On 31.12.2011 16:58, Timon Gehr wrote:
On 12/31/2011 12:51 PM, Don wrote:
On 2011-12-27 23:27, Timon Gehr wrote:
In case the function is used for code generation, it can get
rid of one level of indentation.
string generate(string x) => mixin(X!q{
@(x) = 2;
});
That just makes it look even more like Perl. The return statement is
not the problem.
The indentation is the problem. If you don't like @(x) = 2; then that is
an unrelated issue.
It's related. That example is polishing a turd.
BTW the bit I don't like isn't the @(x) -- that's the best bit! It's the
"mixin(", the "q{", and the "})".
My intention is that it would be used with short expressions. Such
monster expressions as in your example are rare in real world code.
That's my point.
On the contrary. The longer the expression, the less it buys you in
readability/the less typing it saves.
The BEST CASE is that you save 6 characters, on
This is the worst case, if it is applicable. The best case is saving an
unbounded amount of characters.
How ??? Each instance of => saves you 6 characters, right?
We should probably stop that discussion soon, because there is no
objective readability measure and therefore it is unlikely that one of
us will change his opinion.
Before the introduction of =>, I never heard anyone mention about the
"problem" you're fixing. It seems to be a solution in search of problem.
You can objectively search the newsgroup.
Anyway, it certainly improves language uniformity. Is there any case to
be made against generalizing => ?
Yeah.
(1) *Everything* comes at a cost. It needs to provide a genuine benefit.
More importantly:
(2) I do not agree at all that it improves language uniformity. The fact
that you have to provide a name when declaring a function means it's not
the same situation at all.
A function literal is an expression. A function is a declaration. The
contexts when you use them are completely different. And the grammer is
different.
It means almost-identical function definitions have completely different
syntax. This reduces uniformity, and reduces readability.
