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.

Example

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