Re: Byte-compiler warnings

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

>> Are there other tools that assist in writing good Elisp code?  I know
>> about checkdoc, is there anything else?
> Once upon a time, there was a lot of such tools to help writing lisp
> code, including code pattern matcher, expert systems, AI user models,
> etc.

The tendency over the year has been first to move it all into the
compiler (since the kind of analysis needed to give those warnings is
often useful for a compiler to generate better code as well), and then
to add specialized tools again (that focus on particular coding errors).
IIUC the reason to develop the newer tools separately from the compilers
is because they tend to use different analyses (e.g. more superficial
(paying attention to identifier names), or much more costly, or that
require extra information/setup from the coders, ...).

In any case, within the Elisp realm, we're still at the stage where the
compiler is the most common place to add warnings.  There are a few other
tools (elint and checkdoc), of course.


        Stefan