Re: byte-opt.el addition - optimize list of compile-time constants

[Zack Weinberg]

Miles Bader <address@hidden> writes:

>> > A user might well have a constant list with (function (lambda ...))
>> > embedded in it that _isn't_ intended to be executed; the compiler
>> > simply cannot make assumptions like you suggest about the contents of
>> > a constant list.
>> 
>> I thought the whole point of (function ...) was to assert that the
>> lambda expression it contains *will* be used by execution.
>
> Yes, but that only applies if it occurs in an evaluable context. 
> Anyplace else, all bets are off.

That strikes me as just plain silly.  What's the point of a hint if it
doesn't always mean what it means?

And data structures containing code are common, and are in fact one of
the nicer things about Lisp in the first place - why pessimize them?

zw