Re: Returning variable "references" under lexical binding

[Stefan Monnier]

> (defun start-my-timer ()
>   (let ((timer (gensym)))
>     ;; ... (set timer (make-timer ...)) ...
>     timer))
[...]
> (defun cancel-my-timer (timer)
>   (cancel-timer (symbol-value timer)))

Why not

  (defun start-my-timer ()
    (let ((timer (make-timer ...))
      ...
      timer))
  (defun cancel-my-timer (timer)
    (cancel-timer timer))

> The documenentation for lexical variables cautions against treating them
> as symbols, specifically stating that functions like symbol-value will
> not work.

In your above code, you're not treating variables as symbols.
You're just storing a symbol inside a variable, which is fine.
E.g. a problematic example would have been (set 'timer ...) or
(symbol-value 'timer).


        Stefan