Daily downloads in decline

[Andrei Alexandrescu via Digitalmars-d]

On 6/12/15 10:26 AM, deadalnix wrote:
>
> This baffles me. It seems that language designer always need to fuck up
> macros either by:
>   - Creating a new API to spawn AST, which become a burden on the
> compiler development (bonus point if you expose compiler internal).
>   - Creating a new syntax, preferably completely inscrutable so you can
> pretend you are a guru while using it.
>
> There is a good way to express AST in a language, and this is how you do
> it for everything else in the program : you use the damn language syntax
> and grammar.

In their defense, there is a need for a metalanguage as well do 
manipulate ASTs themselves. That's why all macro systems just look a bit 
off. I suggest you give it a shot at defining a natural-looking macro 
system if you're up to something, but I suspect there are many 
subtleties to cope with.

Andrei