1. EDUCATIONAL PEARL: Automata via macros.
- Author
-
SHRIRAM KRISHNAMURTHI
- Abstract
Lisp programmers have long used macros to extend their language. Indeed, their success has inspired macro notations for a variety of other languages, such as C and Java. There is, however, a paucity of effective pedagogic examples of macro use. This paper presents a short, non-trivial example that implements a construct not already found in mainstream languages. Furthermore, it motivates the need for tail-calls, as opposed to mere tail-recursion, and illustrates how support for tail-call optimization is crucial to support a natural style of macro-based language extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
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