M4 is a programming language created in 1977 by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie.
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m4 is a general-purpose macro processor included in all UNIX-like operating systems, and is a component of the POSIX standard. The language was designed by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie for the original versions of UNIX. It is an extension of an earlier macro processor m3, written by Ritchie for the AP-3 minicomputer. Read more on Wikipedia...
errprint(`Hello, world!')
Hello# Hello World for the m4 macro processor
Hello
dnl Took from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M4_(computer_language)
divert(-1)
M4 has multiple output queues that can be manipulated with the
`divert' macro. Valid queues range from 0 to 10, inclusive, with
the default queue being 0.
Calling the `divert' macro with an invalid queue causes text to be
discarded until another call. Note that even while output is being
discarded, quotes around `divert' and other macros are needed to
prevent expansion.
# Macros aren't expanded within comments, meaning that keywords such
# as divert and other built-ins may be used without consequence.
# HTML utility macro:
define(`H2_COUNT', 0)
# The H2_COUNT macro is redefined every time the H2 macro is used:
define(`H2',
`define(`H2_COUNT', incr(H2_COUNT))<h2>H2_COUNT. $1</h2>')
divert(1)dnl
dnl
dnl The dnl macro causes m4 to discard the rest of the line, thus
dnl preventing unwanted blank lines from appearing in the output.
dnl
H2(First Section)
H2(Second Section)
H2(Conclusion)
dnl
divert(0)dnl
dnl
<HTML>
undivert(1)dnl One of the queues is being pushed to output.
</HTML>
<HTML>
<h2>1. First Section</h2>
<h2>2. Second Section</h2>
<h2>3. Conclusion</h2>
</HTML>| Feature | Supported | Token | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line Comments | ✓ | # | # A comment |
| Comments | ✓ | ||
| Semantic Indentation | X |