[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: SRFI-10 syntax vs. #nA syntax

This page is part of the web mail archives of SRFI 58 from before July 7th, 2015. The new archives for SRFI 58 contain all messages, not just those from before July 7th, 2015.



bear wrote:

At this point I have only one question:  For a rank-5
array, why #5A(...) instead of #A5(...)?

Maybe #A5 is marginally better, but I think compatibility
with the prior art of Common Lisp argues for #5A.  That's
not an overwheming argument, but (I think) tips the scales
in favor of #5A.

More technical argument: What happens with a rank-0 array?
In APL this is equivalent to a scalar, and in any case a
rank-0 array has a single element.  Given the choice
between #A0XXX and #0AXXX, the latter is better since the
former leads to ambiguities.

I'm thinking about parsers here, where it's easier on
everybody if tokens differ as soon as possible.

A (non-human) parser handles either just fine - except
for the degenerate rank-0 case.
--
	--Per Bothner
per@xxxxxxxxxxx   http://per.bothner.com/