$macroArg parsing error

[mhantsch]

In firmware 16.0.0, the following macro worked:

setVar hrm_tick 0
ifShortcut timeoutIn 100 $macroArg.2 final holdKey escape
holdKey $macroArg.1

In firmware 16.1.0, it throws this error:

Error at chordscape–arg 1/2/1: Parsing failed, did you mean

Literally, it ends after the word 'mean'.

The macro is bound to the q and w keys, with the macroArgs being q and w on the q key, and w and q on the w key.

[kareltucek]

Please try changing the $ to &.

[mhantsch]

Seems to work with &macroArg. But as I understand it from the reference docs, it should work with $macroArg, shouldn't it?

[kareltucek]

Scancode abbreviations and SHORTCUTs are not seen as a "value" by the macro engine. They can't be stored in a variable for instance.

I mean, intuitively, you are correct that as a user I would expect it to work too.

This is unfortunate, but correct behavior.

Will have to think about it later - it would be ideal to reconciliate the two syntaxes to work in this context.

(Also, I should probably add a line or two into the reference manual about this...)

[mhantsch]

Yeah, reading your comment and thinking about the workings of the parser this now makes sense from the structural side of the code. It just doesn't feel natural.

If you can find a way that $macroArg works in this context, it would avoid some questions. Or explain very specifically when you have to write &. It's not obvious. And in the docs the $ notation is described as being the 'safer' option, so people are likely to go for that one first.

[mhantsch]

Also - curious - it did work in 16.0.0. Why that?

[kareltucek]

Also - curious - it did work in 16.0.0. Why that?

In 16.0.0 $ did what & now does.

I had since been through a bunch of validation errors that made me think hard about stuff. Also, I thought about the conceptual workings of the language.

You are totally correct on all counts of course.

[mhantsch]

What if $macroArg resolved as EXPRESSION, and &macroArg resolved as LITERAL_STRING (like STRING, but always as a literal string without needing quotes)?

To specify a key (KEYID) as a macro arg, one could then either write the macro value as $keyId.w and use $macroArg.1 in the macro, or you would need a function to use the LITERAL_STRING. Then the macro value could be w and use $keyIdFromString(&macroArg.1) in the macro.

I understand that right now, you can just write &macroArg.1 in the second example; but it's dangerous because the whole string is injected for parsing, and it's not restricted to a specific type.

[mhantsch]

Another idea:

MACRO_ARG = STRING | VALUE
SCANCODE = <en-US character (CHAR)> | <scancode abbreviation (SCANCODE_ABBREV)> | <scancode abbreviation (STRING)>
KEYID = <keyid (INT)> | <keyid abbreviation (KEYID_ABBREV)> | <keyid abbreviation (STRING)>

And when $macroArg. is evaluated, SCANCODE and KEYID would know how to handle strings. Users will have to write 'w' (with quotes) or a numeric keyid as the macro argument. They can use strings in other places, they just need to enclose them in quotes.

---

A simpler workaround may be to just accept

MACRO_ARG = STRING | VALUE

and process any

• STRING as &macroArg
• VALUE as $macroArg

Users would always write $macroArg, and usually it would yield the expected behaviour.