I agree that Elixir macros are far easier to understand than Ruby macros since they are defined at compile time rather than runtime.

But I am against reaching for macros when the same can be accomplished using the basics: modules, functions, structs. I've seen various instances where a macro doesn't add much expressiveness over the plain old functional approach.

Granted there are many areas where macros are very powerful. Ecto is a perfect example of when macros make sense. Adds a lot of expressiveness to build queries which is worth the cost of macros.

Also should note that I love Elixir. We are using it in production to power all of our backend systems :)