Need help learning defmacro

I have the following code: (defmacro print-name-from-language (language) (let ((name (symbol-name language))) `(message ,name))) (print-name-from-language 'c++) and I'm getting this error: let: Wrong type argument: symbolp, 'c++

Don't quote c++ in the macro call. Macro arguments aren't evaluated, so you're getting `(quote c++)`.

Having said that, and understanding that you may have given us an over-simplified example, bear in mind that `message` uses the same escapes as `format`, meaning the `%S` (uppercase S, not lowercase) escape will do the `symbol-name` lookup for you. You can thus replace the whole body of this macro with `(message "%S" language)`. This leads to a more important insight: don't create a Lisp macro where a function will do. At first it might seem like it makes no difference, but trust me, it does. I can go into it at length if you like, but basically, functions are more *tractable*, as they are first-class objects available at runtime. Lisp macros are a fantastic tool for automated programming, making Lisp "the programmable programming language", but they should not be used for ordinary computation.

Read the corresponding chapters in Practical Common Lisp, available free online.

On Lisp also has a chapter on macros.

Very good points! I think of macros as template programming in C++.

Thanks for sharing!

You're free now. Free, I tell you! You will never have to deal with such an abomination as C++ templates again. Relax, take a deep breath and let it go. Ahhh. That's better!

And straight after "On Lisp", read "Let Over Lambda", which is all about Lisp macros (in Common Lisp): https://letoverlambda.com/index.cl/toc