Re: Colon Operator: Superfluous Syntax?

[Robert Raschke <rrlua@...>]

alex wrote:
> Hallo,
> 
> On 3/15/07, Grellier, Thierry <t-grellier@ti.com> wrote:
>>
>> By the way, couldn't we add a ruby like syntax sugar '@' for self.?
>> It is very addicting to ruby users... and I understand that this is
>> appreciable conciseness.
>>
> 
>    APL is a very concise language. Unfortunately, so one can read his
> own programs after two hours.
> 

Ah, this is a common misconception and may very well be true when
you're starting out with APL like languages.  But once you have a
grasp of the symbols, it is in fact extraordinarily easy to figure out
what your programs are doing.  This is because most of the involved
concepts are mathematical in nature.  The downside is that you need a
degree in statistics to understand most anything written in APL.

Now, I do believe that it is possible to write programs in Perl that
can be understood several minutes (or even a week, gasp) later, but
most people choose not to do so ...

Robby

--
r dot raschke at tombob dot com