On 2/24/2010 2:48 AM, Matt Emson wrote:
I think an interjection at this point is required - all of this is
down to personal experience, preference and style. It is what you are
used to. Having done 10+ years of Pascal, yes this is very alien.
Having done 5+ years of C# and C based languages, no this is useful.
Should it be part of Free Pascal? That is for the compiler maintainers
to decide. However, don't write it off because you find it
undesirable. One languages feature is another's bad syntax decision.
I can't count the number of times I've tried to explain the point of
Sets to non Pascal programmers (read: C based language users.) I also
don't want to remember the countless bad implementations of Sets I saw
whilst trying not to have to reinvent the wheel.
Your post illustrates a misunderstanding that is common today - that
choices are arbitrary and equivalent and should just be decided by
personal preference. There are many choices people make today that are
far more serious than that. But they just dismiss them as "Its my
choice. What's it to you?" This is especially common in items of
convenience.
Within the philosophic principles that formed Pascal such a proposed
construct is a violation. (As are some of the now accepted extensions
introduced by Borland.) The principle is one of minimalism or
conservation of features. The principle is: If a feature can be
expressed using a reasonable expression of the current language features
it is unnecessary and should be left out. Wirth did an outstanding job
of adhering tot his principle. Those that followed him, not so much.
It is important when considering language changes to observe the
principles and adhere to them. Their logical consistency is important to
maintain for that is is the basis of the language's integrity and that,
in turn, is the basis of its elegance and power.
--
Doug C.
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A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?
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