Re: Is this the Free-Format that we asked for?

On Thu, 2 Nov 2000, John Taylor wrote:

> Hi Scott,
> 
> > putting a ";" at the end of every line is in no way more difficult than
> > putting a "C" at the beginning of every line. :)
> 
> It is different. I almost never end up typing a C in position 6. Because
> it's always in the same place, I can copy/repeat an existing line, or leave
> it up to the editor to put it in for me. The semicolon is something that
> we're going to have to be consciously aware of at all times.
> 
> > c if  %eof(CUSTMAS) and myLongNamedSubProcedure(Parm1: Parm2
> >           Parm3: Parm4) = *NULL
> > c SendError('Hey, that nonsense code didn''t work!')
> > c endif
> >
> > The compiler can tell that line 1 continued because the continuation
> > didn't begin with the "C" at the beginning of the line.
> >
> > See?  Its Like RPG.
> 
> I hope you're just trying to be funny. :)  The whole point is that we really
> don't need either, so we shouldn't  have to worry about it at all.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> John Taylor
> Canada
> 

No, I wasn't really trying to be funny...  

You keep talking about how the statement terminator will make parsing
easier for the compiler developers... I don't really think thats an issue,
here -- they can parse it either way.  

The real question is what will people be comfortable with?
Is a syntax better if its more like C or more like perl or more like
Visual Basic or more like RPG?

I think that the best idea is to keep the language like RPG.  Yes, add the
features (such as free form stuff) that the other languages have had for
30 some years already.   Add in the stuff that people like about those
languages!  Add in the stuff that makes life easier for programmers!  

But don't make it SO much like the other languages that we might as well
use C or VB to begin with...  It needs to still be RPG.

But, of course, thats just my opinion.  You're welcome to your own, even
if you ARE wrong! :-)



+---
| This is the RPG/400 Mailing List!
| To submit a new message, send your mail to RPG400-L@midrange.com.
| To subscribe to this list send email to RPG400-L-SUB@midrange.com.
| To unsubscribe from this list send email to RPG400-L-UNSUB@midrange.com.
| Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com
+---