*print-symbols-using-bars* Variable

Summary

Controls how escaping is done when symbols are printed.

Package

system

Initial Value

nil

Description

The variable *print-symbols-using-bars* controls how escaping is done when symbols are printed.

When the value is true, printing symbols that must be escaped (for example, those with names containing the colon character :) is done using the bar character | instead of the backslash character \ in cases when the readtable case and *print-case* are both :upcase or both :downcase.

Examples

CL-USER 1 > readtable-case *readtable*
:UPCASE
 
CL-USER 2 > (let ((sys:*print-symbols-using-bars* t)
                    (*print-case* :upcase))
                (print (intern "FOO:BAR"))
                (values))
 
|FOO:BAR| 
 
CL-USER 3 > (let ((sys:*print-symbols-using-bars* t)
                    (*print-case* :downcase))
                (print (intern "FOO:BAR"))
                (values))
 
foo\:bar