🌀 Eval Macro

Eval Macro introduces a new macro type for Rust, blending power and ease of use. Here’s how it compares to macro_rules! and procedural macros:

In short, Eval Macros offer procedural macro power with macro_rules! simplicity. However, they are not reusable — you cannot export an Eval Macro for use in other crates.

🤩 Syntax

Use the eval! macro to create and run an Eval Macro inline. The content of the macro is regular Rust code, which will be compiled and executed at build time.

Inside the eval! block, you can use the output! macro to emit Rust code. output! supports double-brace interpolation, allowing you to embed variables directly into the generated code.

Example:

use eval_macro::eval;

eval! {
    let components = ["X", "Y", "Z", "W"];
    for (ix, name) in components.iter().enumerate() {

        // === Structs Definitions ===
        let dim = ix + 1;
        let cons = components[0..dim].join(",");
        output! {
            enum Position{{dim}} {
                {{cons}}
            }
        }

        // === Conversions ===
        for ix2 in (dim + 1)..=components.len() {
            let source = format!("Position{dim}");
            let branches = components[0..dim].iter().map(|comp|
                format!("{source}::{comp} => Self::{comp}")
            ).collect::<Vec<_>>().join(",");
            output! {
                impl From<{{source}}> for Position{{ix2}} {
                    fn from(src: {{source}}) -> Self {
                        match src {
                            {{branches}}
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
# fn main() {}

This will generate:

enum Position1 { X }
enum Position2 { X, Y }
enum Position3 { X, Y, Z }
enum Position4 { X, Y, Z, W }

impl From<Position1> for Position2 {
    fn from(src: Position1) -> Self {
        match src {
            Position1::X => Self::X
        }
    }
}
impl From<Position1> for Position3 {
    fn from(src: Position1) -> Self {
        match src {
            Position1::X => Self::X
        }
    }
}
impl From<Position1> for Position4 {
    fn from(src: Position1) -> Self {
        match src {
            Position1::X => Self::X
        }
    }
}

impl From<Position2> for Position3 {
    fn from(src: Position2) -> Self {
        match src {
            Position2::X => Self::X,
            Position2::Y => Self::Y
        }
    }
}
impl From<Position2> for Position4 {
    fn from(src: Position2) -> Self {
        match src {
            Position2::X => Self::X,
            Position2::Y => Self::Y
        }
    }
}

impl From<Position3> for Position4 {
    fn from(src: Position3) -> Self {
        match src {
            Position3::X => Self::X,
            Position3::Y => Self::Y,
            Position3::Z => Self::Z
        }
    }
}
# fn main() {}

Doing this with macro_rules! or procedural macros would be far more complex!

📖 How It Works

The content inside eval! is pasted into the main function of a temporary Rust project. This project is compiled and executed at build time, and its stdout becomes the generated Rust code. The generated main function looks something like this:

fn main() {
    let mut output_buffer = String::new();
    {your_code}
    println!("{{output_buffer}}");
}

The output! macro is essentially a shortcut for writing to output_buffer using format!, so this:

use eval_macro::eval;

eval! {
    let components = ["X", "Y", "Z", "W"];
    for (ix, name) in components.iter().enumerate() {
        let dim = ix + 1;
        let cons = components[0..dim].join(",");
        output! {
            enum Position{{dim}} {
                {{cons}}
            }
        }
    }
}
# fn main() {}

Is equivalent to:

use eval_macro::eval;

eval! {
    let components = ["X", "Y", "Z", "W"];
    for (ix, name) in components.iter().enumerate() {
        let dim = ix + 1;
        let cons = components[0..dim].join(",");
        write_ln!(output_buffer, "
            enum Position{dim} {{
                {cons}
            }}
        ");
    }
}
# fn main() {}

And that, in turn, is just shorthand for:

use eval_macro::eval;

eval! {
    let components = ["X", "Y", "Z", "W"];
    for (ix, name) in components.iter().enumerate() {
        let dim = ix + 1;
        let cons = components[0..dim].join(",");
        output_buffer.push_str(&format!("
            enum Position{dim} {{
                {cons}
            }}
        "));
    }
}
# fn main() {}

⚠️ Troubleshooting

⚠️ Note: Rust IDEs differ in how they handle macro expansion. This macro is tuned for RustRover’s expansion engine.

If your IDE struggles to correctly expand eval!, you can manually switch to the write_ln! syntax described above. If you encounter issues, please open an issue to let us know!