Re: More reliable byte compilation, take 45

[Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>]

> And that's all?  Then why not fix that problem right away, it sounds
> like something that should be easy to fix.  (Though I'm not sure I
> understand why "some other ELisp file was not loaded beforehand" -- is
> that a case of a missing 'require' or 'eval-when-compile' or somesuch?)

Often the problem is with packages where you basically have to load
all/most the files before you can call any of its functions (because of
mutual dependencies between the files) and where the authors never
compile the code or only ever compile the code from a running session
where the files have already been loaded.

Fixing those can be a pain in the rear, not only because of the amount
of code you need to move between files to disentangle the dependencies,
but also because it requires educating the authors about it (they may
not see the value/importance).

> Ah, so the problem is with buggy *.el files, and only with them?

Yes, tho the authors may disagree about the characterization of "buggy",
in the sense that it works reliably *if* you compile the code by running
their Makefile.


        Stefan