Diverting and undiverting output

Diversions are a way of temporarily saving output. The output of m4 can at any time be diverted to a temporary file, and be reinserted into the output stream, undiverted, again at a later time.

Numbered diversions are counted from 0 upwards, diversion number 0 being the normal output stream. The number of simultaneous diversions is limited mainly by the memory used to describe them, because GNU m4 tries to keep diversions in memory. However, there is a limit to the overall memory usable by all diversions taken altogether (512K, currently). When this maximum is about to be exceeded, a temporary file is opened to receive the contents of the biggest diversion still in memory, freeing this memory for other diversions. So, it is theoretically possible that the number of diversions be limited by the number of available file descriptors.

Diverting output

Output is diverted using divert:

divert(opt number)

where number is the diversion to be used. If number is left out, it is assumed to be zero.

The expansion of divert is void.

When all the m4 input will have been processed, all existing diversions are automatically undiverted, in numerical order.

divert(1)
This text is diverted.
divert
=>
This text is not diverted.
=>This text is not diverted.
^D
=>
=>This text is diverted.

Several calls of divert with the same argument do not overwrite the previous diverted text, but append to it.

If output is diverted to a non-existent diversion, it is simply discarded. This can be used to suppress unwanted output. A common example of unwanted output is the trailing newlines after macro definitions. Here is how to avoid them.

divert(-1)
define(`foo', `Macro `foo'.')
define(`bar', `Macro `bar'.')
divert
=>

This is a common programming idiom in m4.

Undiverting output

Diverted text can be undiverted explicitly using the builtin undivert:

undivert(opt number, ...)

which undiverts the diversions given by the arguments, in the order given. If no arguments are supplied, all diversions are undiverted, in numerical order.

The expansion of undivert is void.

divert(1)
This text is diverted.
divert
=>
This text is not diverted.
=>This text is not diverted.
undivert(1)
=>
=>This text is diverted.
=>

Notice the last two blank lines. One of them comes from the newline following undivert, the other from the newline that followed the divert! A diversion often starts with a blank line like this.

When diverted text is undiverted, it is not reread by m4, but rather copied directly to the current output, and it is therefore not an error to undivert into a diversion.

When a diversion has been undiverted, the diverted text is discarded, and it is not possible to bring back diverted text more than once.

divert(1)
This text is diverted first.
divert(0)undivert(1)dnl
=>
=>This text is diverted first.
undivert(1)
=>
divert(1)
This text is also diverted but not appended.
divert(0)undivert(1)dnl
=>
=>This text is also diverted but not appended.

Attempts to undivert the current diversion are silently ignored.

GNU m4 allows named files to be undiverted. Given a non-numeric argument, the contents of the file named will be copied, uninterpreted, to the current output. This complements the builtin include (see section Including named files). To illustrate the difference, assume the file `foo' contains the word `bar':

define(`bar', `BAR')
=>
undivert(`foo')
=>bar
=>
include(`foo')
=>BAR
=>

Diversion numbers

The builtin divnum:

divnum

expands to the number of the current diversion.

Initial divnum
=>Initial 0
divert(1)
Diversion one: divnum
divert(2)
Diversion two: divnum
divert
=>
^D
=>
=>Diversion one: 1
=>
=>Diversion two: 2

The last call of divert without argument is necessary, since the undiverted text would otherwise be diverted itself.

Discarding diverted text

Often it is not known, when output is diverted, whether the diverted text is actually needed. Since all non-empty diversion are brought back on the main output stream when the end of input is seen, a method of discarding a diversion is needed. If all diversions should be discarded, the easiest is to end the input to m4 with `divert(-1)' followed by an explicit `undivert':

divert(1)
Diversion one: divnum
divert(2)
Diversion two: divnum
divert(-1)
undivert
^D

No output is produced at all.

Clearing selected diversions can be done with the following macro:

define(`cleardivert',
`pushdef(`_num', divnum)divert(-1)undivert($@)divert(_num)popdef(`_num')')
=>

It is called just like undivert, but the effect is to clear the diversions, given by the arguments. (This macro has a nasty bug! You should try to see if you can find it and correct it.)

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