Macro definition computer software#

Technical dictionary what those won't tell you is how the hackishĬonnotations of the term have changed over time.The term macro originated inĮarly assemblers, which encouraged the use of macros as a structuring and A name (possibly followed by a formalĪrg list) that is equated to a text or symbolicĮxpression to which it is to be expanded (possibly with the substitution ofĪctual arguments) by a macro expander. The New Hacker's Dictionary Rate this definition: 5.0 / 1 vote The term derives from 'macro instruction', and such expansions were originally used in generating assembly language code. Macros often allow positional or keyword parameters that dictate what the conditional assembler program generates and have been used to create entire programs or program suites according to such variables as operating system, platform or other factors. Macros are used to make a sequence of computing instructions available to the programmer as a single program statement, making the programming task less tedious and less error-prone.

In the latter case, they are a tool that allows a programmer to enable code reuse or even to design domain-specific languages. In the former case, macros are used to make tasks using the application less repetitive.

Macro definition computer software#

A facility for writing macros may be provided as part of a software application or as a part of a programming language. The mapping process that instantiates a macro use into a specific sequence is known as macro expansion. Freebase Rate this definition: 1.0 / 1 voteĪ macro in computer science is a rule or pattern that specifies how a certain input sequence should be mapped to a replacement input sequence according to a defined procedure.