Re: macro expansion in makeinfo

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: Vladimir Volovich <address@hidden>
> Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 23:19:19 +0400
> 
> How this should be changed?

See the thread archived here:

  http://mail.gnu.org/pipermail/bug-texinfo/2001-November/004498.html

I think it gives an answer to your question.

> 2) BTW, although "makeinfo --macro-expand=-" does not expand macros
> on @defmac lines, the resulting *.info files DO expand macros
> EVEN ON @defmac lines.

Yes, known.  The early expansion of macros (required by -E) is the
one that cannot be supported due to the abnormal syntax of @defmac
and its ilk.

> So - why --macro-expand=- does not expand macros on @defmac lines, but
> the info files have them expanded???

Because the macros in the final output are expanded when the
problematic parts of @def... commands were already processed, while
what you ask for needs an early macro expansion, before the Info
output is started.

Please note that, although macros are expanded in the Info output,
this is still not a full support for macros: it only supports macros
that don't modify the special characters required to parse @defmac.
If you define a macro that expands into a comma or a brace, or some
other token crucial for processing of @defmac, things will get ugly.
And yet such a use of macros is quite reasonable.