> print "-------" # must read the next line to
> # figure out if new line is statement terminator or not
> if $condition";
Yes, let's expand that example, and assume the "semicolons optional
where obvious" proposal.
sub foo
{
print "abcde"
if $condition
{
print "fghij"
}
}
Is this
sub foo
{
# Conditionally print.
print "abcde" if $condition;
return sub {
# closure, see A4
print "fghij";
};
}
or is it
sub foo
{
print "abcde"; # Always print.
if $condition {
# Optionally print fghij right here.
print "fghij";
}
return; # No return value.
}
?
See the problem? Optional semicolons mean that something else has to
take up the syntactic slack, in this case extra keywords or indentation.
Personally, as a Perl programmer, I *like* semicolons. They are the
programming equivalent of the end-of-phrase markers you get in music to
tell your brain to take a breath.
--
Debbie Pickett http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~debbiep [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"You gotta bat your eyes - like this." - _The Little Mermaid_
