Node:Macro Details, Next:alias, Previous:Invoking Macros, Up:Defining New Texinfo Commands

Macro Details

Due to unavoidable disparities in the TeX and makeinfo implementations, Texinfo macros have the following limitations.

• All macros are expanded inside at least one TeX group. This means that @set and other such commands will have no effect inside a macro.
• Macros containing a command which must be on a line by itself, such as a conditional, cannot be invoked in the middle of a line.
• Commas in macro arguments, even if escaped by a backslash, don't always work.
• The TeX implementation cannot construct macros that define macros in the natural way. To do this, you must use conditionals and raw TeX. For example:
  

  @ifnottex
  @macro ctor {name, arg}
  @macro \name\
  something involving \arg\ somehow
  @end macro
  @end macro
  @end ifnottex
  @tex
  \gdef\ctor#1{\ctorx#1,}
  \gdef\ctorx#1,#2,{\def#1{something involving #2 somehow}}
  @end tex
  

• It is best to avoid comments inside macro definitions.

If some macro feature causes errors when producing the printed version of a manual, try expanding the macros with makeinfo by invoking texi2dvi with the -e option; see Format with texi2dvi.