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NAME

       merl - Metaprogramming in Erlang.

DESCRIPTION

       Metaprogramming  in  Erlang.  Merl  is  a  more  user friendly interface to the erl_syntax
       module, making it easy both to build new ASTs from scratch  and  to  match  and  decompose
       existing  ASTs.  For  details  that  are  outside the scope of Merl itself, please see the
       documentation of erl_syntax.

       Quick start

       To enable the full power of Merl, your module needs to include the Merl header file:

            -include_lib("syntax_tools/include/merl.hrl").

       Then, you can use the ?Q(Text) macros in your code to create ASTs  or  match  on  existing
       ASTs. For example:

            Tuple = ?Q("{foo, 42}"),
            ?Q("{foo, _@Number}") = Tuple,
            Call = ?Q("foo:bar(_@Number)")

       Calling merl:print(Call) will then print the following code:

            foo:bar(42)

       The  ?Q  macros  turn the quoted code fragments into ASTs, and lifts metavariables such as
       _@Tuple and _@Number to the level of your Erlang code, so you can  use  the  corresponding
       Erlang  variables  Tuple  and Number directly. This is the most straightforward way to use
       Merl, and in many cases it's all you need.

       You can even write case switches using ?Q macros as patterns. For example:

            case AST of
                ?Q("{foo, _@Foo}") -> handle(Foo);
                ?Q("{bar, _@Bar}") when erl_syntax:is_integer(Bar) -> handle(Bar);
                _ -> handle_default()
            end

       These case switches only allow ?Q(...) or _ as clause patterns, and the guards may contain
       any expressions, not just Erlang guard expressions.

       If the macro MERL_NO_TRANSFORM is defined before the merl.hrl header file is included, the
       parse transform used by Merl will be disabled, and in that  case,  the  match  expressions
       ?Q(...)  =  ...,  case  switches  using ?Q(...) patterns, and automatic metavariables like
       _@Tuple cannot be used in your code, but the Merl macros and functions still work.  To  do
       metavariable substitution, you need to use the ?Q(Text, Map) macro, e.g.:

            Tuple = ?Q("{foo, _@bar, _@baz}", [{bar, Bar}, {baz,Baz}])

       The  text  given  to a ?Q(Text) macro can be either a single string, or a list of strings.
       The latter is useful when you need to split a long expression over multiple lines, e.g.:

            ?Q(["case _@Expr of",
                "  {foo, X} -> f(X);",
                "  {bar, X} -> g(X)",
                "  _ -> h(X)"
                "end"])

       If there is a syntax error somewhere in the text (like the missing semicolon in the second
       clause  above) this allows Merl to generate an error message pointing to the exact line in
       your source code. (Just remember to comma-separate the  strings  in  the  list,  otherwise
       Erlang will concatenate the string fragments as if they were a single string.)

       Metavariable syntax

       There are several ways to write a metavariable in your quoted code:

         * Atoms starting with @, for example '@foo' or '@Foo'

         * Variables starting with _@, for example _@bar or _@Bar

         * Strings starting with "'@, for example "'@File"

         * Integers starting with 909, for example 9091 or 909123

       Following  the  prefix, one or more _ or 0 characters may be used to indicate "lifting" of
       the variable one or more levels, and after that, a @  or  9  character  indicates  a  glob
       metavariable  (matching  zero  or  more  elements  in  a  sequence)  rather  than a normal
       metavariable. For example:

         * '@_foo' is lifted one level, and _@__foo is lifted two levels

         * _@@bar is a glob variable, and _@_@bar is a lifted glob variable

         * 90901 is a lifted variable,90991 is a glob variable, and 9090091 is  a  glob  variable
           lifted two levels

       (Note that the last character in the name is never considered to be a lift or glob marker,
       hence, _@__ and 90900 are only lifted one level, not two. Also note that globs only matter
       for  matching;  when  doing  substitutions,  a  non-glob  variable can be used to inject a
       sequence of elements, and vice versa.)

       If the name after the prefix and any lift and glob markers is _  or  0,  the  variable  is
       treated  as  an  anonymous  catch-all pattern in matches. For example, _@_, _@@_, _@__, or
       even _@__@_.

       Finally, if the name without any prefixes or lift/glob markers begins  with  an  uppercase
       character,  as in _@Foo or _@_@Foo, it will become a variable on the Erlang level, and can
       be used to easily deconstruct and construct syntax trees:

            case Input of
                ?Q("{foo, _@Number}") -> ?Q("foo:bar(_@Number)");
                ...

       We refer to these as "automatic metavariables". If in addition the name ends with @, as in
       _@Foo@, the value of the variable as an Erlang term will be automatically converted to the
       corresponding abstract syntax tree when used to construct a larger tree. For example, in:

            Bar = {bar, 42},
            Foo = ?Q("{foo, _@Bar@}")

       (where Bar is just some term, not a syntax tree) the result Foo  will  be  a  syntax  tree
       representing  {foo,  {bar,  42}}. This avoids the need for temporary variables in order to
       inject data, as in

            TmpBar = erl_syntax:abstract(Bar),
            Foo = ?Q("{foo, _@TmpBar}")

       If the context requires an integer rather than a variable,  an  atom,  or  a  string,  you
       cannot  use  the  uppercase  convention to mark an automatic metavariable. Instead, if the
       integer (without the 909-prefix and lift/glob markers) ends  in  a  9,  the  integer  will
       become  an  Erlang-level  variable prefixed with Q, and if it ends with 99 it will also be
       automatically abstracted. For example, the following  will  increment  the  arity  of  the
       exported function f:

            case Form of
                ?Q("-export([f/90919]).") ->
                    Q2 = erl_syntax:concrete(Q1) + 1,
                    ?Q("-export([f/909299]).");
                ...

       When to use the various forms of metavariables

       Merl  can  only  parse  a  fragment  of  text if it follows the basic syntactical rules of
       Erlang. In most places, a normal Erlang variable can be used as metavariable, for example:

            ?Q("f(_@Arg)") = Expr

       but if you want to match on something like the name of a function, you have to use an atom
       as metavariable:

            ?Q("'@Name'() -> _@@_." = Function

       (note the anonymous glob variable _@@_ to ignore the function body).

       In  some  contexts,  only  a  string  or an integer is allowed. For example, the directive
       -file(Name, Line) requires that Name is a string literal and Line an integer literal:

            ?Q("-file(\"'@File\", 9090).") = ?Q("-file(\"foo.erl\", 42).")).

       This will extract the string literal "foo.erl" into the variable Foo. Note the use of  the
       anonymous  variable  9090 to ignore the line number. To match and also bind a metavariable
       that must be an integer literal, we can use the convention of ending the integer with a 9,
       turning it into a Q-prefixed variable on the Erlang level (see the previous section).

       Globs

       Whenever  you  want  to match out a number of elements in a sequence (zero or more) rather
       than a fixed set of elements, you need to use a glob. For example:

            ?Q("{_@@Elements}") = ?Q({a, b, c})

       will bind Elements to the list of individual syntax trees representing the atoms a, b, and
       c.  This  can  also  be  used  with static prefix and suffix elements in the sequence. For
       example:

            ?Q("{a, b, _@@Elements}") = ?Q({a, b, c, d})

       will bind Elements to the list of the c and d subtrees, and

            ?Q("{_@@Elements, c, d}") = ?Q({a, b, c, d})

       will bind Elements to the  list  of  the  a  and  b  subtrees.  You  can  even  use  plain
       metavariables in the prefix or suffix:

            ?Q("{_@First, _@@Rest}") = ?Q({a, b, c})

       or

            ?Q("{_@@_, _@Last}") = ?Q({a, b, c})

       (ignoring all but the last element). You cannot however have two globs as part of the same
       sequence.

       Lifted metavariables

       In some cases, the Erlang syntax rules make it impossible to place a metavariable directly
       where you would like it. For example, you cannot write:

            ?Q("-export([_@@Name]).")

       to  match out all name/arity pairs in the export list, or to insert a list of exports in a
       declaration, because the Erlang parser only allows elements on the form A/I (where A is an
       atom  and  I an integer) in the export list. A variable like the above is not allowed, but
       neither is a single atom or integer, so '@@Name' or 909919 wouldn't work either.

       What you have to do in such cases is to write your metavariable in a  syntactically  valid
       position, and use lifting markers to denote where it should really apply, as in:

            ?Q("-export(['@_@Name'/0]).")

       This  causes  the  variable  to  be lifted (after parsing) to the next higher level in the
       syntax tree, replacing that entire subtree. In this case, the '@_@Name'/0 will be replaced
       with '@@Name', and the /0 part was just used as dummy notation and will be discarded.

       You  may  even  need to apply lifting more than once. To match the entire export list as a
       single syntax tree, you can write:

            ?Q("-export(['@__Name'/0]).")

       using two underscores, but with no glob marker  this  time.  This  will  make  the  entire
       ['@__Name'/0] part be replaced with '@Name'.

       Sometimes,  the  tree  structure  of  a code fragment isn't very obvious, and parts of the
       structure may be invisible when printed as source code. For instance,  a  simple  function
       definition like the following:

            zero() -> 0.

       consists  of  the name (the atom zero), and a list of clauses containing the single clause
       () -> 0. The clause consists of an argument list (empty), a  guard  (empty),  and  a  body
       (which  is  always  a  list of expressions) containing the single expression 0. This means
       that to match out the name and the list of clauses of any function, you'll need to  use  a
       pattern  like  ?Q("'@Name'()  ->  _@_@Body."),  using  a dummy clause whose body is a glob
       lifted one level.

       To visualize the structure of a syntax tree, you can use the function merl:show(T),  which
       prints a summary. For example, entering

            merl:show(merl:quote("inc(X, Y) when Y > 0 -> X + Y."))

       in  the  Erlang  shell  will  print  the  following  (where the + signs separate groups of
       subtrees on the same level):

            function: inc(X, Y) when ... -> X + Y.
              atom: inc
              +
              clause: (X, Y) when ... -> X + Y
                variable: X
                variable: Y
                +
                disjunction: Y > 0
                  conjunction: Y > 0
                    infix_expr: Y > 0
                      variable: Y
                      +
                      operator: >
                      +
                      integer: 0
                +
                infix_expr: X + Y
                  variable: X
                  +
                  operator: +
                  +
                  variable: Y

       This shows another important non-obvious case: a clause guard, even if it's as simple as Y
       >  0,  always  consists of a single disjunction of one or more conjunctions of tests, much
       like a tuple of tuples. Thus:

         * "when _@Guard ->" will only match a guard with exactly one test

         * "when _@@Guard ->" will match a guard with one or more comma-separated tests  (but  no
           semicolons), binding Guard to the list of tests

         * "when  _@_Guard  ->" will match just like the previous pattern, but binds Guard to the
           conjunction subtree

         * "when _@_@Guard ->" will match an arbitrary nonempty guard, binding Guard to the  list
           of conjunction subtrees

         * "when _@__Guard ->" will match like the previous pattern, but binds Guard to the whole
           disjunction subtree

         * and finally, "when _@__@Guard ->" will match any clause, binding Guard to  []  if  the
           guard is empty and to [Disjunction] otherwise

       Thus, the following pattern matches all possible clauses:

            "(_@Args) when _@__@Guard -> _@Body"

DATA TYPES

         default_action() = () -> any():

         env() = [{Key::id(), pattern_or_patterns()}]:

         guard_test() = (env()) -> boolean():

         guarded_action() = switch_action() | {guard_test(), switch_action()}:

         guarded_actions() = guarded_action() | [guarded_action()]:

         id() = atom() | integer():

         location() = erl_anno:location():

         pattern() = tree() | template():

         pattern_or_patterns() = pattern() | [pattern()]:

         switch_action() = (env()) -> any():

         switch_clause()  =  {pattern_or_patterns(), guarded_actions()} | {pattern_or_patterns(),
         guard_test(), switch_action()} | default_action():

         template() = tree() | {id()} | {*, id()} | {template, atom(), term(), [[template()]]}:

         template_or_templates() = template() | [template()]:

         text() = string() | binary() | [string()] | [binary()]:

         tree() = erl_syntax:syntaxTree():

         tree_or_trees() = tree() | [tree()]:

EXPORTS

       alpha(Trees::pattern_or_patterns(), Env::[{id(), id()}]) -> template_or_templates()

              Alpha converts a pattern (renames variables). Similar to tsubst/1, but only renames
              variables (including globs).

              See also: tsubst/2.

       compile(Code) -> term()

              Equivalent to compile(Code, []).

       compile(Code, Options) -> term()

              Compile  a  syntax tree or list of syntax trees representing a module into a binary
              BEAM object.

              See also: compile/1, compile_and_load/2.

       compile_and_load(Code) -> term()

              Equivalent to compile_and_load(Code, []).

       compile_and_load(Code, Options) -> term()

              Compile a syntax tree or list of syntax trees representing a module  and  load  the
              resulting module into memory.

              See also: compile/2, compile_and_load/1.

       match(Patterns::pattern_or_patterns(), Trees::tree_or_trees()) -> {ok, env()} | error

              Match  a pattern against a syntax tree (or patterns against syntax trees) returning
              an environment mapping variable names to subtrees; the environment is always sorted
              on  keys.  Note  that  multiple  occurrences of metavariables in the pattern is not
              allowed, but is not checked.

              See also: switch/2, template/1.

       meta_template(Templates::template_or_templates()) -> tree_or_trees()

              Turn a template into a syntax tree representing the template. Meta-variables in the
              template  are  turned  into  normal  Erlang  variables  if  their  names (after the
              metavariable prefix characters) begin with an uppercase character. E.g.,  _@Foo  in
              the  template becomes the variable Foo in the meta-template. Furthermore, variables
              ending with @ are automatically wrapped in a call to merl:term/1, so e.g. _@Foo@ in
              the template becomes `merl:term(Foo) in the meta-template.

       print(Ts) -> term()

              Pretty-print  a  syntax  tree or template to the standard output. This is a utility
              function for development and debugging.

       qquote(Text::text(), Env::env()) -> tree_or_trees()

              Parse text and substitute meta-variables.

       qquote(StartPos::location(), Text::text(), Env::env()) -> tree_or_trees()

              Parse text  and  substitute  meta-variables.  Takes  an  initial  scanner  starting
              position as first argument.

              The macro ?Q(Text, Env) expands to merl:qquote(?LINE, Text, Env).

              See also: quote/2.

       quote(Text::text()) -> tree_or_trees()

              Parse text.

       quote(StartPos::location(), Text::text()) -> tree_or_trees()

              Parse text. Takes an initial scanner starting position as first argument.

              The macro ?Q(Text) expands to merl:quote(?LINE, Text).

              See also: quote/1.

       show(Ts) -> term()

              Print  the structure of a syntax tree or template to the standard output. This is a
              utility function for development and debugging.

       subst(Trees::pattern_or_patterns(), Env::env()) -> tree_or_trees()

              Substitute metavariables in a pattern or list of patterns, yielding a  syntax  tree
              or  list  of trees as result. Both for normal metavariables and glob metavariables,
              the substituted value may be a single element or a list of elements.  For  example,
              if  a  list  representing  1, 2, 3 is substituted for var in either of [foo, _@var,
              bar] or [foo, _@var, bar], the result represents [foo, 1, 2, 3, bar].

       switch(Trees::tree_or_trees(), Cs::[switch_clause()]) -> any()

              Match against one or more clauses with patterns and optional guards.

              Note that clauses following a default action will be ignored.

              See also: match/2.

       template(Trees::pattern_or_patterns()) -> template_or_templates()

              Turn a syntax tree or list of trees into a template or templates. Templates can  be
              instantiated  or  matched  against,  and reverted back to normal syntax trees using
              tree/1. If the input is already a template, it is not modified further.

              See also: match/2, subst/2, tree/1.

       template_vars(Template::template_or_templates()) -> [id()]

              Return an ordered list of the metavariables in the template.

       term(Term::term()) -> tree()

              Create a syntax tree for a constant term.

       tree(Templates::template_or_templates()) -> tree_or_trees()

              Revert a template to a normal syntax tree. Any remaining metavariables  are  turned
              into @-prefixed atoms or 909-prefixed integers.

              See also: template/1.

       tsubst(Trees::pattern_or_patterns(), Env::env()) -> template_or_templates()

              Like  subst/2,  but  does  not  convert  the result from a template back to a tree.
              Useful if you want to do multiple separate substitutions.

              See also: subst/2, tree/1.

       var(Name::atom()) -> tree()

              Create a variable.

AUTHORS

       Richard Carlsson <carlsson.richard@gmail.com>

                                         syntax_tools 3.0                              merl(3erl)