Metaprogramming

  1. Core Techniques and Mechanisms
    1. Reflection
      1. Introspection: Examining Program Structure
        1. Type Introspection
          1. Discovering Classes and Interfaces
            1. Examining Fields and Properties
              1. Inspecting Methods and Constructors
                1. Retrieving Annotations or Attributes
                  1. Type Hierarchy Analysis
                  2. Assembly and Module Inspection
                    1. Listing Loaded Modules
                      1. Inspecting Module Metadata
                        1. Dependency Analysis
                        2. Runtime Environment Inspection
                          1. Stack Trace Analysis
                            1. Memory Layout Inspection
                          2. Intercession: Modifying Program Structure and Behavior
                            1. Dynamic Method Invocation
                              1. Method Lookup and Binding
                                1. Parameter Marshalling
                                  1. Return Value Handling
                                  2. Dynamic Object Instantiation
                                    1. Constructor Selection
                                      1. Initialization Patterns
                                      2. Modifying Class Structure at Runtime
                                        1. Adding or Removing Methods
                                          1. Changing Field Values
                                            1. Inheritance Modification
                                            2. Behavioral Modification
                                              1. Method Interception
                                                1. Event Handling Modification
                                            3. Code Generation
                                              1. String-Based Code Generation
                                                1. Text Templates
                                                  1. Template Engines
                                                    1. Parameter Substitution
                                                      1. Control Flow in Templates
                                                      2. String Concatenation
                                                        1. Manual Code Assembly
                                                          1. Risks and Limitations
                                                            1. Error Handling
                                                            2. Code Formatting and Pretty Printing
                                                              1. Indentation Management
                                                                1. Syntax Highlighting
                                                              2. Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) Manipulation
                                                                1. Parsing Source Code into an AST
                                                                  1. Lexical Analysis
                                                                    1. Syntax Analysis
                                                                      1. Error Recovery
                                                                      2. Traversing and Analyzing the AST
                                                                        1. Tree Walking Algorithms
                                                                          1. Pattern Matching in ASTs
                                                                            1. Visitor Pattern Implementation
                                                                            2. Transforming the AST
                                                                              1. Code Refactoring
                                                                                1. Code Optimization
                                                                                  1. Structural Modifications
                                                                                  2. Unparsing AST to Source Code
                                                                                    1. Code Serialization
                                                                                      1. Pretty Printing
                                                                                        1. Source Map Generation
                                                                                      2. Bytecode Engineering
                                                                                        1. Direct Manipulation of Intermediate Representation
                                                                                          1. Understanding Bytecode Formats
                                                                                            1. Editing Bytecode Instructions
                                                                                              1. Control Flow Analysis
                                                                                              2. Libraries for Bytecode Manipulation
                                                                                                1. Overview of Major Libraries
                                                                                                  1. Use Cases and Examples
                                                                                                    1. Performance Considerations
                                                                                                    2. Verification and Validation
                                                                                                      1. Bytecode Verification
                                                                                                        1. Type Safety Checking
                                                                                                    3. Pre-processing and Macros
                                                                                                      1. Textual Pre-processors
                                                                                                        1. Macro Expansion
                                                                                                          1. Simple Text Substitution
                                                                                                            1. Parameterized Macros
                                                                                                            2. Conditional Compilation
                                                                                                              1. Platform-Specific Code
                                                                                                                1. Feature Flags
                                                                                                                2. File Inclusion
                                                                                                                  1. Header Management
                                                                                                                    1. Dependency Resolution
                                                                                                                  2. Syntactic Macros
                                                                                                                    1. Macro Definition and Expansion
                                                                                                                      1. Syntax Rules
                                                                                                                        1. Expansion Algorithms
                                                                                                                        2. Hygienic Macros
                                                                                                                          1. Avoiding Variable Capture
                                                                                                                            1. Language Support for Hygiene
                                                                                                                              1. Scope Management
                                                                                                                              2. Unhygienic Macros
                                                                                                                                1. Risks and Use Cases
                                                                                                                                  1. Manual Hygiene Management
                                                                                                                                    1. Debugging Challenges
                                                                                                                                  2. Procedural Macros
                                                                                                                                    1. Custom Syntax Extensions
                                                                                                                                      1. Compile-Time Code Execution
                                                                                                                                        1. Integration with Type Systems

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                                                                                                                                    2. Fundamental Dichotomies

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                                                                                                                                    4. Language-Specific Features and Idioms