Language mavens: Is there a programming with "if then else ENDIF" syntax?

[Nobody]

On Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:54:28 -0800, Steve Ferg wrote:

> For a long time I've wondered why languages still use blocks
> (delimited by do/end, begin/end, { } , etc.) in ifThenElse statements.
> 
> I've often thought that a language with this kind of block-free syntax
> would be nice and intuitive:
> 
>     if <condition> then
>         do stuff
>     elif <condition> then
>         do stuff
>     else
>         do stuff
>     endif
> 
> Note that you do not need block delimiters.

> Does anybody know a language with this kind of syntax for
> ifThenElseEndif? 

BBC BASIC V had if/then/else/endif (it didn't have elif).

"make" has if/else/else/endif (it doesn't have a dedicated elif, but
"else if ..." behaves like elif rather than starting a nested "if").

> Is there any particular reason why this might be a *bad* language-
> design idea?

Blocks can be useful for other reasons (e.g. limiting variable scope), so
if you already have them, you don't need to provide dedicated blocks
for control constructs.