on 2/5/01 12:58 AM, Robin at robinc@... wrote:

>> Why shouldn't parsers be able to parse all of the following?
>> 
>> 
>> if x > y: z++
>> 
>> 
>> if x > y
>> z++
>> eif
>> 
>> 
>> if x > y: z++ else done--
>> 
>> 
>> if x > y
>> z++
>> else
>> done--
>> eif
>> 
>> The simpler the better.
> 
> If you're not careful, if it gets to be too "simple" it starts to get harder
> to read and understand. If we wanted that, we'd all go to C. I'm all for IF
> x THEN/ELSE IF/END IF blocks, but using colons for "THEN" starts getting too
> terse if you ask me.

Wasn't it the Ada language that produced code that looked as though a child
was typing random letters and symbols?  Exceptionally terse, it was.  Made
the stuff above look like Shakespeare.

...Mark Lincoln