5 ms·

> PPS: I think the choice of ^ to handle pointers is one of the worst decision in the syntax. Funny that's my favourite aspect of Odin's syntax. p: ^int

by eterps 2y ago

> PPS: I think the choice of ^ to handle pointers is one of the worst decision in the syntax. Funny that's my favourite aspect of Odin's syntax. p: ^int Easy on the eyes. I also like the convention of the type on the left and its usage on the right: p: ^int // ^ on the left x := p^ // ^ on the right Very similar to languages of the Pascal family, but less verbose. And with structs: p^.x // not necessary p.x // this will do

indulona 2y ago
the main problem is keyboard layout and lack of easy access to ^ in most of them. not everyone uses US layout, it's actually minority of computer users. plus, the notion of whether the ^ goes before or after variable can cause a lot of programming and code reviewing issues. but it's just a personal opinion, obviously.
- fallingsquirrel 2y ago
  What layout specifically is a problem? Odin uses curly braces which (in QWERTY) are shifted and typed with your pinky—the worst possible combination. Are there layouts where ^ is worse than that?
  - indulona 2y ago
    this could result in endless thread so all i will say is that you have * physically available as stand-alone key on the numerical side of every keyboard ever made(unless you are a weirdo(=micro minority) and use the variously mutilated physical keyboard layouts) and & is physically available as stand-alone key on iso 105 layout, for example, but most importantly it is a character widely used in most languages as actual character, whereas ^ is really not.
    - fallingsquirrel 2y ago
      Moving your whole hand off home row to hit numpad * is even worse than shift-pinky.
      - indulona 2y ago
        try using your right hand ʕ·͡ᴥ·ʔ
        fallingsquirrel 2y ago
        If you think it's ergonomic to move your entire hand away from the letters to press a frequently used key, well... I guess now I understand why Odin's creator disagrees with you about keyboard layouts! ^_^
- flohofwoe 2y ago
  OTH accessing { and } on non US layouts is pretty much the worst case but people deal with it just fine.

by eterps 2y ago

indulona 2y ago

the main problem is keyboard layout and lack of easy access to ^ in most of them. not everyone uses US layout, it's actually minority of computer users. plus, the notion of whether the ^ goes before or after variable can cause a lot of programming and code reviewing issues. but it's just a personal opinion, obviously.

fallingsquirrel 2y ago
What layout specifically is a problem? Odin uses curly braces which (in QWERTY) are shifted and typed with your pinky—the worst possible combination. Are there layouts where ^ is worse than that?
- indulona 2y ago
  this could result in endless thread so all i will say is that you have * physically available as stand-alone key on the numerical side of every keyboard ever made(unless you are a weirdo(=micro minority) and use the variously mutilated physical keyboard layouts) and & is physically available as stand-alone key on iso 105 layout, for example, but most importantly it is a character widely used in most languages as actual character, whereas ^ is really not.
  - fallingsquirrel 2y ago
    Moving your whole hand off home row to hit numpad * is even worse than shift-pinky.
    - indulona 2y ago
      try using your right hand ʕ·͡ᴥ·ʔ
      - fallingsquirrel 2y ago
        If you think it's ergonomic to move your entire hand away from the letters to press a frequently used key, well... I guess now I understand why Odin's creator disagrees with you about keyboard layouts! ^_^
flohofwoe 2y ago
OTH accessing { and } on non US layouts is pretty much the worst case but people deal with it just fine.