Generated functions

Macros run very early in the compilers process when there is no information about how the program might execute. The inputs to a macro are, therefore, simply symbols and expressions – the textual tokens that make up a program. Given that a lot of Julia's powers come from its type system, it may be useful to have something like macros – code that generates code – at a point where the compiler has inferred the types of the variables and arguments in the program. Generated functions (also known as staged functions) fulfill this need.

Using generated functions

Declaring a generated function is simple. Instead of the usual function keyword, generated functions are declared with the appropriately...