From: matz@... (Yukihiro Matsumoto)
Date: 2003-04-13T23:34:04+09:00
Subject: Re: The "!" and "?" characters.

Hi,

In message "Re: The "!" and "?" characters."
    on 03/04/12, Martin Weber <Ephaeton@gmx.net> writes:

|You're the chief but ... macros make it actually easier to read programs.
|Just think of cond in lisp. But ... you're the chief :)

cond in Lisp is not necessarily a macro.  It can be a syntax (or
special form in Lisp term).   Anyway, I see two problems in macros:

  (1) macros work great with S expression syntax.  But not with Algol
      like syntax.  I know Dylan has macros with Algol like syntax.
      I still feel it too complex for Ruby though.

  (2) with macros, each user can introduce his/her own syntax to the
      program, which means you may need to learn new sub-language to
      read a program.  I believe syntax should be stable.

							matz.