From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
From: Nick Dokos <nicholas.dokos@hp.com>
Subject: Re: Problems with (defvar foo) and Emacs 23
Date: Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:46:33 -0400
Message-ID: <14128.1333313193@alphaville>
References: <87sjgngtzk.fsf@norang.ca>
Reply-To: nicholas.dokos@hp.com
Return-path: <emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org>
Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([208.118.235.92]:60822)
	by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71)
	(envelope-from <nicholas.dokos@hp.com>) id 1SERfe-00015D-Oj
	for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:46:43 -0400
Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71)
	(envelope-from <nicholas.dokos@hp.com>) id 1SERfd-0001MK-5r
	for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:46:42 -0400
In-Reply-To: Message from Bernt Hansen <bernt@norang.ca>
	of "Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:57:51 EDT." <87sjgngtzk.fsf@norang.ca>
List-Id: "General discussions about Org-mode." <emacs-orgmode.gnu.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/options/emacs-orgmode>,
	<mailto:emacs-orgmode-request@gnu.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-orgmode>
List-Post: <mailto:emacs-orgmode@gnu.org>
List-Help: <mailto:emacs-orgmode-request@gnu.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacs-orgmode>,
	<mailto:emacs-orgmode-request@gnu.org?subject=subscribe>
Errors-To: emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org
Sender: emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org
To: Bernt Hansen <bernt@norang.ca>
Cc: nicholas.dokos@hp.com, emacs-orgmode@gnu.org

Bernt Hansen <bernt@norang.ca> wrote:

> Hi Bastien,
> 
> I updated to master today e917477 ((org-xhtml.el): Removed, 2012-04-01)
> and am getting errors about org-clock-last-state not defined in my GNU
> Emacs 23.2.1 (i486-pc-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 2.20.0) of 2010-12-11 on
> raven, modified by Debian
> 
> I can see the variable in the source defined as
> 
> lisp/org-clock.el:(defvar org-clock-state) ;; dynamically scoped into this function
> 
> but I don't get a variable definition with this code in emacs 23.2.1.
> 
> If I change the definition to
> 
> (defvar org-clock-state nil)
> 
> then it works for me.
> 
> There are _lots_ of these types of definitions with no value in the
> org-mode source.
> 

They are not supposed to *define* a variable. They are there to tell the
compiler not to worry. They are somewhat similar[fn:1] to extern declarations
in C code: whoever needs to use the variable says

  (defvar foo)

There is (supposed to be) *one* place somewhere that actually defines
it:

  (defvar foo 1)

Nick

Footnotes:

[fn:1] ...for some value of "similar". You have to take this with the
appropriately sized grain of salt.