Disallow creation of circular variable alias chains

Make `defvaralias` signal an error upon attempts to create variable
alias cycles.  This detects errors earlier and makes the alias
traversal during execution simpler and faster since no cycle detection
is needed elsewhere.
Now variable and function aliases are handled identically in these
respects.

* src/lisp.h (indirect_variable): Remove declaration.
* src/data.c (indirect_variable): Remove.
(Findirect_variable): Update doc string.  Simplify alias resolution.
(Fboundp, find_symbol_value, set_internal, default_value)
(set_default_internal, Fmake_variable_buffer_local)
(Fmake_local_variable, Fkill_local_variable, Flocal_variable_p)
(Flocal_variable_if_set_p, Fvariable_binding_locus):
* src/buffer.c (buffer_local_value):
* src/eval.c (specbind): Simplify variable alias resolution.
(Fdefvaralias): Update doc string.  Check for cycles.
* doc/lispref/variables.texi (Variable Aliases):
Mention that `defvaralias` can signal `cyclic-variable-indirection`
but `indirect-variable` cannot.
* etc/NEWS: Announce the change.
* test/src/eval-tests.el (eval-tests-defvaralias): New test.

1 files changed, 1 insertions, 1 deletions

diff --git a/src/buffer.c b/src/buffer.c
index 31c08cf3650..3e3be805a6d 100644
--- a/src/buffer.c
+++ b/src/buffer.c
@@ -1307,7 +1307,7 @@ buffer_local_value (Lisp_Object variable, Lisp_Object buffer)
  start:
   switch (sym->u.s.redirect)
     {
-    case SYMBOL_VARALIAS: sym = indirect_variable (sym); goto start;
+    case SYMBOL_VARALIAS: sym = SYMBOL_ALIAS (sym); goto start;
     case SYMBOL_PLAINVAL: result = SYMBOL_VAL (sym); break;
     case SYMBOL_LOCALIZED:
       { /* Look in local_var_alist.  */