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(autoconf.info)M4 Quotation

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M4 Quotation
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   The most common brokenness of existing macros is an improper
quotation.  This section, which users of Autoconf can skip, but which
macro writers _must_ read, first justifies the quotation scheme that
was chosen for Autoconf and then ends with a rule of thumb.
Understanding the former helps one to follow the latter.

Active Characters

Characters that change the behavior of m4

One Macro Call

Quotation and one macro call

Quotation and Nested Macros

Macros calling macros

Changequote is Evil

Worse than INTERCAL: M4 + changequote

Quadrigraphs

Another way to escape special characters

Quotation Rule Of Thumb

One parenthesis, one quote