5.1 Macro Names

When using FunnelWeb, the choice of macro names can be as important to the readability of a program as the choice of program identifiers, and it is important that you know the range of options available.

Names are case sensitive and exact matching: Macro names are case sensitive and are matched exactly. The strings used as a macro name at the point of definition and call must be identical  for the connection to be made.

Names can contain any printable character: FunnelWeb is less restrictive about its macro names than most programming languages are about their identifiers. A FunnelWeb macro name can contain any sequence of printable characters, including blanks and punctuation. Names can start and end with any character. However, names cannot cross line boundaries. The following are all legal macro names:

        @<This macro expands to some really bad code@>
        @<@>
        @<453 #$ %&# --===~~1">>>@>
        @<<@>
        @<<>@>
        @<a b c d e f g@>
        @<       !     @>
        @<?? ...@>
        @<"Who's been hacking MY program" said Father Bear.@>
        @<Update the maximum and return for more data@>

Names must be no more than a maximum limit in length: Names can be no longer than a predefined maximum length (80). Currently this length cannot be modified without recompiling FunnelWeb.

Typically, macro names will consist of a short English phrase or sentence that describes the contents of the macro.