Guide to Migrating from Legacy Macros to Symbolic Macros in Bazel
By
todsacerdoti
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Summary
This technical article explains the migration from legacy macros to symbolic macros in Bazel, a build system. Symbolic macros were introduced in Bazel 8 and offer improvements like typed arguments, better visibility control for created targets, and enhanced code clarity. The content is targeted at experienced Bazel engineers and focuses on modernization of build metadata, assuming readers have solid knowledge of Bazel's macro system and build file conventions.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledIn Bazel, there are two types of macros: legacy macros and symbolic macros, that were introduced in Bazel 8.
Symbolic macros are recommended for code clarity, where possible.
They include enhancements like typed arguments and the ability to define and limit the visibility of the targets they create.
This post is intended for experienced Bazel engineers or those tasked with modernizing the build metadata of their codebases.
The following discussion assumes a solid working knowledge of Bazel's macro system and build file conventions.
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