elisp manual "Signalling Errors". The word "signal" is unclear

[Alan Mackenzie]

Elisp manual version 2.7.  Page "Signalling Errors".

The documentation for the function ERROR states
> This function signals an error with an error message constructed by applying
> `format' (*note String Conversion::) to FORMAT-STRING and ARGS.

To me it is a little unclear whether "signal" just means "signal this
error message to the user" (i.e. display it), or in addition "abort the
currently running function."  I'm pretty sure it means the latter.

I think it would be useful to clarify this by inserting a paragraph near
the top of the info page along these lines:

"\"Signalling\" an error means aborting the running function with an
error message.  If you just want to report an error to the user and then
carry on running the current function, use the function MESSAGE instead."

-- 
Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany)
Email: aacm@muuc.dee; to decode, wherever there is a repeated letter
(like "aa"), remove half of them (leaving, say, "a").