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From: aas@velociraptor.nr.no (Gisle Aas)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.beta
Subject: Why can't we have ... ?
Date: 15 Sep 1994 08:04:27 GMT
Organization: Norwegian Computing Center, Oslo, Norway
Lines: 141
Message-ID: <AAS.94Sep15100427@velociraptor.nr.no>
Reply-To: Gisle.Aas@nr.no
NNTP-Posting-Host: velociraptor.nr.no

This is a list of improvements that I would like to see to the Beta
language and the Mjølner environment.  Some of them obviously araise
because I have a background as a C/C++ programmer.


1) A Beta interpreter (the compile cycle is sooooo slow)

2) Better warning error messages from the compiler.  For instance,
   when types don't match, why can't the compiler tell me what types it
   sees on each side of the arrow.

6) Get a reference manual for the core language.

3) Simpler if-syntax for the common case

   Why can't:

      (if a < 0 then ... if)

   be the same as:

      (if a < 0 // true then ... if)


4) And/Or short-circuit boolean expressions (as in C).

      (if (a[]<>none) and (a.foo > 3) then
          ...
      if)

   instead of

      (if a[]<>none // true then
          (if a.foo > 3 // true then
              ...
          if)
      if)


5) Get rid of the ugly [] reference syntax:

       &p[] -> a[];  a[] -> c.p[];



6) Alternative arrow operator which goes the other way.

      true -> important;

      important <- true;

   This allows us to put the part of the expression that we think
   is most important to the left where it is easier to spot.
   

7) Contructors (instead of .init conventions).

8) Until-end-of-line-comments like // in C++

9) Why can't string literals be one thing?  The relationship between
   string literals and text objects are confusing.  Sometimes 'xxx'
   behaves like an character array (repetition).  Sometimes it behaves
   like an text reference.

10) Send values to (or read values from) INNER.  Subclasses should not
    need to know the name of the index variable.

    loop:
     (# index : @integer;
        limit : @integer;
        enter limit
        do
          (if index < limit then
              index -> INNER;
              index + 1 -> index;
          fi)
      #);

    loop(# do -> putint; #);  (* this syntax is perhaps to cute *)

11) Declare parameters in the enter/exit part;  Put enter/exit before
    variables.

    foo:
      (#
       enter a : @integer;
       exit  v : @integer;

         var1: @real;
         var2: ^text;
         ...
       do
         ...
      #);

12) Be able to say this more compactly:

       loop(#
          while::<(# do something > another -> value; #)
       do
          ...
       #);

    The "::<(# do" string seams to be common enough to have some shorter
    version for it. For instace I would like to be able to say:

       loop(#
          while [something > another]
       do
          ...
       #)

    with loop defined as

       loop: (#
          while:< BooleanValue(# do INNER -> value #);
       do
          loop:
          (if while then INNER; restart loop if)
       #);

13) Have multiple enter/exit parts (like overloading in C++)

       foo: (#
          x,y : @integer;
       enter x
       enter x,y
       do
          ...
       #);

    then both

       (3,4) -> foo; 4 -> foo;

    would be allowed.

14) A simple way to embed Tcl/Tk in Beta applications.

-- 
€ Gisle Aas - Norsk Regnesentral                     <gisle.aas@nr.no>