Macro

Macros operate at the level of a structure in which the language is modeled, which can be at various levels: theoretical monads, abstract syntax trees, lexer tokens, or character strings. The higher-level methods of doing this generally offer cleaner methods of expressing these transformations, and are preferred when accessible.

They are a particular case of metaprogramming, done within a language itself, as a restricted form of compile-time reflection?. The integration of macros with general compile-time reflection requires the availability of suitable ways to control code emission, that are not usually available in standard macro systems; in general these subjects are considered separate, except when open implementations are explicitly brought up.

• Growing Languages with Metamorphic Syntax Macros describes a syntax macro language with interesting properties and generality.
• Some LL1 posts which offer some useful advice about when and how to use macros. Perhaps these will coalesce into a proper set of published principles soon.
• Macros as Multi-Stage Computations: Type-Safe, Generative, Binding Macros in MacroML
• Maya: a multi-dispatch macro system for Java written in Kawa.
• Semantically-Sensitive Macroprocessing.
• Macro by Example.
• First-class Macros Have Types by Alan Bawden.

This page is linked from: C Compiler dlopen VM   Continuation-Passing Style   FDScript   Felix   FreshML   Lisp   PL 101   Scheme   Syntax in Lisp   Type System