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Are there a preprocessor for TeX, like for C/C++?

Are there a way to apply a macro to .tex file in order to generate new file? For example, I have macro:

\renewcommand{asd}{some phrase here}

I have a .tex file:

bla-bla \asd bla-bla

I would like to get a new .tex file where all macros are replaced, and it will have this contents:

bla-bla some phrase here bla-bla
  • For a simple case, just use search and replace in your editor, or use sed. The only thing that can deal with every possibility is TeX itself. – Ian Thompson Sep 02 '14 at 09:58
  • Sorry, I can't, I've got a lot of files with complex macros... :( –  Sep 02 '14 at 10:01
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    This seems very similar to LaTeX macro expander – egreg Sep 02 '14 at 10:18
  • i write the uk faq code in latex, and generate html on-line for whatever answer: just what you need. however, the latex i write is highly stylised, and is full of annotations saying "don't let this line get too long" and the like. there's some slick stuff in there, but i wouldn't want to be writing that sort of code for anything for which there was a timescale. in my opinion, my situation (developed and improved since 1994) is analagous to yours. you can make a transcript only if you wrote your latex with transcription in mind. – wasteofspace Sep 02 '14 at 16:27

1 Answers1

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This answer is based on a similar SO question.

You can actually use the C preprocessor if you like:

$ cat <<EOF | cpp -P | pdflatex
#define NAME Sean Allred
\documentclass{article}

\begin{document}
Hello, NAME.
\end{document}
EOF

All of the features of the C preprocessor are available for use :-)

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