RE: (no subject)

Hi Njal,

On Sat, 22 Sep 2001, Njal Fisketjon wrote:
>
> I disagree. Why should the programmer be doing unnecessary coding?
> Just like coding eval's all over the place. Most statements doesn't
> continue to the next line (specially not in /free from). Why not code
> a continuation character (+ -) in stead?.

You'd still need something to delimit the end of a condition expression
on your if statement.   Either you'd need to put parenthesis around
the expression (like you do in C) or you'd need to put a word there
(BASIC uses the word 'then')  or you'd need to say that the condition
ends at the end of this source record, or something along those
lines...  the point is, you need SOMETHING.

Using a continuation character, as you suggest, would work, but only if
you didn't allow multiple statements on the same line.

> Other languages (eg Visual Basic) does it, and it looks much better, and
> is less work.  Why can't the fact that you start a new line mean that
> you start a new statement (like we're used to know). Why turn the logic.
> To make sure nobody will use it?
>

Whether it "looks much better" is PURELY a matter of opinion.  Opinion
which is frequently, by the way, based on what you're used to.  When the
semi-colon idea came up, I also argued against it -- but there are some
reasons why it makes sense!

But, at any rate, this issue was throroughly beat into the ground BEFORE
the new compiler was released.   Now that it has been, there's little
point in arguing it further.  It's done.   Either use it and learn to
like it, or keep using the fixed-format lines.  It can't be changed.