))
(make-taxy
:name "Sporty (dynamic)"
:take (lambda (item taxy)
(taxy-take-keyed
(list (list #'outdoor-p #'disc-p)
(list #'indoor-p
(in 'ball 'sport-uses)
(in 'disc 'sport-uses)
(in 'glove 'sport-uses)
(in 'racket 'sport-uses)))
item taxy))))))
#+END_SRC
Now let's fill the taxy with the sports and format it:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code :results code
(thread-last sporty-dynamic
taxy-emptied
(taxy-fill sports)
(taxy-mapcar #'sport-name)
taxy-plain)
#+END_SRC
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code
("Sporty (dynamic)"
(("Indoor"
((ball
("Volleyball" "Basketball")
((glove
("Handball"))
(racket
("Racquetball"))))))
("Outdoor"
((disc
("Ultimate" "Disc golf"))
(non-disc
("Soccer" "Tennis" "Football" "Baseball"))))))
#+END_SRC
*** Defining a classification domain-specific language
When writing a larger Taxy-based application, it may be necessary to define a number of key functions that would be unwieldy to manage in a ~cl-labels~ form. For this case, Taxy provides the macro ~taxy-define-key-definer~ to easily define Taxy key functions in an application library. Those functions are then passed to the function ~taxy-make-take-function~ at runtime, along with a list of keys being used to classify items. Using these allows key functions to be defined in top-level forms, and it allows an application to be extended by users by defining additional key functions in their configurations.
Extending the previous ~sporty~ example, let's redefine its key functions using ~taxy-define-key-definer~:
#+begin_src elisp :exports code :results silent :lexical t
(taxy-define-key-definer sporty-define-key
sporty-keys "sporty"
"Define a `sporty' key function.")
(sporty-define-key disc-based ()
(if (member 'disc (sport-uses item))
"Disc-based"
"Non-disc-based"))
(sporty-define-key uses (&optional thing)
(pcase thing
(`nil (sport-uses item))
(_ (when (cl-typecase (sport-uses item)
(symbol (equal thing (sport-uses item)))
(list (member thing (sport-uses item))))
thing))))
(sporty-define-key venue (&optional place)
(pcase place
(`nil (sport-venue item))
(_ (when (equal place (sport-venue item))
(sport-venue item)))))
#+end_src
Now we'll define the default keys to use when classifying items. This list is equivalent to the one passed to ~taxy-take-keyed~ in the previous, "Chains" example.
#+begin_src elisp :exports code :results silent :lexical t
(defvar sporty-default-keys
'(
((venue 'outdoor)
disc-based)
((venue 'indoor)
(uses 'ball)
(uses 'disc)
(uses 'glove)
(uses 'racket))))
#+end_src
Finally, rather than using a pre-made taxy struct, we make one at runtime, making the ~:take~ function with ~taxy-make-take-function~.
#+begin_src elisp :exports code :results code :lexical t
(let ((taxy (make-taxy
:name "Sporty (DSL)"
:take (taxy-make-take-function sporty-default-keys
sporty-keys))))
(thread-last taxy
(taxy-fill sports)
(taxy-mapcar #'sport-name)
taxy-plain))
#+end_src
# NOTE: The #+RESULTS: header is removed for the following results block, because it seems to cause the GitHub renderer to hide it.
Which gives us:
#+begin_src elisp
("Sporty (DSL)"
((indoor
((ball
("Volleyball" "Basketball")
((glove
("Handball"))
(racket
("Racquetball"))))))
(outdoor
(("Disc-based"
("Ultimate" "Disc golf"))
("Non-disc-based"
("Soccer" "Tennis" "Football" "Baseball"))))))
#+end_src
As you can see, the result is the same as that in the previous example, but we've defined a kind of DSL for grouping sports in a modular, extendable way.
This also allows the grouping keys to be easily changed at runtime, producing a different result. For example, we could group sports by, first, whether they use a ball, and then by venue. Let's do this in a function so that users can pass their own list of keys:
#+begin_src elisp :exports code :results code :lexical t
(cl-defun sporty-classify (sports &key (keys sporty-default-keys))
(declare (indent defun))
(let* ((taxy (make-taxy
:name "Sporty (DSL)"
:take (taxy-make-take-function keys
sporty-keys))))
(thread-last taxy
(taxy-fill sports)
(taxy-mapcar #'sport-name)
taxy-plain)))
(sporty-classify sports
:keys '((uses 'ball) venue))
#+end_src
# NOTE: The #+RESULTS: header is removed for the following results block, because it seems to cause the GitHub renderer to hide it.
And this produces:
#+begin_src elisp :exports code
("Sporty (DSL)"
((outdoor
("Ultimate" "Disc golf"))
(ball
((indoor
("Volleyball" "Handball" "Racquetball" "Basketball"))
(outdoor
("Soccer" "Tennis" "Football" "Baseball"))))))
#+end_src
** Magit section
Showing a =taxy= with =magit-section= is easy using the library [[https://github.com/alphapapa/taxy.el/tree/package/taxy-magit-section][taxy-magit-section]], which is packaged separately:
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp :exports code
(require 'taxy-magit-section)
;; Using the `numbery' taxy defined in earlier examples:
(thread-last numbery
taxy-emptied ;; Get an empty copy of the taxy, since it's defined in a variable.
(taxy-fill (reverse (cl-loop for i below 30 collect i)))
taxy-magit-section-pp)
#+END_SRC
That shows a buffer like this:
[[images/magit-section-numbery.png]]
** Reference
In Emacs 28+, see also =M-x shortdoc-display-group RET taxy RET=.
*** Functions
- taxy-flatten (taxy) ::
Return a list of items in =taxy= and its sub-taxys.
- taxy-emptied (taxy) ::
Return a copy of =taxy= without items. Omits =taxy=’s items and those of its descendant taxys. Useful when reusing taxy definitions.
- taxy-fill (items taxy) ::
Fill =taxy= with =items= according to its definition.
- taxy-make-take-function (keys aliases) ::
Return a taxy "take" function for =keys=. Each of =keys= should be a function alias defined in =aliases=, or a list of such =key-fns= (recursively, ad infinitum, approximately). =aliases= should be an alist mapping aliases to functions (such as defined with a definer defined by ~taxy-define-key-definer~).
- taxy-mapc-taxys (fn taxy) ::
*Alias:* ~taxy-mapc*~
Return =taxy= having applied =fn= to it and its descendants. Does not copy =taxy=. Destructively modifies =taxy=, if =fn= does.
- taxy-mapcar-items (fn taxy) ::
*Alias:* ~taxy-mapcar~
Return copy of =taxy=, having replaced its items with the value of =fn= on each. Replaces every item in =taxy= and its descendants. Useful to replace items with a more useful form after classification.
- taxy-plain (taxy) ::
Return a list of the human-readable parts of =taxy=.
- taxy-size (taxy) ::
Return the number of items =taxy= holds. Includes items in =taxy= ’s sub-taxys.
- taxy-sort-items (pred key taxy) ::
*Alias:* ~taxy-sort~
Sort =taxy= ’s items by =pred= and =key=. Sorts items in =taxy= and its sub-taxys. =key= is passed to ~cl-sort~, which see.
- taxy-sort-taxys (pred key taxy) ::
*Alias:* ~taxy-sort*~
Sort =taxy= ’s sub-taxys by =pred= and =key=. =key= is passed to ~cl-sort~, which see.
*** Macros
- taxy-define-key-definer (name variable prefix docstring) ::
Define a macro =name= that defines a key-function-defining macro. The defined macro, having string =docstring=, associates the defined key functions with their aliases in an alist stored in symbol =variable=. The defined key functions are named having string =prefix=, which will have a hyphen appended to it. The key functions take one or more arguments, the first of which is the item being tested, bound within the function to ~item~.
* Changelog
:PROPERTIES:
:TOC: :depth 0
:END:
** 0.10.1
*Examples*
+ Fixed byte-compilation of ~diredy.el~.
** 0.10
*Examples*
+ Deffy
+ Fix: Disambiguate forms with the same name.
+ Diredy: Various small improvements.
** 0.9
*** Changes
+ Library =taxy-magit-section= is now [[https://elpa.gnu.org/packages/taxy-magit-section.html][packaged separately]] and maintained in a [[https://github.com/alphapapa/taxy.el/tree/package/taxy-magit-section][separate branch]].
+ Minor fixes to documentation and examples.
** 0.8
*** Additions
+ Short documentation group for Emacs 28+.
*** Fixes
+ Require =map= for ~pcase~ pattern.
** 0.7
*** Additions
+ Function ~taxy-flatten~ returns a list of the items in a taxy and its sub-taxys.
+ Function/macro reference documentation.
+ Example application =bookmarky= lists Emacs bookmarks grouped with Taxy.
** 0.6
*** Additions
+ Sorting functions:
+ ~taxy-sort-items~ (alias: ~taxy-sort~) sorts the items in a taxy and its sub-taxys.
+ ~taxy-sort-taxys~ (alias: ~taxy-sort*~) sorts a taxy's sub-taxys.
+ Defining classification domain-specific languages:
+ Macro ~taxy-define-key-definer~ defines a key-function-defining macro.
+ Function ~taxy-make-take-function~ makes a ~:take~ function using a list of key functions and a set of classification keys.
+ Table-like, column-based formatting system for ~taxy-magit-section~:
+ Function ~taxy-magit-section-format-items~, which formats items by columns.
+ Variable ~taxy-magit-section-insert-indent-items~, which controls whether ~taxy-magit-section-insert~ applies indentation to each item. (Used to disable that behavior when items are pre-indented strings, e.g. as formatted by ~taxy-magit-section-format-items~.)
+ Example application =deffy=, which shows an overview of top-level definitions and forms in an Elisp project or file. (Likely to be published as a separate package later.)
** 0.5
*** Additions
+ Function ~taxy-magit-section-insert~ takes new arguments:
- ~:initial-depth~ sets the level at which the first level of hierarchy is considered to be at, for purposes of indentation. Setting it to a negative number prevents indentation of so many levels (i.e. setting it to -1 causes the first two levels to be unindented, since the first level will be considered to be at depth -1, and the second at depth 0).
- ~:blank-between-depth~ sets the level up to which blank lines are inserted between sections (i.e. setting it to 1 causes blank lines to be inserted between sections up to depth 1, but not between sections deeper than that).
+ Struct ~taxy-magit-section~ has a new ~heading-face~ slot, a function which takes a depth level argument and returns the face with which to propertize that section's heading.
+ New example ~taxy-package-report~.
*** Fixes
+ Example ~diredy~ referred to an old function name.
** 0.4
+ Incremented version to cause a new ELPA release (since removing a file that wasn't intended to be distributed on ELPA).
** 0.3
*** Changes
+ Within the ~taxy~ struct and related functions, the term =objects= is renamed to =items=, which is shorter and has the same meaning. This makes code a bit more concise (e.g. ~(taxy-objects taxy)~ becomes ~(taxy-items taxy)~).
*** Fixes
+ Function ~taxy-fill~ always calls a taxy's ~:take~ function if defined. (Fixing "chains" of dynamic taxys.)
+ Function ~taxy-magit-section-insert~ applies text properties from the inserted string to the indentation string (so commands that rely on text properties at the beginning of a line will work).
** 0.2
*** Changes
+ Function ~taxy-take-keyed*~ is renamed to ~taxy-take-keyed~, replacing the old function: it's more powerful, and there's little reason to maintain two versions.
*** Additions
+ Struct ~taxy~ now has a ~:make~ slot, a function called to make new sub-taxys by ~take-take-keyed~ (defaulting to ~make-taxy~). This is useful when defining structs specialized on ~taxy~.
+ Struct ~taxy-magit-section~ now has an ~:indent~ slot, a number of characters by which to indent each level of sub-taxy, applied automatically by function ~taxy-magit-section-insert~.
+ Each element of the new ~taxy-take-keyed~'s ~KEY-FNS~ argument may now be a function or a list of functions (or a list of a list of functions, etc.). Lists of functions create "chains" of independent, dynamic taxys descending from a single root taxy. See [[id:8aec3671-ee22-44a0-968c-81443f4dcd74][example]].
*** Fixes
+ ~taxy-magit-section~'s ~insert-object~ function.
+ ~taxy-fill~ now applies objects to the root taxy if no sub-taxys take them.
** 0.1
First tagged version.
* Development
:PROPERTIES:
:TOC: :ignore (descendants)
:END:
Bug reports, feature requests, suggestions — /oh my/!
** Copyright assignment
This package is part of [[https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/][GNU Emacs]], being distributed in [[https://elpa.gnu.org/][GNU ELPA]]. Contributions to this project must follow GNU guidelines, which means that, as with other parts of Emacs, patches of more than a few lines must be accompanied by having assigned copyright for the contribution to the FSF. Contributors who wish to do so may contact [[mailto:emacs-devel@gnu.org][emacs-devel@gnu.org]] to request the assignment form.
* Credits
+ Thanks to Stefan Monnier for his feedback, and for maintaining GNU ELPA.
* License
:PROPERTIES:
:TOC: :ignore (this)
:END:
GPLv3
* COMMENT Export setup :noexport:
:PROPERTIES:
:TOC: :ignore (this descendants)
:END:
# Copied from org-super-agenda's readme, in which much was borrowed from Org's =org-manual.org=.
#+OPTIONS: broken-links:t *:t
** Info export options
#+TEXINFO_DIR_CATEGORY: Emacs
#+TEXINFO_DIR_TITLE: Taxy: (taxy)
#+TEXINFO_DIR_DESC: Programmable taxonomical grouping for arbitrary objects
# NOTE: We could use these, but that causes a pointless error, "org-compile-file: File "..README.info" wasn't produced...", so we just rename the files in the after-save-hook instead.
# #+TEXINFO_FILENAME: taxy.info
# #+EXPORT_FILE_NAME: taxy.texi
** File-local variables
# NOTE: Setting org-comment-string buffer-locally is a nasty hack to work around GitHub's org-ruby's HTML rendering, which does not respect noexport tags. The only way to hide this tree from its output is to use the COMMENT keyword, but that prevents Org from processing the export options declared in it. So since these file-local variables don't affect org-ruby, wet set org-comment-string to an unused keyword, which prevents Org from deleting this tree from the export buffer, which allows it to find the export options in it. And since org-export does respect the noexport tag, the tree is excluded from the info page.
# Local Variables:
# before-save-hook: org-make-toc
# after-save-hook: (lambda nil (when (and (require 'ox-texinfo nil t) (org-texinfo-export-to-info)) (delete-file "README.texi") (rename-file "README.info" "taxy.info" t)))
# org-export-initial-scope: buffer
# org-comment-string: "NOTCOMMENT"
# End: