M4 has some well-known uses like Sendmail and GNU Autoconf, but I don’t think this can be counted in M4’s favor: For operating in a standard Unix-like environment, there is really no good alternative to m4 for generic text macro expansion. You can try to force cpp – the C preprocessor – into this, but it is really only suited to being part of a C compiler pipeline. For better or for worse, m4 is it in the world of Unix and shell tools, even though its syntax is quite annoying to use.
Of course, if you operate within a language ecosystem, you can probably find a nice templating system there. Python, for instance, has Jinja2. Or, if your needs are simple, you can use something more basic, like sed(1).
Of course, if you operate within a language ecosystem, you can probably find a nice templating system there. Python, for instance, has Jinja2. Or, if your needs are simple, you can use something more basic, like sed(1).
(Repost: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22770406)