Why use C macros? about v86

[copy]

When I started the project, parts of the code were a bit more complex and I think introducing macros back then made sense. Right now they're not necessary, but still used in places to avoid code duplication, especially to define opcodes:

op(0xA0, {
    // mov
    var data = safe_read8(read_moffs());
    reg8[reg_al] = data;
});

Macros rarely improve speed. It's of a more convenience, for example the fact that you can pass a block of code to a macro. I have to admit that I went too far in at least one place, but I'll refactor that soon.

[h8liu]

The reason I asked this question is that I might try to refactor the code especially the macro part, also as a way to get familiar with the code, but I am not sure if you would like it.

[copy]

Feel free to ask before refactoring larger parts of the code. Right now I'm okay with the use of macros, but a second opinion on this could be interesting. too.

[haneefmubarak]

Well, I'm not really involved at all in this project, but if I may say, I think that refactoring the macro portions of the code would be a good idea.

[copy]

I changed my mind, using macros wasn't a great idea. I'll look into refactoring the code to work without macros.

[h8liu]

Very glad to hear this. I wish I can help but I don't have much time lately. Also, it takes some time for a non-author like me to understand the code even to start any refactoring. But still, look forward for that to happen.

I have recently been thinking about writing complex programming projects with small modularized files (<200 lines each) that have no circular dependencies among files, so that it could be more easily understood by a new programmer/reader. But that might be just asking too much, and I am not sure if my methodology would really help a newcomer to understand the code after all. This is really another topic.

[ZaDarkSide]

Can we remove the C preprocessor dependency altogether including all macros associated with building the library? It's useless dependency now, all the code generated from macros can be used in source and later refactored if needed.

[copy]

Most macros should be refactored to functions, so that code isn't repeated too much. Doing that part later will be a pain. It shouldn't be too hard, I just haven't found the time to do it yet.