C bites Dog!

[Paul Van de Graaf]

In article <872 at brl-tgr.ARPA> cottrell at nbs-vms.ARPA writes:
>The point is, you need at least 4 tokens (or a `one-statement' model)
>to delimit the three parts of an `if' from each other and the outside.
>C uses four (not counting semicolons)in the short form
>(if (e) s1; else s2;) and eight in the long form
>(if (e) { s1; } else { s2; }). And let's get rid of those semicolons 
>too! A newline should imply one. Two statements on a line would need
>an explicit one. An escaped newline would continue to the next line.
>Yeah, I know, write my own language!
>
>	jim		cottrell at nbs

	Couldn't agree with Jim more!  Especially on the no semi-colon point.
I use Action! (a C/Pascal/Basic derivative) on my Atari, and it has this
feature.  If Action! had all of C's operators, had more reasonable data types
(better struct/unions etc.), AND supported recursion, I'd never look back.
Action also has the if <> then <> fi style bracketing which I suppose was
inspired by the Bourne shell.  I personally don't like the case .. esac stuff
in the Bourne shell, but I can't understand why C programmers are so concerned
about typing 2 to 5 letter keywords instead of (, ), {, and }.  I don't type
special characters very well, and I think it's because of having to hit that
<shift> key.  The QWERTY system is at its best when typing alphas; anything
else slows you down, especially when you have to look for the "weird" keys
that various brain-damaged manufacturers put in all kinds of crazy positions.
I'm ready for something beyond C, and I don't mean C++ or Ada.  If no one
obliges all just have to do as Jim says and write my own.

Paul van de Graaf	sdcsvax!sdcc3!ee161bep		U. C. San Diego