GNU bug report logs - #46636
28.0.50; M-: (funcall #'or) doesn't throw an error

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From: Pip Cet <pipcet <at> gmail.com>
To: rms <at> gnu.org
Cc: 46636 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Drew Adams <drew.adams <at> oracle.com>
Subject: bug#46636: [External] : bug#46636: 28.0.50; M-: (funcall #'or) doesn't throw an error
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2021 08:41:03 +0000

On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 6:20 AM Richard Stallman <rms <at> gnu.org> wrote:
> I think I agree that funcalling `or' should give an error.

This applies to all macros. I chose #'or as an example because it is
often used as though it were a function, so people might be confused
into trying it (as I have, I must confess).

(funcall #'setq x 3)

also "works", and it's clear in that case that it should not.

I think the right way to fix this is not to macroexpand (funcall #'f)
in eval-expression, but to leave it to the byte compiler to do so; the
byte compiler often assumes that function bindings don't change, so it
would not be a new problem for it to also assume that if #'or is a
macro at compile time, it will be a macro at runtime, so it can avoid
simplifying calls to well-known macros, at least.

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