On Nov 13, 2012, at 1:03 PM, Richard Henderson <r...@redhat.com> wrote: > Looking at all this, I'm wondering if we shouldn't split out all of this > macro/include processing to a separate pass. Perform the preprocessing > once, early, leaving the processed result in the build directory. Then > run the original/traditional rtl reader on that when running the other > rtl manipulation passes.
Kenny and I have a built-in generator that works by generating .md files in the build tree and using those as source. My experience is that occasionally it handy to have those .md files, and it offers a way to better understand what is going on. That said, I have only a slight preference for this. I don't think it is the end of the world if this isn't done. Occasionally, I want the existing iterator stuff to have an preprocess output mode… though, only very occasionally. So, I think that puts me in the nice to have but I don't think I would mandate it camp. I do have some fear of customized macro languages that are really poor because they aren't generic enough and can never be, by design. I can't help but wonder if there is a nice design that can be easily extended, if something is needed, yet, isn't as gross as all the generic solutions I've seen. Sigh.
