From: "sawa (Tsuyoshi Sawada)" <sawadatsuyoshi@...>
Date: 2013-02-03T14:29:37+09:00
Subject: [ruby-dev:46907] [ruby-trunk - Feature #7639] More freedom for location of comments


Issue #7639 has been updated by sawa (Tsuyoshi Sawada).


I would like to add another argument for such feature. It is common that you put each step of a chain in a new line. During debugging, it frequently happens that you want to comment out particular lines within a chain. You have no problem when the period is at the end of a line. Below is an example of commenting out `method2`:

    [1, 2, 3].
    method1.
    # method2{...}.
    method3(arg1, arg2){...}.
    method4{...}

But if you had the periods at the beginning of a line, you cannot do this. The following will not be interpreted with the intended result.

    [1, 2, 3]
    .method1
    # .method2{...}
    .method3(arg1, arg2){...}
    .method4{...}

Just for the purpose of commenting out `method2`, you would have to temporarily move the period from the front of `method3` to the end of `method1` as so:

    [1, 2, 3]
    .method1.
    # .method2{...}
    method3(arg1, arg2){...}
    .method4{...}

This pretty much discourages programmers to write with the period at the beginning of a line in the first place. It appears to me that such inflexibility with the location of comments makes the feature of allowing the period at the beginning of a line useless.
----------------------------------------
Feature #7639: More freedom for location of comments
https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/7639#change-35794

Author: sawa (Tsuyoshi Sawada)
Status: Open
Priority: Normal
Assignee: matz (Yukihiro Matsumoto)
Category: core
Target version: Next Major


When we chain methods with the period at the end of each line, we can put comments in between the lines:

    [1, 2, 3].
    # First, we do blah blah
    method1.
    # Second, we do blah blah
    method2.
    =begin
      Third, the following line
      does this
      and that ...
    =end
    method3

but when we have the period at the beginning of the line, putting comments in similar positions returns an error:

    [1, 2, 3]
    # First, we do blah blah
    .method1
    # Second, we do blah blah
    .method2
    =begin
      Third, the following line
      does this
      and that ...
    =end
    .method3

    # => Error

It is confusing that putting comments between lines in a method chain is sometimes allowed and sometimes not. I think it would be convenient if comments are allowed in these positions even when the following line starts with a period, and I request this as a feature. Currently, it returns an error, which means that, if such syntax were allowed, there would be no conflict with the existing syntax.

Furthermore, putting the period at the beginning of a line is suited for method chains because the period will visually work as bullets, and it makes more sense to have comments right before those lines.


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