Macros Arguments

9.1 Macro Context

Define: Macro Context

The macro context is the environment in which the macro is executed. Depending on the macro type, it can be considered to be a class being built or a function being typed. Contextual information can be obtained through the haxe.macro.Context API.

Haxe macros have access to different contextual information depending on the macro type. Other than querying such information, the context also allows some modifications such as defining a new type or registering certain callbacks. It is important to understand that not all information is available for all macro kinds, as the following examples demonstrate:

Initialization macros will find that the Context.getLocal*() methods return null. There is no local type or method in the context of an initialization macro.
Only build macros get a proper return value from Context.getBuildFields(). There are no fields being built for the other macro kinds.
Build macros have a local type (if incomplete), but no local method, so Context.getLocalMethod() returns null.

The context API is complemented by the haxe.macro.Compiler API detailed in Initialization Macros. While this API is available to all macro kinds, care has to be taken for any modification outside of initialization macros. This stems from the natural limitation of undefined build order, which could cause e.g. a flag definition through Compiler.define() to take effect before or after a conditional compilation check against that flag.