Defining and using macros in a description file

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A macro is a name (or label) to use in place of several other names. It is a way of writing the longer string of characters by using just one shorter name.

To define a macro:

  1. Start a new line with the name of the macro.
  2. Follow the name with an = (equal sign).
  3. To the right of the = (equal sign), enter the string of characters that the macro name represents.

The macro definition can contain blanks before and after the = (equal sign) without affecting the result. The macro definition cannot contain a : (colon) or a tab before the = (equal sign).

The following are examples of macro definitions:

# Macro -"2" has a value of "xyz"
2 = xyz

# Macro "abc" has a value of "-ll -ly"
abc = -ll -ly

# Macro "LIBES" has a null value
LIBES =

A macro that is named, but not defined, has the same value as the null string.