Metasyntax/Macros

[Paddy McCarthy]

"Michael Glassford" <glassfordm at hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<mailman.1053093806.15819.python-list at python.org>...
> I think possibly what the OP was looking for was something like REBOL
> dialects (http://rebol.com/docs/core23/rebolcore-15.html#sect9), which need
> not be implemented as macros at all--certainly not in a way that has all the
> drawbacks of C macros.
> 
> Mike
> 
Thanks Mike, and thank you Terry for your earlier posts.

Firstm If C style macro processors have put you off adding macros to
Python then I can synpathise with you. But does it have to be that
way?

If you have written a Python Package or modules or class hierarchys to
add functionality to Python for other *programmers* to then go and
use, then the access of that extra functionality within Python might
be enhanced if you could modify the syntax used. i.e. providing macros
with the Package, but interpreted please, after-all I would want it
still to be Python :-)

 Thanks for the REBOL link, it seems to be an interesting
implimentation - but I have just scaned it once, and I don't wantto
jump too soon into limiting my thoughts with implimentation details,
when at the moment I don't seem to have tickled enough debate beyomd
thoughts of cpp and m4.

Isn't a consideration of macros just like considering, say, functional
programming, or aspect -orientated programming; namely just another
area of language design that should be considered (maybe it is - and
has been soundly rejected - I realy should read all of those google
hits... :-)

Cheerio,  Paddy.