[REBOL] Re: Cunning use of [], () & {} in R# and in future? Rebol versions?
From: carl:cybercraft at: 24-Dec-2003 22:41
On 20-Oct-03, Brett Handley wrote:
> As Max wrote:
>> I love philosophy so, nothing here is personal... :-)
>> Volker suggested:
>>> how about extending path syntax?
>>> a/5:10
>> How about these two alternatives:
>> a/5-10
>> a/5..10
>> ?
>> Both use reasonably common indicators which mean "missing
>> something out,
>> which is very obvious".
> Paths are a series of values - each value in the series having a
> datatype.
> So is a/5..10 one path of length two - the second value (5..10)
> being a new datatype? Something like a pair?
Curiously, 5..10 is already a valid datatype...
>> 5..10
== 5.0.10
5-10 isn't though...
>> 5-10
** Syntax Error: Invalid date -- 5-10
** Near: (line 1) 5-10
If a new datatype, it'd be called range! I guess. But how to indicate
first or last? Maybe...
5-10
*-10
5-*
or some alternative to an asterix, though not a colon, as it'd be much
too confusing in a path.
> But if it is a new datatype we would want to store them in a block
> a: [1..3 5..10]
> a/5..10 ...oh oh.
> Or is a/5..10 meaning that .. is an operator with the necessary
> whitespace missing in which case it should be written
> a/5 .. 10
> or perhaps even
> .. a/5 10
> Hmm...
> I don't doubt that REBOL can be improved, but I've don't think I've
> seen any compelling suggestion on this thread yet - though I do
> admit, lots of innovation! :^)
> Then again, I still occasionally lament the removal of aggressively
> evaluated paths so who am I to comment?! (-:
> Brett.
--
Carl Read
