From: Nikolai Weibull <mailing-lists.ruby-talk@...>
Date: 2005-11-05T08:27:16+09:00
Subject: Re: Some comments on new 1.9 features

Austin Ziegler wrote:

> It sounds too much like Python. Python's syntax is one of the reasons
> I don't use Python.

Well, the idea was to give everyone the choice of what they wanted to
use, delimited blocks, or indentation blocks.  The only issue with this
is that it adds complexity and one’d have to be able to stand reading
both ways of writing code.  I read somewhere that the biggest problem
with C is that it doesn’t restrict the syntax enough:

        if (<test>)
                <statement a>
                <statement b>

It’s an accident waiting to happen.  And while having an expressive
syntax is sweet and all, it can cause problems that are hard to spot.
I’m certainly not in the “There’s Only One Way To Write It” camp, but
there is some merit to having a simple, unambiguous syntax.

        nikolai

-- 
Nikolai Weibull: now available free of charge at http://bitwi.se/!
Born in Chicago, IL USA; currently residing in Gothenburg, Sweden.
main(){printf(&linux["\021%six\012\0"],(linux)["have"]+"fun"-97);}