So you’re about to type something repetitive for the 20th time are you? Wait!

Repetition is bad:

  • It vastly increases the chance of accidental mistakes.
  • It wastes time.
  • It wastes space.
  • It vastly increases the chance of accdental mistakes.

Consider using m4 for your repetitive text needs

m4 is available on pretty much every system and is a pretty sweet macro system. Much nicer than cpp! For example, here’s the result of me m4-ing up my hledger journal file:

Before:

01/05 * Dad money
    unallocated  £650
    income:dad  -£650

01/06 * Shopping
    expenses:food  £4.03
    budget:food  -£4.03
    assets:hand  -£4.03
    unallocated  £4.03

01/08 * Withdrawal
    assets:hand  £40
    unallocated  -£40

After:

01/05 * Dad money
    income_from(dad, £650)

01/06 * Shopping
    cash_budget_spend(food, £4.03)

01/08 * Withdrawal
    cash_withdraw(£40)

So much simpler!

Use m4.