[REBOL] Re: REBOL dynamic graph code problems and REBOL mindset
From: moliad::gmail::com at: 22-Feb-2008 15:35
Carl beat me to it hehe
I put 'HAS specifically to show of that rebol has a few shorthand notations
for function creation... this also means you can define your own quite
easily... if you have usage patterns which come up. A variable which gets
initialised all the time, for example... you could reduce your code to
initialise it localy all the time.
about the random/seed... its a left over of stuff I was testing while
implementing your little example. Its also a nice point to make that you
can use many types in many functions (you DO have to check if a particular
functions supports a type, obviously)
perhaps, something I forgot to tell you, which I had intented, is a good way
to learn REBOL, especially when you are trying to understand code, or the
dictionnary reference from the web.
Use PROBE (as opposed to 'print) , 'HELP and especially 'SOURCE as much
as you can. with these three functions you can unlock most of REBOL
mysteries. be carefull though, some functions written by advanced rebolers
(many by Carl S. himself) are quite cryptic with oft used functions, or very
cool (obscure ;-) tricks.
So when you encounter a function which is so dense, you can't make it out
after 5 minutes... tell yourself... *LEARNING OPPORTUNITY* hehe... don't be
discouraged. I rememeber trying to understand some of the series functions
which are mezzanines. another good source of (advanced) enlightenment is any
code written by mr. Ladislav Mecir, but be ready to be humbled, and feel
like a 2x4 has more IQ. Some of his functions are so dense, many of us
advanced users even have a hard time reading it. so it can be a good
experience, just to open your mindset, without expecting to really
understand.
I put a few entry-level tricks in my example, one being the inline
assignment of a var within the any/all group. if you reconsider that little
snippet in other languages, you will realise that those 3 lines can amount
to ten lines in other language. in fact, it could have been expressed in
one line.
another good thing to remember is that the vast majority of functions return
a value, even those which are considered declarative or are statements in
other languages....
examples are: if, either, any, all, try.
so instead of doing:
either choice = "red" [color: 255.0.0][color: 0.0.0]
you can warp this in many ways (and indeed some go to great lengths too do
so, just for fun hehe)
ex:
color: either choice = "red" [255.0.0][0.0.0]
HTH!
-MAx
On Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 4:39 AM, Carl Read <carl-cybercraft.co.nz> wrote:
