[[FixnumPrimitives]]
Fixnum primitives
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fixnums are small exact integers that can be represented without heap
allocation (see <<LarcenyNoteRepr,this note>> for more
information). Larceny never represents a number that can be
represented as a fixnum any other way, so programs that can use
fixnums will do so automatically. However, operations that work only
on fixnums can sometimes be substantially faster than generic
operations, and the following primitives are provided for use in those
programs that need especially good performance.

All arguments to the following procedures must be fixnums.

proc:fixnum?[args="obj",result="boolean"]

Returns #t if its argument is a fixnum, and #f otherwise.

proc:fx+[args="fix1 fix2",result="fixnum"]

Returns the fixnum sum of its arguments. If the result is not
representable as a fixnum, then an error is signalled (unless error
checking has been disabled).

proc:fx-[args="fix1 fix2,result="fixnum"]

Returns the fixnum difference of its arguments. If the result is not
representable as a fixnum, then an error is signalled.

proc:fx--[args="fix1",result="fixnum"]

Returns the fixnum negative of its argument. If the result is not
representable as a fixnum, then an error is signalled.

proc:fx*[args="fix1 fix2",result="fixnum"]

Returns the fixnum product of its arguments. If the result is not
representable as a fixnum, then an error is signalled.

proc:fx=[args="fix1 fix2",result="boolean"]

Returns #t if its arguments are equal, and #f otherwise.

proc:fx<[args="fix1 fix2",result="boolean"]

Returns #t if _fix1_ is less than _fix2_, and #f otherwise.

proc:fx<=[args="fix1 fix2",result="boolean"]

Returns #t if _fix1_ is less than or equal to _fix2_, and #f
otherwise.

proc:fx>[args="fix1 fix2",result="boolean"]

Returns #t if _fix1_ is greater than _fix2_, and #f otherwise.

proc:fx>=[args="fix1 fix2",result="boolean"]

Returns #t if _fix1_ is greater than or equal to _fix2_, and #f
otherwise.

proc:fxnegative?[args="fix",result="boolean"]

Returns #t if its argument is less than zero, and #f otherwise.

proc:fxpositive?[args="fix",result="boolean"]

Returns #t if its argument is greater than zero, and #f otherwise.

proc:fxzero?[args="fix",result="boolean"]

Returns #t if its argument is zero, and #f otherwise.

// FIXME these names have changed

proc:fxlogand[args="fix1 fix2",result="fixnum"]

Returns the bitwise _and_ of its arguments.

proc:fxlogior[args="fix1 fix2",result="fixnum"]

Returns the bitwise _inclusive or_ of its arguments.

proc:fxlognot[args="fix",result="fixnum"]

Returns the bitwise _not_ of its argument.

proc:fxlogxor[args="fix1 fix2",result="fixnum"]

Returns the bitwise _exclusive or_ of its arguments.

proc:fxlsh[args="fix1 fix2",result="fixnum"]

Returns _fix1_ shifted left _fix2_ places, shifting in zero bits at
the low end. If the shift count exceeds the number of bits in the
machine's word size, then the results are machine-dependent.

proc:most-positive-fixnum[args="none",result="fixnum"]

Returns the largest representable positive fixnum.

proc:most-negative-fixnum[args="none",result="fixnum"]

Returns the smallest representable negative fixnum.

proc:fxrsha[args="fix1 fix2",result="fixnum"]

Returns _fix1_ shifted right _fix2_ places, shifting in a copy of the
sign bit at the left end. If the shift count exceeds the number of
bits in the machine's word size, then the results are
machine-dependent.

proc:fxrshl[args="fix1 fix2",result="fixnum"]

Returns _fix1_ shifted right _fix2_ places, shifting in zero bits at
the high end. If the shift count exceeds the number of bits in the
machine's word size, then the results are machine-dependent.




