Topic: Programming

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Macros and string variables


string variables, macros can have parameters. You can define them, by using the following statements:

Inline string variable:
  #def variable_name$ = content

Multiline string variable:
  #def variable_name$
    content line 1
    content line 2
    ...
  #end def

Inline string macro:
 #def macro_name$(param1$; param2$;...) = content

Multiline string macro:
  #def macro_name$(param1$; param2$;...)
    content line 1
    content line 2
    ...
  #end def

Names of string variables, macros, and their parameters can contain small and capital latin letters and underscore "_". They must b with the "$" symbol. The contents can be virtually any string. It is not necessary to be a valid Calcpad expression, since it is not processed by the parser at this stage. However, other macro/string variable definitions are not allowed inside. You can insert only references to previously defined ones. Also, input fields "?" are not supported in macros yet. This feature will be developed in the next versions. You can use #include inside macros, but only if the included file does not contain other macros.

After a string variable is defined, you can use it anywhere in the code, by writing its name (with the ending "$"). The same is for macros, but you also need to specify values for parameters. Macros and string variables are preprocessed and rewritten before the actual parsing is performed. As a result, intermediate (unwrapped) code is generated. You can review it by checking the "Unwrapped code" checkbox bellow the "Output" window.

If any errors occur during macro preprocessing, the unwrapped code is displayed, together with the errors. Line numbers in error descriptions refer to your initial code. If preprocessing is completed successfully, the unwrapped code is parsed and calculated as normal. If errors are detected at this stage, they are displayed in the output. Line numbers in error descriptions refer to the unwrapped code. You can go to the respective line, by clicking the link on the line number.


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