M4 is a macro processor available on UNIX
and GCOS. Its primary use has been as a front end for Ratfor for those cases where parameterless macros are not ad-
equately powerful. It has also been used for languages as disparate as C and Cobol. M4 is particularly suited for
functional languages like Fortran, PL/I and C since macros are specified in a functional notation.
M4 provides features seldom found even in much larger macro processors, including
·arguments
·condition testing
·arithmetic capabilities
·string and substring functions
·file manipulation
This paper is a user's manual for M4.
%0 Journal Article
%1 KernighanRitchie1977
%A Kernighan, Brian W.
%A Ritchie, Dennis M.
%C Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974
%D 1977
%K macroprocessor macros manual
%T The M4 Macro Processor
%X M4 is a macro processor available on UNIX
and GCOS. Its primary use has been as a front end for Ratfor for those cases where parameterless macros are not ad-
equately powerful. It has also been used for languages as disparate as C and Cobol. M4 is particularly suited for
functional languages like Fortran, PL/I and C since macros are specified in a functional notation.
M4 provides features seldom found even in much larger macro processors, including
·arguments
·condition testing
·arithmetic capabilities
·string and substring functions
·file manipulation
This paper is a user's manual for M4.
@article{KernighanRitchie1977,
abstract = { M4 is a macro processor available on UNIX
and GCOS. Its primary use has been as a front end for Ratfor for those cases where parameterless macros are not ad-
equately powerful. It has also been used for languages as disparate as C and Cobol. M4 is particularly suited for
functional languages like Fortran, PL/I and C since macros are specified in a functional notation.
M4 provides features seldom found even in much larger macro processors, including
·arguments
·condition testing
·arithmetic capabilities
·string and substring functions
·file manipulation
This paper is a user's manual for M4.
},
added-at = {2007-03-21T15:22:47.000+0100},
address = {Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974},
author = {Kernighan, Brian W. and Ritchie, Dennis M.},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/216c4df9763b5406ced597ac28352143c/tmalsburg},
day = 1,
institution = {Bell Laboratories},
interhash = {34f38111d80eb8e3f74eddb565be4000},
intrahash = {16c4df9763b5406ced597ac28352143c},
keywords = {macroprocessor macros manual},
month = {7},
timestamp = {2007-03-21T15:22:47.000+0100},
title = {The M4 Macro Processor},
year = 1977
}