On Wednesday, 17 May 2017 at 01:01:29 UTC, MysticZach wrote:
I think there are several issues at hand, and they need to be
dealt with individually:
1. `body` is a very useful identifier. It would be nice to have
it available.
2. Contract syntax is too verbose.
3. a. Some people think code looks better with a keyword, e.g.
`body`, `do`, etc. distinguishing the function from the
contracts.
3. b. Other people think that such a keyword is unnecessarily
redundant and does not justify its own existence.
I think the thread will be more productive if the posters
commit to answering just one of these issues, and reserve other
issues for other threads. As the DIP in question is directly
meant to address issue #1, it makes sense to try to solve that
problem and only that problem here.
Let me interject here that the primary issue we should be focused
on in this thread is whether or not the status of `body` as a
reserved keyword can be revoked and, if so, how to best go about
it. Debates about the verbosity of contracts are peripherally
related (courtesy of Option 3 in the DIP), but should not be the
primary focus of the discussion here.
I would also like to remind everyone that the preliminary review
of this DIP happened some time ago, and that's the place where
free-for-all discussions are appropriate. The purpose of this
thread is not to improve or modify the DIP, but to provide Walter
and Andrei more food for thought when they consider if and how to
implement the DIP.
With that in mind, I ask that we try to reduce the noise a bit by
focusing on the key points of the DIP. As I see it, these are:
* Is it a good idea to remove body's status as a reserved keyword?
* If so, which option is best?
1) Make it contextual
2) Replace it with another keyword (`function` was suggested in
the DIP, `do` in this thread).
3) A three-stage process of removal: make it optional, then
deprecate it, then remove it completely (meaning, no keyword,
reserved or contextual, is required for the function body in a
contract).
If you'd like to discuss peripheral issues in depth, I ask that
you start another thread to do so. Feel free to post a link to
the new thread in this one.
Thanks!
