What exactly is metaprogramming?

Question

I was reading an article on TheServerSide on ployglot programming on the Java platform. Some comments in the article refer to metaprogramming as the ability to generate code

Answer 1

This is just my personal opinion, which is probably the most liberal definition of metaprogramming.

I think it includes:

1. Compile code generation or Runtime code generation (or both)
2. Aspect-Oriented Thinking or Aspect Oriented Programming
3. DRY Thinking

I think you can get there by using any of these and in combination:

1. Reflection
2. DSLs (Domain Specific Languages)
3. Attributes (.NET) or Annotations (Java)
4. Generics (.NET/Java)
5. Templates (C++)
6. method_missing (Ruby)
7. closures / first class functions / delegates
8. AOP - Aspect Oriented Programming