elisp: Syntax Errors
17.3 Debugging Invalid Lisp Syntax
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The Lisp reader reports invalid syntax, but cannot say where the real
problem is. For example, the error ‘End of file during parsing’ in
evaluating an expression indicates an excess of open parentheses (or
square brackets). The reader detects this imbalance at the end of the
file, but it cannot figure out where the close parenthesis should have
been. Likewise, ‘Invalid read syntax: ")"’ indicates an excess close
parenthesis or missing open parenthesis, but does not say where the
missing parenthesis belongs. How, then, to find what to change?
If the problem is not simply an imbalance of parentheses, a useful
technique is to try ‘C-M-e’ at the beginning of each defun, and see if
it goes to the place where that defun appears to end. If it does not,
there is a problem in that defun.
However, unmatched parentheses are the most common syntax errors in
Lisp, and we can give further advice for those cases. (In addition,
just moving point through the code with Show Paren mode enabled might
find the mismatch.)
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