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From: piet@cs.ruu.nl (Piet van Oostrum)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: Problem with macros
Message-ID: <4301@ruuinf.cs.ruu.nl>
Date: 14 Nov 90 09:10:46 GMT
References: <1183@red15.qtp.ufl.edu>
Sender: news@ruuinf.cs.ruu.nl
Reply-To: piet@cs.ruu.nl (Piet van Oostrum)
Organization: Dept of Computer Science, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Lines: 34
In-reply-to: beck@qtp.ufl.edu (Sullivan Beck)

>>>>> In message <1183@red15.qtp.ufl.edu>, beck@qtp.ufl.edu (Sullivan Beck)
>>>>> (SB) writes:

SB> (defmacro test (char)
SB>   (` (save-excursion
SB>        (set-buffer (get-buffer tmp-buffer))
SB>        (save-excursion
SB>          (goto-char 1)
SB>          (forward-line 2)
SB>          (forward-char 3)
SB>          (delete-char 1)
SB>          (insert char)))))

SB> But this doesn't work.  If I have the following lines in a program:

SB>   (setq char "*")
SB>   (test "!")

SB> the first two will insert the "!" but the third will insert a "*".  Could
SB> someone explain what I am doing wrong (other than I don't really understand
SB> how to use the quote).  Thanks in advance.

The problem is that you want the "char" in your macro body to be replaced
by the parameter, and not to mean the variable with the name "char". So you
must UNQUOTE char in your macro body as follows:

          (insert ,char)))))

Well, I haven't run the code, but this should work.
-- 
Piet* van Oostrum, Dept of Computer Science, Utrecht University,
Padualaan 14, P.O. Box 80.089, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Telephone: +31 30 531806   Uucp:   uunet!mcsun!ruuinf!piet
Telefax:   +31 30 513791   Internet:  piet@cs.ruu.nl   (*`Pete')