a nifty feature for c preprocessor

[Basile Starynkevitch]

On Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:12:19 -0800
Ian Lance Taylor <iant@google.com> wrote:
> Any gcc developer who feels that this proposal is a good idea, please
> chime in here.
> 
> I personally do not feel it is worth the effort.  It's easy to use a
> more powerful macro processor, such as m4, to generate your C code.  

I agree with Ian, but with a small caveat. I feel that the (current GCC 4.6 or trunk)
preprocessor has not enough plugin hooks. I think that adding enough plugin hooks into the
preprocessor so that someone could (if he really wanted) develop a GCC plugin which e.g.
interfaces some interpreter (e.g. Guile) to the preprocessor would be good.

I don't find R.A's proposal (eval in the preprocessor) interesting to me, but I would like
GCC to offer enough plugin hooks so that we could reply: just make a GCC plugin (and I
would add "just make a MELT extension") to satisfy your dreams.

I would believe we cannot reply that to R.A today for GCC 4.6 (perhaps I am wrong), and it
would be better if we could suggest him to make a GCC plugin, that is if a future GCC
provided enough plugin hooks for that.

Cheers.
-- 
Basile STARYNKEVITCH         http://starynkevitch.net/Basile/
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