Is it possible to record and run recursive macro's with Vim's normal command?

Given:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/ask

From normal mode at the first character, typing in qaqqaf/xb@aq@a clears all of the forward slashes.

1. qaq clears the a register
2. qa starts recording to a
3. f/x deletes the next forward slash
4. @a re-runs the macro
5. q ends the recording

But running normal qaqqaf/xb@aq@a stops after b -- it seems to bail at the recursive call. The same happens if you try to use map the command.

Is there someth开发者_JS百科ing wrong with my syntax? Or is it impossible to record a recursive macro with normal?

Note: I know it's possible to write a recursive macro with let. I'm wondering if this is the only way to write a recursive macro without recording it manually:

let @a = "f/xb@a"
normal @a

(I ask because of this answer: Remove everything except regex match in Vim )

If you want to create a map to a recursive macro I suggest you start by doing something like so:

nmap <f2> :let @a = "f/xb@a"|normal @a

Of course this clobbers the @a register and if you find you self doing many of these kinds of mappings maybe a function would better suit your needs.

Here is a safer alternative to making recursive macro mappings:

function! RecMacroExe(cmds)
  let a = @a
  let @a = a:cmds . "@a"
  try
    normal @a
  finally
    let @a = a
  endtry
endfunction

nmap <f2> :call RecMacroExe("f/xb")<cr>

Edit: Changed function according to @Luc Hermitte comment