Re: defvar vs setqif..

["D. Goel" <deego@glue.umd.edu>]

> > If there was a special-form that did exactly what defvar does, hopefully
> > people would stop using defvar when they didn't mean to...
> 
> The way they're using defvar is correct.

yeah, true.  i didn't mean to suggest otherwise.  i just mean that
defvar 

> 
> It would be much better to fix the definition-finding functions to
> prefer defvars that initialize the variable over those that don't, since
> the `real' definition almost always initializes the value (and should).


how can a definition-finding function tell which of the several
defvar's it may encounter.  AFAICT, there is no way for a
definition-finding function like tag-creation-function to tell which
is the 'defining' defvar and which is not...

> 
> > So i was wondering is a special-form like 'setqif' could be
> > provided whose only difference from 'defvar' is in a name...
> 
> That name would be wrong, because the usage of defvar you're
> complaining about doesn't set the variable at all.

but that's why i had an 'if' at the end.. to suggest that setq only if
not already defined.. else don't setq..

> 
> In any case, we should just make defvar work correctly.

mean? 



in any case, all this is a very 'cosmetic' issue.. no big deal if 
folks didn't like the idea :)

Have a good day,

D				   <http://www.glue.umd.edu/~deego/>
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