Re: Why shouldn't we have a #if .... #else .... #endif construct in Emacs Lisp?

[Alan Mackenzie]

Hello, Emanuel.

On Mon, Aug 28, 2023 at 21:53:04 +0200, Emanuel Berg wrote:
> Alan Mackenzie wrote:

> > In C, we have the very useful conditional compilation
> > directives introduced by #if or #ifdef, etc., which end at
> > #end.

> Those are directives to the C preprocessor and some people say
> it is a sign of weakness such a thing is even necessary to
> begin with.

I think these people tend to be those living in an ideal world rather
than the real world.

> Let's see if they are right!

> What problem do you have?

The one I outlined in my original post: the use of obsolete
functions/variables inside conditionals which ensure they only get
called/referenced in older versions of Emacs.  These obsolete
objects are getting needlessly compiled in the master branch, giving
rise to lots of irritating warning messages.

It's a problem which arises in packages rather than in the core.

> If we can solve it in Elisp, we cannot say those people saying that
> are wrong.

My proposed solution is in Elisp.

> -- 
> underground experts united
> https://dataswamp.org/~incal

-- 
Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).