In c / java statements end in ;
In BASIC, statements end at the end of the line of text.
The c/Java way makes it easy to split long lines, and easy to combine short lines, but the need for, and proper placement of a ; is not always intuitive for newbies. It also makes for strange compile errors. Which is why I am partial to the basic way.
The BASIC way is easier to pick up because a new line is the perfect place to start a new statement. It only requires a learning curve when you decide to split a statement between two lines, or combine a couple of short ones. Thus putting the learning curve on the guy who is trying to do something involved instead of the guy who is trying out the language on the first day.
Visual Basic uses _ at the end of a line to split a statement between two lines. the _ is not an intuitive symbol for this. I think ... tells the story better than _ does. BASIC uses : to separate 2 statements on one line, this is a good syntax, and I think we should adopt it.
BASIC has one major flaw though, it doesnt allow for comments after a line continuation. APe needs to overcome that problem and just allow for it. Also, VB maxes out at 20 or so line continuations. That's pretty stupid, so lets allow for as many line continuations as you want.
- Please comment
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using ; as a statement separator for multiple statements on a single line is probably better than using :
in english ; is more synonomous with the idea of what we are doing than : is.
also, there probably arent more than a handful of basic programmers who even know about : as a statement separator, and every C/java/php programmer out there is comfortable using ; as a statement separator.
so, lets use ;
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
In c / java statements end in ;
In BASIC, statements end at the end of the line of text.
The c/Java way makes it easy to split long lines, and easy to combine short lines, but the need for, and proper placement of a ; is not always intuitive for newbies. It also makes for strange compile errors. Which is why I am partial to the basic way.
The BASIC way is easier to pick up because a new line is the perfect place to start a new statement. It only requires a learning curve when you decide to split a statement between two lines, or combine a couple of short ones. Thus putting the learning curve on the guy who is trying to do something involved instead of the guy who is trying out the language on the first day.
Visual Basic uses _ at the end of a line to split a statement between two lines. the _ is not an intuitive symbol for this. I think ... tells the story better than _ does. BASIC uses : to separate 2 statements on one line, this is a good syntax, and I think we should adopt it.
BASIC has one major flaw though, it doesnt allow for comments after a line continuation. APe needs to overcome that problem and just allow for it. Also, VB maxes out at 20 or so line continuations. That's pretty stupid, so lets allow for as many line continuations as you want.
- Please comment
using ; as a statement separator for multiple statements on a single line is probably better than using :
in english ; is more synonomous with the idea of what we are doing than : is.
also, there probably arent more than a handful of basic programmers who even know about : as a statement separator, and every C/java/php programmer out there is comfortable using ; as a statement separator.
so, lets use ;