Damian Conway wrote:
skip:
- We keep :words as shorthand for :skip(/<ws>/)
- And :skip is shorthand for :skip(/<skip>/)
...where <skip> defaults to <ws>, but is distinct from it (i.e. it can
be redefined independently).
It also has the benefit that developers redefining <skip> can call <ws>
as one of the alternates in their skip rule.
I'm tempted to make <skip> default to [\# \N*|<ws>], considering the
number of languages and non-languages that use that commenting form. It
provides a useful distinction between the default forms of :words and
:skip, and an intelligent default. But, there's potential for confusion
if someone is parsing say, a file of phone numbers each pre-pended with
"#". (Of course, it could be argued that if they really only want
whitespace skipped, they should use :words.)
- <ws> is optional whitespace,
Not quite. <ws> is semi-optional whitespace. More precisely, it's not
optional between two identifier characters:
token ws { <after \w> \s+ <before \w>
| <after \w> \s* <before \W>
| <after \W> \s*
}
Right, that's "skippy behavior".
> following skippy behavior (and it always behaves the same no matter
> what the current :skip pattern is)
Allison
