Implicit lists

[Mel Wilson]

In article <7xisw1os5d.fsf at ruckus.brouhaha.com>,
Paul Rubin <phr-n2003b at NOSPAMnightsong.com> wrote:
>The whole string modulo thing is a wart and should be replaced with a
>sprintf function like every other language uses.
>
>The one operator overloading idea for strings that I like is a unary
>minus sign for interpolation:
>
>    print -"foo is $foo"
>
>But that idea got no response at all last time I posted it.

   The feature that made perl what it is today.
   I'm not wild about commingling text and variable names.
It makes it awkward to say things like

-"The text control to edit the value of $foo is called $foo_ctrl."

C programs have to turn handsprings through hoops to get
this string splicing effect in their macros.  And the given
example doesn't hint at any control of formatting, eg.
'%.3f'%foo .

   I imagine we'd have to escape $ signs:

-"The input $foo must be less than $$100.00."

etc.

   I like string modulo operations, myself.  They're
succinct.  They give a reasonable view of how the string is
structured and/vs. what gets inserted into it.  They have a
strict definition so careful people can get what they want,
even if they also have a shaky alternate definition so
newbies and even-more-careful people can get what they want
some or all of the time.

        Regards.        Mel.