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m4_quote [was: fix AT_SETUP's sh-escaping]


From: Eric Blake
Subject: m4_quote [was: fix AT_SETUP's sh-escaping]
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 06:27:05 -0600
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According to Joel E. Denny on 10/25/2006 2:20 AM:
> On Mon, 23 Oct 2006, Paul Eggert wrote:
> 
>> First, shouldn't that m4_dquote be m4_quote?
> 
> As far as I can tell, m4_quote does nothing.  That is, the quotes it adds 
> are just stripped immediately upon return.  I'm really not sure why 
> m4_quote exists, but maybe I'm just missing something.

It exists for expanding relatively arbitrary parameters inside nested
macros.  For example, in the upcoming M4 1.4.8 manual, I have the
following example of a foreach macro (converted here to m4sugar syntax):

# foreachq(x, `item_1, item_2, ..., item_n', stmt)
#   quoted list, simple version
m4_define([foreachq], [m4_pushdef([$1])_foreachq($@)m4_popdef([$1])])
m4_define([_arg1], [$1])
m4_define([_foreachq], [m4_if(m4_quote($2), [], [],
  [m4_define([$1], [_arg1($2)])$3[]$0([$1], [m4_shift($2)], [$3])])])

If you don't use m4_quote, then the unquoted expansion of $2 inside the
first argument of m4_if will lead to syntax errors if $2 contains unquoted
commas.

However, I don't recommend the above foreachq macro - it is quadratic in
behavior (the m4 1.4.8 manual documents it as an example of what not to
do, then provides a better solution later).  Instead, use m4_foreach
already provided by m4sugar, which already solves the problem in a linear
fashion.

m4_quote still will not protect you from unquoted close parentheses, so if
your arbitrary text is likely to be a portable shell case statement, you
are already in quoting trouble.  There is an item on the M4 2.0 todo list
to add a new builtin that can handle truly arbitrary text, regardless of
unquoted commas or close parentheses, but that has not been implemented yet.

- --
Life is short - so eat dessert first!

Eric Blake             address@hidden
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