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000057_icon-group-sender _Tue Nov 3 14:00:00 1992.msg
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1993-01-04
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Received: by cheltenham.cs.arizona.edu; Tue, 3 Nov 1992 16:44:33 MST
Message-Id: <199211032038.AA22280@optima.cs.arizona.edu>
From: nowlin@iwtqg.att.com
Date: Tue, 3 Nov 92 14:00 CST
To: att!cs.arizona.edu!icon-group
Subject: Re: semicolons
Status: R
Errors-To: icon-group-errors@cs.arizona.edu
> Personally, I like using semicolons and think they increase
> readability. The compiler/interpreter does a good job of determining
> where to put automatic semicolons, but it is harder for me to read a
> series of non-semicoloned lines especially when some of the statements
> are on more than one line. I don't mind the feature of optional
> semicolons (mostly because I've never been burned by the compiler
> inserting a semicolon where I didn't want one), but I almost always
> use them.
I have an idea. Suppose we cobble up a version of Icon that requires
semicolons to make those of you who feel the need for some kind of
syntactic security blanket happy. But I'd even go further. Why not a
version of Icon that requires expressions to start in column ten and
comments to start in column one. Then we could require type declarations
and add gotos to the language. Heck, we could even require that it be
submitted on punched cards and that your output be on paper. Maybe paper
tape instead of cards. Maybe it could only run on PDP machines and you
have to enter the program by toggling the switches on the front panel.
Maybe ... Seem like we're going the wrong direction here?
Jerry Nowlin