From within that directory, run the following command:

  emacs --no-site-file --no-init-file --batch --eval='(setq load-path (cons "." load-path) )' -f batch-byte-compile *.el

Then, again run the same command:

  emacs --no-site-file --no-init-file --batch --eval='(setq load-path (cons "." load-path) )' -f batch-byte-compile *.el

This first time around, both files complain without error.  The second
time I get the following error:

  In toplevel form:
  bar.el:1:1:Error: Constant symbol `:foo' specified in defvar
  Wrote /tmp/baz/foo.elc

I have verified that this is a regression from emacs 23.4.



In GNU Emacs 24.1.50.1 (i686-pc-linux-gnu, X toolkit)
 of 2012-07-09 on maru
Bzr revision: 108966 rgm@gnu.org-20120709101737-t80gis1iw52odbif
Windowing system distributor `The X.Org Foundation', version 11.0.11201902
Configured using:
 `configure '--without-gconf' '--without-gsettings'
 '--without-toolkit-scroll-bars' '--with-x-toolkit=lucid' 'CFLAGS=-O0
 -ggdb' '--enable-asserts' '--with-wide-int' '--enable-maintainer-mode''

Important settings:
  value of $LANG: en_US.utf8
  locale-coding-system: utf-8-unix
  default enable-multibyte-characters: t

-- 
Michael Welsh Duggan
(md5i@md5i.com)