Re: enhancement suggestions

[Akim Demaille]

>>> "Stepan" == Stepan Kasal <address@hidden> writes:

 > Index: TODO
 > ===================================================================
 > RCS file: /cvsroot/m4/m4/TODO,v
 > retrieving revision 1.13
 > diff -u -r1.13 TODO
 > --- TODO     12 Aug 2003 15:33:56 -0000      1.13
 > +++ TODO     3 Feb 2005 07:03:10 -0000
 > @@ -59,6 +59,21 @@
 
 >  * FEATURES OR PROBLEMS
 
 > +  + We need a way to ask for one level of expansion; this is somewhat
 > +    similar, but not identical, to `defn'.  For example:
 > +    expandonce(`macro(a, b, c)')
 > +    would return the body of the macro, quoted, with parameters substituted;
 > +    expandonce(`include(`file')')
 > +    would return the contents of the file, in a quote pair.
 > +    This would help with problems like
 > +    http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/m4-discuss/2005-02/msg00000.html
 > +    and perhaps could also address this
 > +    http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/autoconf/2004-12/msg00095.html
 > +    http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/autoconf/2004-12/msg00094.html

I'm not sure I agree with the "once".  You just apply the regular
evaluation rules, and return the result quoted.  But if foo is defined
to bar, and bar to baz, then eval([foo]) should definitely return [baz].


 > +  + m4 should keep an ``execution stack'' of macros, which could 
 > applications
 > +    use in their error messages.

That would be a tremendous aid to Autoconf.