Hello nimmers!
Below you'll find a nim program that contains syntax errors.
**Quiz 1** : How many errors can you detect just by looking at the code?
**Bonus Question** : One of lines crashes the compiler (as of 0.18). Can you
detect it?
type MyTuple = tuple(a: int, b: int)
var myTuple: MyTuple = [a: 10, b: 10]
type MyObject = ref Object
a: int
var myObject: MyObject = MyObject(a = 5)
type MySpecialObject = ref object of MyObject
var seqOfStrings: seq[int] = @[int]
proc silentProc()* = discard
proc inc(var a: int) = a += 1
**Quiz 2** : Now, imagine that you are a nim newbie. Try to fix the errors with
the help of nim manual and compiler error messages. Or,better yet, ask a nim
beginner to fix the code and watch the frustration grow.
The errors in the code were not invented by hand, they are real mistakes I
admit I have made when learning to nim. Therefore I expect that other beginners
will make the same mistakes. The point is that the compiler error messages for
these examples are not only unhelpful, they are misleading - if you blindly
follow them, you'll end up with even more confusion.
As someone who is currently heavily investing in nim, I hope that the user base
will grow and the language will prosper. I see development of better syntax
error messages as one of the high priority tasks in order to make nim more
beginner-friendly. I'm namely worried that scary and misleading error messages
will intimidate some newbies away from nim before they start to see the light.
But the current semantically oriented error messages are very helpful for more
seasoned programmers, so let's not loose them. Instead, I propose that there
should be a separate syntax error detection phase in compiler pipeline that
could identify common syntax errors and give helpful quick fix suggestions.
**Quiz 3** : Do you know other "easily made" syntax errors that produce
misleading error messages? Help nim newbies by publishing your cautionary
example here (or somewhere).
Happy nimming!
