Re: Lisp files that load cl-lib in problematical ways

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
> Cc: acm@muc.de, emacs-devel@gnu.org
> Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2023 22:27:32 -0400
> 
> What's wrong with using cl-lib in many files, for example abbrev.el ad
> debug.el, is that each one is a step towards making Emacs depend
> pervasively on cl-lib.

I don't understand how cl-lib here is different from other packages
that are used pervasively in Emacs.  We have quite a few of them that
aren't preloaded.

> With each step in that direction, it becomes gradually harder and
> harder to work on Emacs at all without being familiar with the CL functions.
> That general dependence is the problem I want to prevent.

This ship has sailed long ago.  cl-lib is used in many packages, both
those bundled with Emacs and those unbundled.  It is considered a
convenience library by many Lisp programmers who contribute to Emacs.
In this situation, rejecting code that uses cl-lib is
counter-productive and detrimental to attracting new contributors.