GNU bug report logs - #59057
Emacs 29. Byte compiler sometimes forgets about a defvar.

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From: Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> iro.umontreal.ca>
To: Alan Mackenzie <acm <at> muc.de>
Cc: 59057 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#59057: Emacs 29.  Byte compiler sometimes forgets about a defvar.
Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2022 12:54:57 -0500

> The basic problem is that defvar is a dog's breakfast of a function.  In
> fact, it's two distinct functions sharing a name.  These two functions
> have little else to do with eachother.

Yup.

> And defvar appears to be the only function in Emacs where supplying nil
> as an &optional argument has an effect different from omitting it.  This
> is bad for anybody trying to learn Emacs Lisp.

Not the only one, sadly (`declare-function` comes to mind :-)), but yes,
it's unusual.


        Stefan

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