M4 macro processor
E299193
The M4 macro processor is a general-purpose macro processing language and tool commonly used in Unix-like systems for generating and transforming text, especially in build and configuration workflows.
All labels observed (4)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| GNU m4 | 3 |
| GNU M4 | 2 |
| BSD m4 | 1 |
| M4 macro processor canonical | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2792553 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: M4 macro processor Context triple: [GNU Autoconf, uses, M4 macro processor]
-
A.
MMIX
MMIX is a 64-bit RISC-style hypothetical computer architecture designed by Donald Knuth as the pedagogical machine for later volumes of *The Art of Computer Programming*.
-
B.
Algol W
Algol W is a block-structured, high-level programming language designed by Niklaus Wirth as a successor to ALGOL 60, incorporating features that influenced the later development of Pascal and other languages.
-
C.
MIPS
MIPS is a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) processor architecture widely used in embedded systems, networking equipment, and academic settings.
-
D.
Algol 68 Genie
Algol 68 Genie is a modern, open-source implementation of the Algol 68 programming language designed for contemporary systems and practical use.
-
E.
Algol 68C
Algol 68C is a compiler implementation of the Algol 68 programming language, designed to translate its advanced structured constructs into executable machine code.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: M4 macro processor Target entity description: The M4 macro processor is a general-purpose macro processing language and tool commonly used in Unix-like systems for generating and transforming text, especially in build and configuration workflows.
-
A.
MMIX
MMIX is a 64-bit RISC-style hypothetical computer architecture designed by Donald Knuth as the pedagogical machine for later volumes of *The Art of Computer Programming*.
-
B.
Algol W
Algol W is a block-structured, high-level programming language designed by Niklaus Wirth as a successor to ALGOL 60, incorporating features that influenced the later development of Pascal and other languages.
-
C.
MIPS
MIPS is a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) processor architecture widely used in embedded systems, networking equipment, and academic settings.
-
D.
Algol 68 Genie
Algol 68 Genie is a modern, open-source implementation of the Algol 68 programming language designed for contemporary systems and practical use.
-
E.
Algol 68C
Algol 68C is a compiler implementation of the Algol 68 programming language, designed to translate its advanced structured constructs into executable machine code.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Unix software
ⓘ
macro processor ⓘ programming tool ⓘ text processing language ⓘ |
| canBeEmbeddedIn |
build systems
ⓘ
configuration systems ⓘ |
| distributionModel | free software ⓘ |
| documentation | m4 manual ⓘ |
| executionModel | command-line filter ⓘ |
| hasAbbreviation | m4 ⓘ |
| hasCategory |
Unix text processing utilities
ⓘ
macro languages ⓘ |
| hasCommandName | m4 ⓘ |
| hasDesignGoal |
generality
ⓘ
portability ⓘ simplicity ⓘ |
| hasDeveloper |
Brian Kernighan
ⓘ
Dennis Ritchie ⓘ |
| hasFullName | m4 macro processor ⓘ |
| hasImplementation |
M4 macro processor
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
GNU m4
|
| influenced | autoconf macro language ⓘ |
| inputType | plain text ⓘ |
| inspiredBy | Strachey macro language ⓘ |
| license | GNU General Public License ⓘ |
| operatingSystem |
Unix
ⓘ
Unix-like systems ⓘ |
| outputType | plain text ⓘ |
| partOf | traditional Unix toolchain ⓘ |
| standardImplementation |
M4 macro processor
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
GNU m4
|
| supportsFeature |
arithmetic operations
ⓘ
conditional processing ⓘ file inclusion ⓘ loops via recursion ⓘ macro definition ⓘ macro expansion ⓘ parameterized macros ⓘ string manipulation ⓘ |
| typicalUse |
build workflows
ⓘ
code generation ⓘ configuration workflows ⓘ general-purpose macro processing ⓘ text generation ⓘ text transformation ⓘ |
| usedFor |
generating Makefile fragments
ⓘ
generating configure scripts ⓘ |
| usedWith |
autoconf
ⓘ
GNU Automake ⓘ
surface form:
automake
|
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: M4 macro processor Description of subject: The M4 macro processor is a general-purpose macro processing language and tool commonly used in Unix-like systems for generating and transforming text, especially in build and configuration workflows.
Referenced by (7)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
GNU M4
this entity surface form:
GNU M4
this entity surface form:
GNU m4
this entity surface form:
GNU m4
this entity surface form:
GNU m4
this entity surface form:
BSD m4