Re: newbie can't get exceptions to work!

[Larry Hazel <lhazel@mindspring.com>]

Ayende Rahien wrote:
> 
> "Larry Hazel" <lhazel@mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:3ACFC902.115624A1@mindspring.com...
> > Ayende Rahien wrote:
> > >
> > > "Brian Rogoff" <bpr@shell5.ba.best.com> wrote in message
> > > news:Pine.BSF.4.21.0104071403390.4484-100000@shell5.ba.best.com...
> > > > On Sat, 7 Apr 2001, Robert A Duff wrote:
> > > > > Brian Rogoff <bpr@shell5.ba.best.com> writes:
> > > > > > I tell you what, design this next language, and I'm on board.
> > > > >
> > > > > I think I'm competent to design the language.  What I don't know how
> to
> > > > > do is get people to use it.
> > > >
> > > > That's something of a crap shoot. Having a really good implementation
> > > helps.
> > > > I think a language targeted at systems programming (I assume you want
> to
> > > > design an Ada successor, not a high level language) that generated
> code
> > > > which is about as good as C code, has a decent chance of getting new
> fans.
> > > >
> > > > > I suspect that to make a *popular* language these days, you have to
> make
> > > > > it look like C (yuck),
> > > >
> > > > Python isn't popular? Visual Basic?
> > > >
> > > > I don't think you need to go quite as far as Cyclone. Dump "begin end"
> and
> > > > use "{ }". If you keep the procedure/function distinction, use shorter
> > > > names. Use [] for arrays. Use Pascal notation for pointers. Provide
> some
> > > > shortcut operators like C. Keep Ada's modes. OK, so the language may
> look
> > > > a bit different from Ada syntactically but I think it could stay in
> the
> > > > spirit of Ada semantically.
> > >
> > > I agree with all of the above, while begin-end may improve visibility,
> no
> > > programming language has to consider non-programmers as a target
> audiance.
> > > So {} as block statement, as well as some of C's nicest syntax features,
> > > with all of Ada's safety behind it, you would have at least me as a fan.
> >
> > I personally think {} should be removed from the character set, or at
> least
> > require a minimum of 5 keystrokes to get either.  And keep () for array
> > indices.  I have often used arrays as approximations of complex functions
> in the
> > early stages of development.  Then, when the real algorithm is programmed
> later,
> > nothing changes except the package containing the array/function.
> 
> I won't argue with that () statement, but why don't you like {}?
> BTW, Alt+<ASCII value> would serve? it's only four keystrokes only fer each,
> though.

The use of {} is part of what makes C so unreadable to me.  Every } is the end
of something, but I always have a hard time figuring out what, and they are easy
to miss.  But the wierd operators and terseness in general are even worse.

Larry