Mastering Clojure Macros

Write Cleaner, Faster, Smarter Code

Colin Jones

Clojure offers some sharp tools in its toolbox, and one of the sharpest is its macro system. This book will help you write macros using Clojure, and more importantly, recognize when you should be using macros in the first place.

The Lisp "code-as-data" philosophy gives tremendous advantages to macro authors and users. You can use macros to evaluate code in other contexts, move computations to compile time, and create beautiful API layers. You don't need to wait on the Clojure language itself to add new features, you'll learn how to implement even the lowest-level features as macros. You'll step through representative samples of how to use macros in production libraries and applications, find clear details on how to construct macros, and learn pointers to avoid obstacles that often trip up macro amateurs.

Clojure macros are more straightforward to use than metaprogramming features in many other languages, but they're different enough from normal programming to present challenges of their own. Mastering Clojure Macros examines some of these issues, along with alternatives to macros where they exist.

By the time you finish this book, you'll be thinking like a macro professional.

Table of contents

• Mastering Clojure Macros
• For the Best Reading Experience...
• Table of Contents
• Early Praise for Mastering Clojure Macros
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Build a Solid Foundation
• Chapter 2: Advance Your Macro Techniques
• Chapter 3: Use Your Powers Wisely
• Chapter 4: Evaluate Code in Context
• Chapter 5: Speed Up Your Systems
• Chapter 6: Build APIs That Say Just What They Mean
• Chapter 7: Bend Control Flow to Your Will
• Chapter 8: Implement New Language Features
• Bibliography