Eeep! print using is an operator with a space in it in BASIC. That's the sort of thing that makes a syntax ugly, ugly, ugly. Alternatively, you make using a synonym of format, in which case you're using up the rather nice name "using" for something very specific, which you can already write another way.

(Using would make a rather nice statement-modfier form of given, but I can't help thinking that there's something larger it could be used for.

Would it be something similar to with in VB or Javascript? While we have that idea in for-aliasing, it certainly would be nice to have that concept a little more elaborated. I could see the benefit as such:

# $object1 has the interface foo
# $object2 has the interface bar and baz
with ($object1)
{
    with ($object2)
    {
        bar;
        foo(baz);
    }
}
[download]

and have it be interpreted as:

$object2->bar;
$object1->foo($object2->baz);
[download]

Obviously, this is a contrived example, but it could be kinda neat ...

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Please remember that I'm crufty and crochety. All opinions are purely mine and all code is untested, unless otherwise specified.

I think given does this.

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Warning: Unless otherwise stated, code is untested. Do not use without understanding. Code is posted in the hopes it is useful, but without warranty. All copyrights are relinquished into the public domain unless otherwise stated. I am not an angel. I am capable of error, and err on a fairly regular basis. If I made a mistake, please let me know (such as by replying to this node).

print
             $foo,  $bar,
    :using("|{>>>>}|{<<<<<<<}|\n|------+---------|"),
             $baz
    :using("|{||||||||||||||}|")
[download]