in reply to Re: Re: Perl6 headaches?
in thread Perl6 headaches?

Overloading '+', like Java does in its String class wouldn't work -- not with magical DWIM scalars.

Personally, I was more disappointed with using '_' instead of '+' than I was with using '.' instead of '->'. (FWIW, I don't understand WYM w.r.t. DWIM scalars.)

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(bbfu) (DWIM scalars) Re4: Perl6 headaches?
by bbfu (Curate) on Nov 05, 2001 at 08:35 UTC

    DWIM scalars: ie, the fact that numeric strings convert themselves to numbers in numeric context, and that numbers convert themselves into strings in string context. Overloading '+' for strings would break this behaviour; and I think pretty much everyone can agree that this is a Bad Thing. :-)

    (Eg, what if you add a numeric string and a number together... Should they be concatenated, or added?)

    bbfu
    Seasons don't fear The Reaper.
    Nor do the wind, the sun, and the rain.
    We can be like they are.

[reply]
      If we call '+' concatenation a DWIM operator, then I'm not sure that DWIM scalars are necessarily more desirable than DWIM operators. With perl6's ability to declare types (like 'my int i = 6' or something), then maybe there's some other way to work it. I'm not knowledgeable about perl internals, though.
[reply]

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