This is an example of a post in which it is a bad idea to use CODE tags to protect a [ or a ] in some text.

I have now used those characters inside code tags to protect them, but lo and behold, now i want to post some acctual code for people to run...

#!/usr/local/bin/perl -w
while (<>) {
  my @foo = do_stuff($_);
  print $foo[1];
}
[download]

...I might even break up my program, with more natural text -- which describes the program I'm writting, and in which i may also want to use a [ or a ] (which i have again embeded, using CODE tags). A reason I might want to use them in my descriptive text is that maybe I want to mention what is so great about $foo[1] (there againn, i've used [ and ] inside code tags in my paragraph.

Now i'll finish the real code in my post...

sub do_stuff {
    return split /a/, @_;
}
[download]

Now, if people click the "d/l code" link on my post, they won't be able to run the code they download, because it will have some extra [ and ] characters at the begining and end, and even an extra $foo[1] (or maybe two)

If I hadn't used your suggestion of CODE tags arround the brackets, and i'd used the character entities instead, then people clicking the "d/l code" link would have had a happpy little proogram they couild run, without any changes.

Ahhh, now I see what you are talking about. I wasn't thinking of this case at all. I suppose that I always simply put things like that into comments embedded in the code so it is just part of the code and I don't have to worry about it. But yes, point well taken.

Cheers

i believe he wants [ and ] to map to [ and ] so he doesn't have to remember that they are [ for [ and ] for ]

i just keep a link to handy character table in my bookmarks.

if you use <code> tags in your non code paragraphs so you can type [ and ] then when people d/l your code they have a bunch of stray [ and ] characters in the most inapropriate places.

try and download this:

print "hello$/";
[download]

This post is a lot like my other post, but instead of CODE tags, i'm going to use the character entities for [ and ] blah blah blah

#!/usr/local/bin/perl -w
while (<>) {
  my @foo = do_stuff($_);
  print $foo[1];
}
[download]

...I might even break up my program, with more natural text -- which describes the program I'm writting, and in which i may also want to use a [ or a ] (which are now escaped entities). here's where i mention $foo[1] (using tt tags, and the character entites)

Now i'll finish the real code in my post...

sub do_stuff {
    return split /a/, @_;
}
[download]

Now, if people click the "d/l code" link on my post, they will acctually be able to run the code i have posted.