Quote

Definitions

1. In Lisp-family languages and Elixir, quoting prevents evaluation of an expression, returning its abstract syntax tree (AST) representation instead. In shells, quoting (single or double) prevents word splitting and glob expansion. A fundamental concept in metaprogramming and homoiconicity.

   In plain English: Telling the language 'do not run this code yet, just show me its structure' — like reading a recipe without cooking, so you can modify the steps first.

   Example: "In Elixir, quote do: 1 + 2 returns {:+, [], [1, 2]} — the AST, not 3."

Related Terms

• Async/Await
• Block
• Comptime
• Cons
• Decorator
• Eval
• Here Document
• S-Expression
• Template