how to count lines in a file ?

[Neil Hodgson]

Alex Martelli:

> That's basically what Microsoft proposes to add in some future C#
> with the same semantics, except the keyword they have in mind is
> 'using' ('let' has strongly different connotations for VB users).

   The context of Brian Harry's article was before .NET 1.0 when Microsoft
was seeing a lot of anger, particularly from VB programmers about
deterministic finalization being taken away from them. There were other
issues with the changes to VB but this was the one with the biggest effect
on program design and potential for errors so received the most articulate
howls.

   "using" actually made it into C# for .NET 1.0 although it was a very late
addition and IIRC VB didn't get a similar feature. This mollified some of
the critics although the issue still concerns some. Chris Sells (who was an
influentional pro-DF voice) has a project funded by MS to incorporate
ref-counting into Rotor, the somewhat-open implementation of parts of .NET.
A Pythonista, Chris Tavares, is doing the implementation.
http://www.sellsbrothers.com/spout/#refCountRotor

   Neil