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From: mesard@bbn.com (Wayne Mesard)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: The symbol `forward' in GNU Emacs.
Message-ID: <31208@bbn.COM>
Date: 21 Oct 88 17:45:17 GMT
References: <31125@bbn.COM>
Sender: news@bbn.COM
Lines: 40

From article <31125@bbn.COM>, by jr@bbn.com (John Robinson):
> In article <737@contact.umb.edu>, karl@contact (Karl Berry.) writes:
>>Does anyone know what this symbol is, or where it came from? I cannot find it
>>anywhere in the C or elisp code. Its function cell, value cell, and property
>>list are all nil, which makes me wonder why it exists.
> 
> A grep of mh-e.el reveals (amonf others):
> 
>   (setq mh-next-direction 'forward)
> 
> Now I believe (shaky lisp though) that 'forward will at least make a
> symbol-table entry for forward.

Yes.

> My guess is you use mh-e.

Not necessarily.  Turns out that just sneezing in the direction of a
symbol will get it put in the symbol table.  For example, *defining* the
following function will create entries for w1, w2, w3, w4 and w5.

  (defun w1 (w2)
    (let ((w3)
	  (w4 t))
      (setq w3 'w5)))

"forward" appears (among other places) as a formal parameter to isearch.

>  Do I get the $64?

How 'bout if we split it?

> /jr
> jr@bbn.com or bbn!jr


-- 
unsigned *Wayne_Mesard();    "Beauty is only skin deep, but
MESARD@BBN.COM                Ugly goes straight to the bone."
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