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elisp: Where Defined

 
 15.8 Which File Defined a Certain Symbol
 ========================================
 
  -- Function: symbol-file symbol &optional type
      This function returns the name of the file that defined SYMBOL.  If
      TYPE is ‘nil’, then any kind of definition is acceptable.  If TYPE
      is ‘defun’, ‘defvar’, or ‘defface’, that specifies function
      definition, variable definition, or face definition only.
 
      The value is normally an absolute file name.  It can also be ‘nil’,
      if the definition is not associated with any file.  If SYMBOL
      specifies an autoloaded function, the value can be a relative file
      name without extension.
 
    The basis for ‘symbol-file’ is the data in the variable
 ‘load-history’.
 
  -- Variable: load-history
      The value of this variable is an alist that associates the names of
      loaded library files with the names of the functions and variables
      they defined, as well as the features they provided or required.
 
      Each element in this alist describes one loaded library (including
      libraries that are preloaded at startup).  It is a list whose CAR
      is the absolute file name of the library (a string).  The rest of
      the list elements have these forms:
 
      ‘VAR’
           The symbol VAR was defined as a variable.
      ‘(defun . FUN)’
           The function FUN was defined.
      ‘(t . FUN)’
           The function FUN was previously an autoload before this
           library redefined it as a function.  The following element is
           always ‘(defun . FUN)’, which represents defining FUN as a
           function.
      ‘(autoload . FUN)’
           The function FUN was defined as an autoload.
      ‘(defface . FACE)’
           The face FACE was defined.
      ‘(require . FEATURE)’
           The feature FEATURE was required.
      ‘(provide . FEATURE)’
           The feature FEATURE was provided.
      ‘(cl-defmethod METHOD SPECIALIZERS)’
           The named METHOD was defined by using ‘cl-defmethod’, with
           SPECIALIZERS as its specializers.
      ‘(define-type . TYPE)’
           The type TYPE was defined.
 
      The value of ‘load-history’ may have one element whose CAR is
      ‘nil’.  This element describes definitions made with ‘eval-buffer’
      on a buffer that is not visiting a file.
 
    The command ‘eval-region’ updates ‘load-history’, but does so by
 adding the symbols defined to the element for the file being visited,
 rather than replacing that element.  Eval.
 

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