Syntactic Abstraction: The syntax-case expander

[Brad]

This is the first that I have heard the term "hygienic macro", but I can see the need to keep the macro internals from colliding with the code that is using the macro.

I wonder what the state of the macro is these days? I have rarely used them. Some argue that they create a domain-specific language, and others argue whether this is a good or a bad outcome. I tend to view functional languages as a first-class way of accomplishing similar ends, without the need for a macro language that is separate from the base language.

[Erik]

This chapter was difficult to read for me. I've never used macros this advanced. I would usually just inline or use simple macros within inline functions.

It seemed like an introduction to a language or system. I didn't exactly understand the problem they were trying to solve or address either. This chapter was confusing to me. It's likely I should have spent more time on this chapter, but I wasn't that interested in it.

[Brad]

Here is a good Wikipedia page on hygenic macros, that comes to the point more clearly than the material in the chapter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygienic...