>> My point is that someone seeing a reference to sym_equal may not realize that (1) it's identical (at the C level) to rb_obj_equal and that (2) that fact has

>> My point is that someone seeing a reference to sym_equal may not realize that (1) it's identical (at the C level) to rb_obj_equal and that (2) that fact has important performance ramifications. Exuberant ctags will find the #define that goes with sym_equal and make it quick to locate. Upon seeing that sym_equal is #define'd to rb_obj_equal, it will be clear that they're identical at the C level. It may not be obvious why it's a #define, but a cautious programmer would be on alert that changing it back to a separate function would likely have some kind of implications. Perhaps the ideal solution would be a large refactor to make the whole system as self-explanatory and surprise-free as possible. While waiting for that, this #define looks like a reasonable and low-risk bug-fix.