From: Daniel Carrera <dcarrera@...>
Date: 2003-08-18T07:29:48+09:00
Subject: Re: Wish: Python-style indenting

On Mon, Aug 18, 2003 at 07:19:22AM +0900, Jonathan Aquino wrote:
> I wish Ruby had Python's use of whitespace to indicate blocks. Then I
> wouldn't see all these lines that simply say "end" or "}".
> 
> Jon

I rather prefer having a clear delimiter like "end".  I don't like 
Pytnon's method.  It looks like blocks are just "dangling".  I think that 
"end" adds readability.  I like "end" better than "}", so that's a plus 
for Ruby in my book.  Even when I write blocks, I use do...end instead of 
{...} (except for one-liners).

I also like flexible syntax:

1.   iterator { some block }
2.   puts "hello" if condition
3.   def twice() yield; yield; end

These are lost by Python's syntax.  I think that flexibility is worth the 
price of an "end".  But then again, I also think that "end" is a good 
thing on itself.

Though I guess you can argue that Python does support the "end" feature if 
you want:

if (condition): #do
	print "He he he"
#end

:-)

-- 
Daniel Carrera, Math PhD student at UMD.  PGP KeyID: 9AF77A88
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