In applications, a set of keystrokes and instructions recorded and saved under a
short key code or macro name. When the key code is typed or the macro name is
used, the program carries out the instructions of the macro. Users can create a
macro to save time by replacing an often-used, sometimes lengthy, series of
strokes with a shorter version. 2. In programming languages, such as C or assembly language,
a name that defines a set of instructions that are substituted for the macro
name wherever the name appears in a program a process called macro expansion when the program is compiled or assembled.
Macros are similar to functions in that they can take arguments and in that they are calls to lengthier sets of instructions. Unlike functions, macros are replaced by the actual instructions they represent when the program is prepared for execution; function instructions are copied into a program only once.
Macros are similar to functions in that they can take arguments and in that they are calls to lengthier sets of instructions. Unlike functions, macros are replaced by the actual instructions they represent when the program is prepared for execution; function instructions are copied into a program only once.