Re: (load "file" 'noerror) could be more robust

[Richard Stallman]

    It seems to me that it would be useful for the NOERROR flag (or an
    analogous flag) to the builtin function `load' to cause `load' to
    refrain from signalling an error when a nonexistent environment
    variable is part of the filename.

Does this do the job?

*** lread.c.~1.303.~    Sat Dec  7 07:25:43 2002
--- lread.c     Sun Dec 15 14:36:51 2002
***************
*** 637,642 ****
--- 637,650 ----
    return Vloads_in_progress = old;
  }
  
+ /* This handler function is used via internal_condition_case_1.  */
+ 
+ static Lisp_Object
+ load_error_handler (data)
+      Lisp_Object data;
+ {
+   return Qnil;
+ }
  
  DEFUN ("load", Fload, Sload, 1, 5, 0,
         doc: /* Execute a file of Lisp code named FILE.
***************
*** 692,698 ****
       everywhere, it accidentally stayed here.  Since then, enough people
       supposedly have things like (load "$PROJECT/foo.el") in their .emacs
       that it seemed risky to remove.  */
!   file = Fsubstitute_in_file_name (file);
  
    /* Avoid weird lossage with null string as arg,
       since it would try to load a directory as a Lisp file */
--- 700,715 ----
       everywhere, it accidentally stayed here.  Since then, enough people
       supposedly have things like (load "$PROJECT/foo.el") in their .emacs
       that it seemed risky to remove.  */
!   if (! NILP (noerror))
!     {
!       file = internal_condition_case_1 (Fsubstitute_in_file_name, file,
!                                       Qt, load_error_handler);
!       if (NILP (file))
!       return Qnil;
!     }
!   else
!     file = Fsubstitute_in_file_name (file);
!     
  
    /* Avoid weird lossage with null string as arg,
       since it would try to load a directory as a Lisp file */
***************
*** 731,739 ****
    if (fd == -1)
      {
        if (NILP (noerror))
!       while (1)
!         Fsignal (Qfile_error, Fcons (build_string ("Cannot open load file"),
!                                      Fcons (file, Qnil)));
        else
        return Qnil;
      }
--- 748,755 ----
    if (fd == -1)
      {
        if (NILP (noerror))
!       Fsignal (Qfile_error, Fcons (build_string ("Cannot open load file"),
!                                    Fcons (file, Qnil)));
        else
        return Qnil;
      }