compile

(compile name definition)

Coerces a literal (lambda ...) definition to a function, evaluated in the null lexical environment. With name nil, the function itself is returned; with a symbol name, the function is also installed as the global definition of that name and the name is returned, as in Common Lisp. rontolisp's compile does not generate native code -- it exists so definition-time code construction idioms load: in particular, a no-argument definition whose body defines methods over class metaobjects (the (funcall (compile nil(lambda () ,code)))idiom of object mappers, wherecode` closes over values computed from the class) is executed as definition-time method construction.

In a compiled program (JVM / WASM output), that method-construction idiom is expanded at compile time and spliced into the program, and the run-time re-execution of the same call is a no-op; any other run-time compile call signals an error, because a compiled program carries no compiler. Use eval for run-time evaluation of plain expressions.