Re: Question about eval and compile-command

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: Eshel Yaron <me@eshelyaron.com>
> Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2023 12:29:38 +0300
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I'm curious as to why `compile` and `recompile` use `eval` to evaluate
> the value of `compile-command`.  AFAICT since commit
> 5b6858da26e4e6671ee93b67b921a86309b3d6a2 (July 19 2001), these commands
> evaluate `compile-command`, as if it's expected to be an expression that
> evaluates to a string rather than just a plain string.
> 
> The commit message says:
> 
>     (compilation-parse-errors): `linenum' might return a this-error using
>     the alternative format (a pair of markers).
> 
> But I don't quite understand how that relates to `compile-command`.

It doesn't, it describes the change in compilation-parse-errors.

It looks like Stefan added the 'eval' calls as a minor cleanup and not
as part of the change itself.  Stefan, any chance you remember why you
added the 'eval' calls?