How Lisp macros differ from static code-generation and metaprogramming

Re:How Lisp macros differ from static code-generation and me... by draegtun on Wednesday January 26, 2011 @12:41PM (#2144067)

1. Macros aren't unique to lisp.

Perl6 also has macros (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl_6#Macros) though they haven't been implemented in Rakudo yet. Also Ioke states that it has macros.

2. Metaprogramming's power ... The best example I know of is Io where pretty much anything other than commas and parentheses...

Touched on Io introspection/metaprogramming before on HN:

* http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1804599

* http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1810480

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How Lisp macros differ from static code-generation and me... by gnosis on Wednesday January 26, 2011 @01:31PM (#2144344)

The question isn't so much whether other languages have something they call "macros", but whether their macro systems approach Lisp's in power, flexibility, ease of use, integration with the language, and natural fit on to the language representation? Or is the macro system in question more of a Turing tarpit?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How Lisp macros differ from static code-generation and me... by silentbicycle on Wednesday January 26, 2011 @02:00PM (#2144516)

Prolog's macro system does, but given it's model of computation (search/pattern matching are built in), it ends up being used far less than Lisp's.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How Lisp macros differ from static code-generation and me... by draegtun on Thursday January 27, 2011 @04:31AM (#2147249)

I believe Perl6 will fulfil those requirements because the language is built & hosted upon Perl6 Grammars which makes it totally reconfigurable.

ref:

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl_6_rules

* http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1280021

* http://perlcabal.org/syn/S06.html#Macros

[ Parent | on HN ]