6 ms·

One advantage of not using {} for blocks is that they are available for other purposes, like generics or templates, instead of the terrible <>, combinations lik

by alricb 11y ago

One advantage of not using {} for blocks is that they are available for other purposes, like generics or templates, instead of the terrible <>, combinations like (::) or unicode characters.

kuschku 11y ago
Why are <> so terrible? I mean, they’re more accessible than {}. <> is next to shift on the keyboard, {} is AltGr+7/9.
- masklinn 11y ago
  > Why are <> so terrible? I mean, they’re more accessible than {}. The problem is parsing complexity, they have to be disambiguated from the corresponding operators (also the right shift `>>`), so either the syntax has to be such that they can't appear in the same context and can be trivially differentiated, or you got yourself an exponentially harder to parse language.
  - iSnow 11y ago
    Seriously? Some people either have a really weak mental model of a language or want to see problems where there are none. With the same right one could argue that {} can't be used for generics etc. since most people also have to write JS from time to time and it will confound the hell out of their language parser when switching languages.
    - masklinn 11y ago
      > Seriously? Some people either have a really weak mental model of a language or want to see problems where there are none. Er… mate I'm talking about actual parsers here, as in the stuff that follows the tokenizer…
      - iSnow 11y ago
        Oh OK, but that's a solved problem.
        masklinn 11y ago
        It would be solved if languages using these forms didn't require more complex parser than languages not using these forms. That is not the case, and it is thus not solved in any meaningful sense of the term.
  - fao_ 11y ago
    That can be solved relatively simply with lookahead, can't it?
    - nly 11y ago
      Nope, because you can have arbitrary constant expressions within template instantiations. foo<bar<1> could be interpreted as "foo<(bar < 1)>" or "foo < bar<1>" It's undecidable without symbol lookup.
- TulliusCicero 11y ago
  I'm not sure what you mean here, {} looks just as accessible on the keyboard as <> to me.
  - kuschku 11y ago
    Not everyone is on US keyboard ;)
    - peferron 11y ago
      I use a French desktop keyboard and I've remapped left ctrl / left cmd / right cmd / right ctrl (it's a Mac) to { [ ] }. When used as modifiers they of course still perform their original function. Works like a charm, no AltGr necessary.

by alricb 11y ago

One advantage of not using {} for blocks is that they are available for other purposes, like generics or templates, instead of the terrible <>, combinations like (::) or unicode characters.

kuschku 11y ago

Why are <> so terrible? I mean, they’re more accessible than {}. <> is next to shift on the keyboard, {} is AltGr+7/9.

masklinn 11y ago
> Why are <> so terrible? I mean, they’re more accessible than {}. The problem is parsing complexity, they have to be disambiguated from the corresponding operators (also the right shift `>>`), so either the syntax has to be such that they can't appear in the same context and can be trivially differentiated, or you got yourself an exponentially harder to parse language.
- iSnow 11y ago
  Seriously? Some people either have a really weak mental model of a language or want to see problems where there are none. With the same right one could argue that {} can't be used for generics etc. since most people also have to write JS from time to time and it will confound the hell out of their language parser when switching languages.
  - masklinn 11y ago
    > Seriously? Some people either have a really weak mental model of a language or want to see problems where there are none. Er… mate I'm talking about actual parsers here, as in the stuff that follows the tokenizer…
    - iSnow 11y ago
      Oh OK, but that's a solved problem.
      - masklinn 11y ago
        It would be solved if languages using these forms didn't require more complex parser than languages not using these forms. That is not the case, and it is thus not solved in any meaningful sense of the term.
- fao_ 11y ago
  That can be solved relatively simply with lookahead, can't it?
  - nly 11y ago
    Nope, because you can have arbitrary constant expressions within template instantiations. foo<bar<1> could be interpreted as "foo<(bar < 1)>" or "foo < bar<1>" It's undecidable without symbol lookup.
TulliusCicero 11y ago
I'm not sure what you mean here, {} looks just as accessible on the keyboard as <> to me.
- kuschku 11y ago
  Not everyone is on US keyboard ;)
  - peferron 11y ago
    I use a French desktop keyboard and I've remapped left ctrl / left cmd / right cmd / right ctrl (it's a Mac) to { [ ] }. When used as modifiers they of course still perform their original function. Works like a charm, no AltGr necessary.