----- Start Original Message ----- Sent: Wed, 18 Jul 2012 19:28:34 -0700 From: Kartik Agaram <a...@akkartik.com> To: Alan Manuel Gloria <almkg...@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Readable-discuss] Arne Babenhauserheide proposal: use "." on own line instead of "group"
> > > > b) Should we really have to insert a backslash in empty lines? > > The use case is when you .. you copy-paste a file's contents into > the REPL. a) In practice top-level forms tend to be separated by lines anyway in files. > b) A smart repl could notice when a line is at the same indent as the > previous expression, and eval the previous form. It might print things in the > wrong place, something like this: > > > + 1 2 > . 7 > 3 > 7 > Here I've colored* what the computer prints grey to distinguish from what the > programmer types in. So the '+ 1 2' is evaluated after he's already started > typing the next expression (7). I think this is ok. The current parser *does* detect when two lines are at the top level and accept it. In fact, it used to be that blank lines were ignored. I *HATED* it. That kind of interaction is absurdly confusing; nobody expects to type in something and see the results from the input BEFORE that. When you're using a REPL you do NOT need confusing output. This was one of the first things I fixed: Making sure that ENTER ENTER works. There are certainly alternatives, e.g., a symbol that means "execute this". Several languages do exactly this. But that gets to a drag interactively; it's hard to beat the speed of ENTER ENTER. You don't need to use "\" to make a blank line. A semicolon (possibly indented) will also cause the line to be ignored, and you don't need to match the indentation. This has the disadvantage that in text files, you can't have truly blank lines in the middle of a form, you have to put something (like a semicolon) in. Python solves this by making the interactive syntax DIFFERENT from syntax in code (blank lines end an expression only in interactive mode), but that seems like a bad idea for Lisp. > * - With apologies to those who don't see html formatting in their email. > Please speak up if there's someone like that. I try to avoid html emails -- > until there's a genuine need for extra formatting. Um, me for one :-). --- David A. Wheeler ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ _______________________________________________ Readable-discuss mailing list Readable-discuss@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/readable-discuss
