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(elisp)Forms

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Kinds of Forms
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   A Lisp object that is intended to be evaluated is called a "form".
How Emacs evaluates a form depends on its data type.  Emacs has three
different kinds of form that are evaluated differently: symbols, lists,
and "all other types".  This section describes all three kinds, one by
one, starting with the "all other types" which are self-evaluating
forms.

Self-Evaluating Forms

Forms that evaluate to themselves.

Symbol Forms

Symbols evaluate as variables.

Classifying Lists

How to distinguish various sorts of list forms.

Function Indirection

When a symbol appears as the car of a list,

we find the real function via the symbol.

Function Forms

Forms that call functions.

Macro Forms

Forms that call macros.

Special Forms

``Special forms'' are idiosyncratic primitives,

most of them extremely important.

Autoloading

Functions set up to load files

containing their real definitions.