- Elisp Cheatsheet for Python Programmers
- Table of Contents
- Guiding Principles
- Collections
- File I/O
- License
Elisp Cheatsheet for Python Programmers
This document is for readers who are familiar with the Python programming language and wish to apply that knowledge to writing Emacs Lisp (Elisp). It is intended to be a “cheat sheet”/quick reference and should not be considered a primary source for either Python or Emacs APIs.
❗ This is a work in progress. Constructive feedback is encouraged.
Table of Contents TOC_3
Guiding Principles
- This document uses Python 3.12 and Emacs Lisp 29.1+ APIs from built-in packages.
-
Python code translated to Elisp emphasizes using generic (aka polymorphic) functions.
- This lowers the cognitive load of working with different Elisp sequence types (list, vector) and map types (hash-table, alist).
- The Emacs packages
seq.elandmap.eldo the heavy lifting here for sequence and map types respectively.
- This document aims to provide guidance for a proficient Python programmer to implement Elisp code using familiar programming abstractions without surprise.
- Performance is at best a tertiary concern.
Collections
Comparison Functions
In Elisp, the comparison function used to disambiguate elements in a sequence-type collection or keys in a map-type collection is significant. When in doubt, it is better to specify the comparison function than trust (hope) that the default comparison function will behave to developer intent. Info (elisp) Equality Predicates details the built-in comparison functions.
That said, here is some general guidance. Use the comparison function:
eqlif you want to compare numbers or symbols.equalif you want to compare strings.
Depending on the type of object to compare, you may have to resort to writing a custom comparison function.
Python shields you from this implementation detail. Unfortunately Elisp does not.
Sequence Types
Python List to Elisp List
The Elisp list type is a linked-list data structure. Elisp analogs to the Python list methods to handle insertion, appending, and updating are left to the developer to implement. Arguably, the omission of these functions is reluctance on the part of Emacs Core to make the trade-off design decisions required to implement them.
s: list x: any t: list n: integer i: integer j: integer cmp: comparison function
❗All Elisp translations will not mutate the original input unless noted.
| Python | Elisp | Notes |
|---|---|---|
s = [], s = list() |
(setq s (list)) |
|
list(range(0, n)) |
(number-sequence 0, (1- n)) |
|
x in s |
(seq-contains-p s x #'cmp) |
Make sure cmp will compare the element type! |
x not in s |
(not (seq-contains-p s x #'cmp)) |
Make sure cmp will compare the element type! |
s + t |
(seq-concatenate 'list s t) |
|
s * n or n * s |
(seq-map (lambda (a) (* n a)) s) |
|
s[i] |
(seq-elt s i) |
|
s[i:j] |
(seq-subseq s i j) |
|
s[i:j:k] |
||
len(s) |
(seq-length s) |
|
min(s) |
(seq-min s) |
Elements of s must be orderable. |
max(s) |
(seq-max s) |
Elements of s must be orderable. |
s.index(x) |
(seq-position s x) |
|
s.count(x) |
(seq-count (lambda (a) (= x a)) s) |
|
s[0] |
(seq-first s) |
|
s[-n] |
(seq-first (seq-subseq s -n)) |
|
if not s: |
(seq-empty-p s) |
|
s[i] = x |
||
s[i:j] = t |
||
del s[i:j] |
||
del s[i] |
(seq-remove-at-position s i) |
|
s[i:j:k] = t |
||
del s[i:j:k] |
||
s.append(x) |
||
s.clear() |
(setq s (list)) |
|
s.copy() |
(seq-copy s) |
|
s.extend(t) |
(append s t) |
|
s *=n |
(seq-map (lambda (a) (* n a)) s) |
|
s.insert(i, x) |
||
s.pop() |
(pop s) |
s is mutated. |
s.insert(0, x) |
(push s x) |
s is mutated. |
s.remove(x) |
(seq-remove (lambda (a) (= x a)) s) |
|
s.reverse() |
(seq-reverse s), (reverse s), (nreverse s) |
nreverse will destructively mutate s. |
Python Tuple to Elisp Vector
The closest Elisp analog to a Python tuple is a vector. They both model immutable sequences.
s: tuple/vector x: any t: tuple/vector n: integer i: integer j: integer cmp: comparison function
| Python | Elisp | Notes |
|---|---|---|
s = (1, 2, 3), s = tuple(range(3)) |
(setq s (vector 1 2 3)), (setq s [1 2 3]) |
|
x in s |
(seq-contains-p s x #'cmp) |
Make sure cmp will compare the element type! |
x not in s |
(not (seq-contains-p s x #'cmp)) |
Make sure cmp will compare the element type! |
s + t |
(seq-concatenate 'vector s t) |
|
s * n or n * s |
(seq-into (seq-map (lambda (a) (* n a)) s) 'vector) |
|
s[i] |
(seq-elt s i) |
|
s[i:j] |
(seq-subseq s i j) |
|
s[i:j:k] |
||
len(s) |
(seq-length s) |
|
min(s) |
(seq-min s) |
Elements of s can be ordered. |
max(s) |
(seq-max s) |
Elements of s can be ordered. |
s.index(x) |
(seq-position s x) |
|
s.count(x) |
(seq-count (lambda (a) (= x a)) s) |
|
s[0] |
(seq-first s) |
|
s[-n] |
(seq-first (seq-subseq s -n)) |
|
if not s: |
(seq-empty-p s) |
Map Types
Python Dictionary to Elisp Hash Table
The Elisp hash-table is the most straightforward analog to a Python dictionary. That said, there are gotchas, particularly around hash-table creation. If the keys are of type string, then the key comparison should be set to the function equal via the :test slot. If :test is omitted the default function eql is used which compares numbers.
d: dictionary/hash-table k: key v: value cmp: comparison function
| Python | Elisp | Notes |
|---|---|---|
d = dict(), d = {} |
(setq d (make-hash-table :test #'cmp)) |
If :test is omitted, default cmp is eql. |
list(d) |
(map-keys d) |
|
len(d) |
(map-length d) |
|
d[k] |
(map-elt d k) |
|
d[k] = v |
(map-put! d k v) |
|
del d[k] |
(map-delete d k) |
|
k in d |
(map-contains-key d k) |
|
k not in d |
(not (map-contains-key d k)) |
|
iter(d) |
||
d.clear() |
(clrhash d) |
|
d.copy() |
(map-copy d) |
|
d.get(k) |
(map-elt d k) |
|
d.items() |
(map-pairs d) |
|
d.keys() |
(map-keys d) |
|
d.pop(k) |
||
d.popitem() |
||
reversed(d) |
||
d.values() |
(map-values d) |
|
(map-insert d k v) |
Like map-put! but does not mutate d. |
Python Dictionary to Elisp Association List (alist)
An alist is a convention to construct a basic list such that key-value semantics can be applied to it. An alist is allowed to possess degenerate keys (that is, keys are not necessarily unique!). This is because in truth, an alist is still a list with no actual enforcement of how (key, value) pairs are stored in it. IMHO Elisp alists are an abomination, albeit a pragmatic one. Conventional Elisp wisdom arguing for alist usage boils down to convenient serialization and the notion that in practice, alist sizes are small enough to not merit the overhead of using hash-tables.
Regardless, my guidance is to exercise caution when translating Python dictionary code to an Elisp alist.
d: dictionary/alist k: key v: value
| Python | Elisp | Notes |
|---|---|---|
d = dict(), d = {} |
(setq d (list)) |
|
list(d) |
(map-keys d) |
|
len(d) |
(map-length d) |
|
d[k] |
(map-elt d k) |
Type-specific behavior requires specifying test function t. |
d[k] = v |
(map-put! d k v) |
This only works if d is not nil. To initialize use (push '(k . v) d). |
del d[k] |
(setq d (map-delete d k)) |
Type-specific behavior is dependent on key type. 😞 |
k in d |
(map-contains-key d k) |
|
k not in d |
(not (map-contains-key d k)) |
|
iter(d) |
||
d.clear() |
(setq d (list)) |
|
d.copy() |
(map-copy d) |
|
d.get(k) |
(map-elt d k) |
|
d.items() |
(map-pairs d) |
|
d.keys() |
(map-keys d) |
|
d.pop(k) |
||
d.popitem() |
||
reversed(d) |
||
d.values() |
(map-values d) |
|
(map-insert d k v) |
Like map-put! but does not mutate d. Also does not check uniqueness. |
Python Dictionary to Elisp Property List (plist)
TBD
Looping
Two functions which can iterate through a map are map-do and map-apply. Shown below are the Python translated equivalents.
(map-do f d) ; return nil def map_do(d):
for k,v in d.items():
f(k, v) (map-apply f d) ; return results of f applied to each element of d as a list def map_apply(d):
results = []
for k,v in d.items():
results.append(f(k, v))
return resultsPython String to Elisp String
s: string a: string b: string c: string sep: separator string strs: list of strings
| Python | Elisp | Notes |
|---|---|---|
"" |
(make-string 0 ? ) |
|
a + b + c |
(concat a b c) |
|
s.strip() |
(string-clean-whitespace s) |
|
s.capitalize() |
(capitalize s) |
|
s.casefold() |
||
s.center(width) |
||
s.count(sub) |
||
s.encode(encoding) |
||
s.endswith(suffix) |
(string-suffix-p suffix s) |
|
s.expandtabs(tabsize) |
||
s.find(sub) |
(string-search sub s) |
|
s.format(*args, **kwargs) |
(format fmt args…) |
|
s.index(sub) |
(string-search sub s) |
|
s.isalnum() |
(string-match "^[[:alnum:]]*$" s) |
|
s.isalpha() |
(string-match "^[[:alpha:]]*$" s) |
|
s.isascii() |
(string-match "^[[:ascii:]]*$" s) |
|
s.isdecimal() |
||
s.isdigit() |
(string-match "^[[:digit:]]*$" s) |
|
s.islower() |
(string-match "^[[:lower:]]*$" s) |
case-fold-search must be nil. |
s.isnumeric() |
||
s.isprintable() |
(string-match "^[[:print:]]*$" s) |
|
s.isspace() |
(string-match "^[[:space:]]*$" s) |
|
s.istitle() |
||
s.isupper() |
(string-match "^[[:upper:]]*$" s) |
case-fold-search must be nil. |
sep.join(strs) |
(string-join strs sep) |
|
s.ljust(width) |
||
s.lower() |
(downcase s) |
|
s.lstrip() |
(string-trim-left s) |
|
s.removeprefix(prefix) |
(string-remove-prefix prefix s) |
|
s.removesuffix(suffix) |
(string-remove-suffix suffix s) |
|
s.replace(old, new, count=-1) |
(string-replace old new s) |
|
s.rfind(sub) |
||
s.rindex(sub) |
||
s.rjust(width) |
||
s.rsplit(sep) |
||
s.rstrip() |
(string-trim-right s) |
|
s.split(sep) |
(split-string s sep) |
|
s.splitlines() |
(string-lines s) |
|
s.startswith(prefix) |
(string-prefix-p prefix s) |
|
s.strip() |
(string-trim s) |
|
s.swapcase() |
||
s.title() |
(upcase-initials s) |
|
s.upper() |
(upcase s) |
|
s.zfill(width) |
File I/O
The in-memory representation of a file in Emacs is a buffer, whose closest analog in a general purpose language like Python is a file handle. A common pattern is to read the contents of a file into list of strings, each string separated by a newline ("\n").
Here is an example of this in Python.
def read_file_lines(filename):
with open(filename, "r") as infile:
lines = infile.readlines()
return lines
for line in read_file_lines(filename):
print(line.rstrip('\n'))Here is an Elisp equivalent.
(defun read-file-lines (filename)
"Load FILENAME into a buffer and read each line."
(with-temp-buffer
;; Insert the contents of the file into the temporary buffer
(insert-file-contents filename)
;; Move to the beginning of the buffer
(goto-char (point-min))
;; Initialize an empty list to hold the lines
(let ((lines '()))
;; Loop until the end of the buffer is reached
(while (not (eobp))
;; Read the current line
(let ((line (string-trim-right (thing-at-point 'line t))))
;; Add the line to the list
(push line lines))
;; Move to the next line
(forward-line 1))
;; Return the lines in the correct order
(nreverse lines))))
;; Example usage:
(let ((lines (read-file-lines "somefile.log")))
(dolist (line lines)
(message "%s" line)))Writing an Elisp list to a file is illustrated in the following example.
(defun write-strings-to-file (strings filename)
"Write a list of STRINGS to FILENAME, one string per line."
(with-temp-file filename
;; Iterate over each string in the list
(dolist (str strings)
;; Insert the string followed by a newline character
(insert str "\n"))))
;; Example usage:
(let ((my-strings (read-file-lines "somefile.log"))
(file-path "some-other-file.log"))
(write-strings-to-file my-strings file-path))Although the above examples work as advertised, conventional Elisp wisdom frowns upon pipeline style processing of collections arguing that:
- Elisp has been optimized to work in-place with buffer contents and that transformations should be made directly to the buffer content.
- Pipeline style processing of collections is slow. If you are going to process a large log file, using Elisp is not the right tool for the job.
It is left to the reader whether to heed this guidance.
License
© 2025. This work is openly licensed via CC BY 4.0.