[boost] [preprocessor metaprogramming] tools

Subject: [boost] [preprocessor metaprogramming] tools
From: Nathan Ridge (zeratul976_at_[hidden])
Date: 2012-07-05 03:02:50

Hello,

I've noticed preprocessor metaprogramming has become more
popular of late, both as a means to provide a cleaner alternative
interface to a library (e.g. the DEFINE and ADAPT macros in
Boost.Fusion or the proposed macro wrappers for Boost.TypeErasure)
and as a means to emulate new language features (e.g. 
Boost.LocalFunction, Boost.Generic, and Boost.Contract).

Sadly, IDE support for writing macro metaprograms is fairly poor
in comparison to IDE support for writing regular C++ code.

I wanted to share with you something I've found very useful for
tracing/debugging macro metaprograms: the Eclipse CDT IDE has a
"macro stepper" that allows you to step through the expansion of
a macro step-by-step from the initial invocation to the final
expansion. (This feature can be accessed by using the "Explore
Macro Expansion" context menu item on a macro invocation.)

I would be curious to hear what tools you have found useful for
writing or debugging macro metaprograms.

Regards,
Nate