Re: What does byte-compile a variable containing a lambda do?

[Lennart Borgman <lennart.borgman@gmail.com>]

On Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 10:45 AM, Andreas Schwab <schwab@linux-m68k.org> wrote:
> Lennart Borgman <lennart.borgman@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> The help text for byte-compile says
>>
>>     byte-compile is a compiled Lisp function in `bytecomp.el'.
>>
>>     (byte-compile form)
>>
>>     If form is a symbol, byte-compile its function definition.
>>     If form is a lambda or a macro, byte-compile it as a function.
>>
>> I do not understand the last sentence. What happens? If a variable
>> contains a lambda and you do
>>
>>     (byte-compile VAR-WITH-LAMBDA)
>
> Since byte-compile is a regular function, it can only see the value it
> gets passed.  So unless you pass it a symbol (first case) it can only
> return the byte compiled form without side effect.

Yes, but in the first case in the doc string it byte compiles the
function definition "in place". In the second case I think it should
say that it returns the byte compiled function, or?