[e-lang] Atomic expansion of MatchBindExpr to trinary-define

Chip Morningstar chip at fudco.com
Mon May 15 13:59:11 EDT 2006


MarkM writes:
>After trying several candidate syntaxes for LTR define, I remained unhappy 
>with all of them. I now realize that the problem isn't the particular 
>syntaxes, it's the introduction of LTR define itself, under any syntax. The 
>normal E programmer will continue to use RTL define, as above, since that is 
>what's familiar from other languages. Introducing an LTR define into Kernel-E 
>makes the language formally simpler but less familiar. It makes the overall E 
>system seem more complex, because the expansion to Kernel-E now seems more 
>different than the E program the programmer originally wrote.
...
>I think I like Alan's suggested:
>
>     "def" <pattern> "eject" <ejectorExpr> ":=" <specimenExpr>

I haven't thought about the specific proposal enough to have a firm
opinion about it yet, but I think your observation that sparked it is
spot on.

Chip



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