Syntax refers to the set of rules that define how to write a correctly structured program in a language. It explicitly does not deal with the program's meaning or interpretation.
7
votes
3answers
341 views
Why isn't testing a language supported feature at the syntax level?
You can find an endless list of blogs, articles and websites promoting the benefits of unit testing your source code. It's almost guaranteed that the developers who programmed the compilers for Java, ...
-1
votes
0answers
41 views
What is the rationale of these syntax choices in Julia? [closed]
What is the relation between the following design choices and homoiconicity/ease of compiler design/reduction of corner cases etc?
Why use indexing starting at 1?
Why use the 'end' statement?
Why ...
0
votes
0answers
4 views
What happens when there is multiple expressions in the condition part of a for loop seperated by commas? [migrated]
I have an infinite loop here, but why?
int end = 5;
for(int i = 0; i < end, printf("at condition i=%d\n",i); ++i)
{
printf("inside i=%d\n",i);
}
0
votes
0answers
4 views
js syntax errors in text adventure [migrated]
hi i'm new to java script and I wrote a text adventure for a school project and I keep getting these error when I try to run it
js: "adventure.js", line 4: missing ( before condition
js: if var ...
0
votes
0answers
32 views
What are {curly brackets} for in Gnu-Apl? [migrated]
What are {curly brackets} for in GNU-APL?
As far as I know, GNU-APL uses the APL Iso standard.
0
votes
1answer
126 views
Syntax of passing lambda
Right now, I'm working on refactoring a program that calls its parts
by polling to a more event-driven structure.
I've created sched and task classes with the sced to become a base
class of the ...
0
votes
0answers
21 views
What syntax should I use to execute functions in jQuery Terminal?
I want to add feature, to jQuery Terminal, that will allow to execute commands from the server. Right now it only have formatting syntax that look like this:
[[<list of one letter styles> ; ...
0
votes
1answer
55 views
RFC syntax definition [closed]
I would like to bring our specifications to a better level of fine-grained definition of syntaxes, semantics and the like. I read my fair share of RFCs and just love the way they define things like ...
1
vote
1answer
153 views
Why some Javascript code needs to be written in different tags and not embedded within the same
When I was using the modernizr file, I came across this problem where in I need to source a file and call the script.
<script src="js/modernizr-min.js"></script>
<script>
if ...
1
vote
4answers
668 views
Why do C# developers newline opening brackets? [closed]
I've spent most of the last several years working mainly with C# and SQL. Every programmer I've worked with over that time was in the habit of placing the opening brace of a function or control flow ...
6
votes
6answers
1k views
Would a “downcast if block” be a reasonable language feature?
Consider the following "if cast":
class A { public void f1() { ... } }
class B : A { public void f2() { ... } }
A a = foo(); // might return A or B
if ( a is B ) {
// Inside block, ...
2
votes
3answers
448 views
Typical instantiation of new object - is there a way to avoid repetitious syntax?
When learning C# (and OO concepts more generally at the same time) something I found very distracting is exemplified by the following line:
ExampleClass exampleObject = new ExampleClass();
It's the ...
0
votes
0answers
50 views
Using JavaScript to find the correct offset in bundled files
I am currently making multiple parsers using PEGjs and have implemented my own partial preprocessor which using a RegExp finds and replaces '#include' directives with the desired files, resulting in a ...
1
vote
1answer
100 views
About AST construction in LL1 non recursive parser
I have implemented a LL1 parser in a non recursive approach with a explicit stack.
The following algorithm is from the Dragon Book:
set zp to point to the first symbol of w;
set X to the top stack ...
1
vote
4answers
623 views
Why are scientific programming languages so weird? [closed]
It seems to me that programming languages meant for use in science and engineering are consistently weird compared to general-purpose languages. Some examples off the top of my head:
In Matlab, each ...
19
votes
9answers
2k views
What is the benefit of having the assignment operator return a value?
I'm developing a language which I intend to replace both Javascript and PHP. (I can't see any problem with this. It's not like either of these languages have a large install base.)
One of the things ...
2
votes
3answers
402 views
Syntactic Sugar for old languages
I first learned about the existence of syntactic sugar languages, like CoffeeScript and SASS while working in Rails. This got me thinking... why do we not have well-known (if any at all) syntactic ...
11
votes
7answers
502 views
What is idiomatic use of arbitrary blocks in C?
A block is a list of statements to be executed. Examples of where blocks come up in C are after a while statement and in if statements
while( boolean expression)
statement OR block
if (boolean ...
2
votes
6answers
819 views
Stacking keywords on top of each other - poor style?
I have always wondered about this, especially in C/Java style languages. For example, consider the first 3 lines of this C# code:
lock (serviceLock)
using (var client = new ServiceClient())
try
{
...
3
votes
2answers
234 views
Variable declaration versus assignment syntax
Working on a statically typed language with type inference and streamlined syntax, and need to make final decision about syntax for variable declaration versus assignment. Specifically I'm trying to ...
0
votes
2answers
115 views
Languages like Tcl that have configurable syntax? [duplicate]
I'm looking for a language that will let me do what I could do with Clipper years ago, and which I can do with Tcl, namely add functionality in a way other than just adding functions.
For example in ...
7
votes
3answers
214 views
Construct your solution logic in syntax or in a faster and more efficient mental model?
I am a newbie, studying programming and I came across this question today:
How can I make sure that I'm actually learning how to program rather than simply learning the details of a language?
A ...
8
votes
6answers
895 views
Optional semicolons
Most often, in a general-purpose imperative language - semicolons as statement-delimiters are either required, or completely disallowed (e.g. C and Python).
However, some languages, like JavaScript, ...
2
votes
3answers
239 views
What language has integrated “list insertion” as part of code *syntax*?
Many programming languages permit natural manipulation of strings, and some languages permit the manipulations of lists too.
More often then not (always?), these operations are done as procedure ...
1
vote
1answer
339 views
How to write a syntax checker [closed]
How is a syntax checker for a programming language written? I am guessing a grammar has to be written first. How to then proceed?
Motivation
I'm using a programming language (Apex for Salesforce) ...
0
votes
3answers
363 views
Any languages use the '=>' and '=<' operators? [closed]
I'm just curious if there are any programming languages that use the '=>' and '=<' operators for something.
I wonder why these are not commonly used when their variant '<=' and '>=' are so ...
7
votes
1answer
3k views
Why there is no markdown for underline? [closed]
I am wondering why there is no markdown syntax for underline? I know that basic html tags can be embedded to achieve this but I am trying to understand why underline got omitted when bold and italics ...
0
votes
1answer
149 views
Truth condition testing with BOOL
BOOL myBool;
myBool = YES;
...
if (myBool) {
doFoo();
}
I have read that because there are instances where the above does not actually call the doFoo() function, it is best to instead always test ...
3
votes
5answers
625 views
Does relying on intellisense and documentation a lot while coding makes you a bad programmer? [duplicate]
Is a programmer required to learn and memorize all syntax, or is it ok to keep handy some documentation?
Would it affect the way that managers look at coders?
What are the downside of depending on ...
7
votes
4answers
696 views
What makes Common Lisp “big”?
I've been learning both Common Lisp and Racket, and one thing that I consistently hear is that Racket is a much "smaller" language than Common Lisp. I was wondering what this really meant. As far as I ...
14
votes
1answer
597 views
Dollar Sign Blues: Javascript and PHP
I grew up programming C++ and Java where everything was safe and beautiful. Compilers made sure to keep me in check if I ever strayed. Of course, everyone did a little Perl in college, but I didn't ...
2
votes
1answer
144 views
How do I distinguish between things belonging to the standard library, specific gems, and those that are user-generated in Ruby?
I'm a beginning programmer, that for various reasons is using an existing Ruby codebase to learn to program. My goal is to be able to understand and eventually extend this codebase. However, I find it ...
0
votes
2answers
102 views
What Does “The Program Must Process Each Character Before Reading the Next One” Mean?
From the book Think Like a Programmer (emphasis mine)
The Luhn formula is a widely used system for validating identification numbers. Using the original number, double the value of every other ...
2
votes
2answers
487 views
foreach over multiple lists at once
Are there any languages that support foreach over multiple lists at once? Something like this:
foreach (string a in names, string b in places, string c in colors) {
// do stuff with a, b, c
...
2
votes
1answer
187 views
Objective C - nested messages … confusion about
Wonder if anyone could shed some light on this messaging construct:
The documentation says that messages appear btwn brackets [] and
that the msg target/object is on the left, whilst the msg itself ...
2
votes
2answers
146 views
Helper Methods Placement
Here's a question that's always bugged me. I'm going to use java as an example because I've almost never run into a problem in java where I didn't need to use helper methods in its class structure.
...
45
votes
7answers
4k views
Why are semicolons and commas interchanged in for loops?
In many languages (a wide list, from C to JavaScript):
commas , separate arguments (e.g. func(a, b, c)), while
semicolons ; separate sequential instructions (e.g. instruction1; instruction2; ...
35
votes
2answers
2k views
Why do bitwise operators have lower priority than comparisons?
Could someone explain the rationale, why in a bunch of most popular languages (see note below) comparison operators (==, !=, <, >, <=, >=) have higher priority than bitwise operators (&, |, ...
32
votes
11answers
2k views
What is the difference between “Syntax” and “Syntactic Sugar”
Background
The Wikipedia page on Syntactic Sugar states:
In computer science, syntactic sugar is syntax within a programming language that is designed to make things easier to read or to express. ...
3
votes
2answers
157 views
When to (enforce) linting in a software project
I'm heading a new team of developers working on a software project that makes use of continuous integration (circleci) w/ a pretty fleshed out suite of busterjs unit/integration/acceptance tests. Our ...
65
votes
3answers
21k views
Why do programming languages, especially C, use curly braces and not square ones?
The definition of "C-Style language" can practically be simplified down to "uses curly braces ({})." Why do we use that particular character (and why not something more reasonable, like [], which ...
3
votes
3answers
4k views
Checking “instanceof” rather than value using a switch statement
Is there some syntax (other than a series of if statements) that allows for the use of a switch statement in Java to check if an object is an instanceof a class? I.e., something like this:
switch ...
2
votes
1answer
221 views
Are there studies about foo/bar/baz and how they inhibit or facilitate comprehension?
Preface
foo,bar,baz are instantly recognizable signifiers of example or pseudo code. Their popularity seems to be a strong indication that the programming community accepts them as a good way to ...
22
votes
4answers
9k views
Why store a function inside a python dictionary?
I'm a python beginner, and I just learned a technique involving dictionaries and functions. The syntax is easy and it seems like a trivial thing, but my python senses are tingling. Something tells me ...
2
votes
1answer
263 views
How are “Json.org”-like specs graphs called and how can I generate them?
In http://www.json.org Douglas Crockford shows the specs of the JSON format in two interesting ways:
In the right side column he lists a text spec that looks like a YACC or LEX listing.
In the main ...
9
votes
3answers
903 views
Why can't we write nested shorthand functions in Clojure?
I tried to evaluate a Clojure expression with nested shorthand functions today, and it wouldn't let me.
The expression was:
(#(+ % (#(+ % (* % %)) %)) 5) ; sorry for the eye bleed
The output was:
...
2
votes
2answers
123 views
How to programmatically construct textual query
Here is a query language, more specifically, it's JQL, you can use it in Jira, to search for issues, it's something like SQL, but quite simpler.
My case is that, I need to construct such queries ...
3
votes
5answers
900 views
Why do node packages put a comma on a newline?
I'm learning node.js and am trying out Express. My first app had this code:
var express = require('express')
, routes = require('./routes')
, user = require('./routes/user')
, http = ...
1
vote
3answers
729 views
Syntax Memorization [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Programmers forgetting syntax
Do programmers need a good memory?
I'm a new web developer. I began learning HTML/CSS around June of this year. I picked them up ...
11
votes
8answers
1k views
Why isn't functional language syntax more close to human language?
I'm interested in functional programming and decided to get head to head with Haskell. My head hurts... but I'll eventually get it...
I have one curiosity though, why is the syntax so cryptic (in lack ...
