[bitc-dev] DISCUSS: To macro or not to macro?

[Sandro Magi]

I also just came across this which looks interesting:

  First-class Macros Have Types

  In modern Scheme, a macro captures the lexical environment where it is
  defined. This creates an opportunity for extending Scheme so that
  macros are first-class values. The key to achieving this goal, while
  preserving the ability to compile programs into reasonable code, is the
  addition of a type system. Many interesting things can be done with
  first-class macros, including the construction of a useful module
  system in which modules are also first-class.

http://people.csail.mit.edu/alan/mtt/

Sandro

Sandro Magi wrote:
> I mean multistage languages ala MetaOCaml. For instance, see "Macros as 
> MultiStage Computations: TypeSafe, Generative, Binding Macros in 
> MacroML" [1].
> 
> However, if macros are the way you're going, I've heard good things 
> about [2].
> 
> Sandro
> 
> [1] http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/440438.html
> [2] http://www.cs.utah.edu/plt/publications/macromod.pdf
> 
> 
> Jonathan S. Shapiro wrote:
>> Sandro:
>>
>> Can you say what you mean by "multistaging"?
>>
>> It is certainly true that a well-structured macro system can be
>> implemented in a pre-processor. There are two differences:
>>
>>   1. The macro expansion is integrated into the compiler front end.
>>      This is mainly a matter of implementation.
>>
>>   2. The macro mechanism is extensible. It is certainly possible to
>>      build extensible preprocessors, but most preprocessors have
>>      not been extensible in this way.
>>
>> shap
>>
>>
>> On Fri, 2008-07-18 at 13:16 -0400, Sandro Magi wrote:
>>> Ever since learning about multistaging, I've never seen the point of 
>>> macros. I'd imagine that BitC would only want to permit one stage, and 
>>> using staging has the advantage of retaining important type information.
>>>
>>> Staging can also permit a limited form of reflection/polytypism [1]. I 
>>> suspect that you might consider even a single stage as a tad too 
>>> ambitious though. :-)
>>>
>>> Sandro
>>>
>>> [1] http://okmij.org/ftp/ML/#gprint
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