Re^2: If I was forced to program in another language, the Perl language feature I would miss most would be:

It looks so nice and is so readable.

I disagree. It doesn't follow the code flow.

When debugging or analysing the code, you don't find out until the very end of the line whether or not you actually needed to read the line. By that point, you've had to read it anyway.

I find it quite jarring to read, for all but the simplest of expressions. Then again, I find the same thing for lists of English instructions, too.

unlink($file) && crack_password() && sacrifice_firstborn( $child ) && 
+take_over_world( $mwahahahaha ) if ( $ignore_all_that_just_kidding);
[download]

Comment on Re^2: If I was forced to program in another language, the Perl language feature I would miss most would be: Download Code

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Re^3: If I was forced to program in another language, the Perl language feature I would miss most would be: by BerntB (Deacon) on Oct 18, 2006 at 02:52 UTC
I mainly use it for returning error cases (as I showed) and for things like alternative initiation of variables: `... my($foo) = blah($yadda); $foo = barf->new() unless $foo; $foo = gazonkly() unless $foo; return ERROR_CODE if $foo < $boo; ...` [download] I am not exactly known for aesthetical good taste, but I like it. If you have a clearer way of writing things like that, please tell me.	[reply] [d/l]
Re^4: If I was forced to program in another language, the Perl language feature I would miss most would be: by Anonymous Monk on May 30, 2008 at 15:43 UTC
Is this what Perl's or-equals or defined-or-equals operators are for? `$foo \|\|= barf->new(); $foo \|\|= gazonkly();` [download] or to only test undef: `$foo //= barf->new(); $foo //= gazonkly();` [download]	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^4: If I was forced to program in another language, the Perl language feature I would miss most would be: by Anonymous Monk on Oct 19, 2006 at 17:46 UTC
When code is written as `if (<expr>) { statement }` [download] instead of `statement if <expr>;` [download] you can mentally decipher the code in the order of control flow. That's what I prefer.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^5: If I was forced to program in another language, the Perl language feature I would miss most would be: by BerntB (Deacon) on Oct 21, 2006 at 21:06 UTC
I understand that traditional argument, the point is that I was using postfix `if` as an idiom in specific circumstances which make my code clearer. I specifically asked for "a clearer way of writing things like that", but you didn't answer -- which probably means you can't see a neater way, either. Update: Fixed spelling and a html tag so it worked. :-)	[reply] [d/l]
Re^6: If I was forced to program in another language, the Perl language feature I would miss most would be: by Anonymous Monk on Oct 23, 2006 at 17:12 UTC
Re^7: If I was forced to program in another language, the Perl language feature I would miss most would be: by BerntB (Deacon) on Oct 24, 2006 at 13:21 UTC


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