From 53f92727a51c012f731bcd1e74b98f72c1cff8ca Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: alex-eg <alexey.e.egorov@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2026 23:51:41 +0300
Subject: [PATCH] mark multi-form macro expansions with $

A bare list was read as several forms, so a macro returning
`((make-adder 10) 5)' -- a call of what make-adder returns -- was
spliced into two. Add a new $ char to denote splicing, so ($ form ...)
splices.
---
 Readme.org        | 14 ++++++++++++++
 semen.scm         | 27 +++++++++++++++++----------
 tests/codegen.scm | 31 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 62 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Readme.org b/Readme.org
index 622d6ab..57d7e66 100644
--- a/Readme.org
+++ b/Readme.org
@@ -212,6 +212,20 @@ Sex has support for syntactic macros. Macro definitions look like
 functions: they have a name, an argument list and a body. Macro should
 return Sex code.
 
+A macro returns *one* form. To return several --- a function beside the
+struct it works on, say --- return them under =$=, which splices them in
+where the macro was written:
+
+#+begin_src scheme
+  (defmacro (pair-of-fns a b)
+    `($ (fn ,a () int (return 1))
+        (fn ,b () int (return 2))))
+#+end_src
+
+=($)= expands to nothing. Everything else is a single form, including
+one whose head is itself a form: =`((make-adder 10) 5)= calls what
+=make-adder= returned, and is not two forms.
+
 *** Examples:
 **** Structure with templated value type
 #+begin_src scheme
diff --git a/semen.scm b/semen.scm
index 7c79852..e8ae7b2 100644
--- a/semen.scm
+++ b/semen.scm
@@ -52,22 +52,29 @@
       (cons (car forms) (take-until (cdr forms) tail))))
 
 (define (macroexpand macro-form rest-forms)
-  ;; We want to replace macro with its expansion. The problem is,
-  ;; top-level macro can return either a single form, or a list of
-  ;; forms, when it for example generates some aux
-  ;; structures/functions/typedefs.
+  ;; `(defmacro (two) 2)' expands to `2', and `($ (fn a ...) (fn b ...))'
+  ;; to two forms, spliced where the macro was written. `($)' expands to
+  ;; nothing.
   ;;
-  ;; Single form we just cons to the top of rest-forms, but multiple
-  ;; forms have to be appended to the rest-forms.
+  ;; Everything else is one form, a list whose head is itself a form
+  ;; included: `((make-adder 10) 5)' calls what `make-adder' returned,
+  ;; and without `$' to mark a splice there is no telling that from a
+  ;; list of the two forms `(make-adder 10)' and `5'.
   (let ((res (apply-macro macro-form))
         (src (form-source macro-form)))
     ;; An expansion is fresh structure with no location of its own. Give
     ;; it the call site's, the way cpp attributes a macro body to where
     ;; the macro was used
-    (if (list? (car res))
-        (append (map (lambda (f) (stamp-form-source! f src)) res)
-                rest-forms)
-        (cons (stamp-form-source! res src) rest-forms))))
+    (cond
+     ((splice-form? res)
+      (append (map (lambda (f) (stamp-form-source! f src)) (cdr res))
+              rest-forms))
+     ((null? res) rest-forms)
+     (else
+      (cons (stamp-form-source! res src) rest-forms)))))
+
+(define (splice-form? form)
+  (and (pair? form) (list? form) (eq? '$ (car form))))
 
 (define (match-sex-form sex-form acc)
   (match sex-form
diff --git a/tests/codegen.scm b/tests/codegen.scm
index 4124dbd..e20ee7a 100644
--- a/tests/codegen.scm
+++ b/tests/codegen.scm
@@ -327,6 +327,37 @@ compiles."
                (fn f ((c (closure ((int)) int))) int (return (g c)))"
               "g(c)")))
 
+  ;; `(car res)' on the expansion assumed it was a pair, so a macro
+  ;; computing a value rather than building a form crashed the compiler.
+  (test-group "macro expanding to an atom"
+    (test-assert "a number"
+      (emits? "(defmacro (two) 2) (fn f () int (return (two)))"
+              "return 2;"))
+    (test-assert "a string"
+      (emits? "(defmacro (who) \"sex\") (fn f () void (g (who)))"
+              "g(\"sex\")"))
+    ;; a symbol expansion can stand where a type does, which is what
+    ;; makes a macro able to compute one
+    (test-assert "a symbol, used as a type"
+      (emits? "(defmacro (ty) 'int) (fn f () void (var x (ty) 0))"
+              "int x = 0"))
+    ;; ...and nothing at all, for a macro that only registers something
+    (test-assert "nothing, at toplevel"
+      (emits? "(defmacro (quiet) (list)) (quiet) (fn f () int (return 1))"
+              "return 1;"))
+    (test-assert "nothing, in a body"
+      (emits? "(defmacro (quiet) (list)) (fn f () int (quiet) (return 1))"
+              "return 1;"))
+    ;; several forms need `$', which is what tells a splice from a call
+    (test-assert "$ splices"
+      (emits? "(defmacro (pair) (list '$ '(fn a () int (return 1))
+                                         '(fn b () int (return 2))))
+               (pair)"
+              "b (void)"))
+    (test-assert "and ($) is nothing at all"
+      (emits? "(defmacro (quiet) (list '$)) (quiet) (fn f () int (return 1))"
+              "return 1;")))
+
   ;; A unary expression parenthesised its operand rather than itself, so
   ;; the parens landed inside: `*(p).x', which C reads as `*(p.x)'.
   (test-group "unary operand precedence"