text in fields (CR/LF, CR, LF) which is correct?

[J. Landman Gay]

Dar Scott <dsc at swcp.com> wrote:


> I would prefer a new constant named lineEnd that is _Revolution_ 
> specific.  This would allow the same stack to move across platforms 
> without line end changes.

That's pretty much what "cr" and "return" do already.

> For backwards compatibility, it should 
> be ASCII 10.  Maybe there can be a short name, but line and end are 
> already taken.
> 
> With that, new constants asciiCR, asciiLF, and asciiCRLF are also 
> defined.
> 
> With the above, use of return and CR can be discouraged.  And 
> lineFeed and CRLF need not be used.
> 
> 
> However, I've seen examples from old timers on the list that 
> include return quite a bit.  I find that jarring and sometimes 
> confusing.  Yet, others might find it quite natural.

It's a holdover from HyperCard and SuperCard, where "return" has been in 
use since the beginning. As you say, it's very natural for anyone coming 
from another xtalk environment. The synonym "cr" is what others probably 
want to use, it's the same thing.

I'm not convinced we need a new constant though, but of course I could 
easily be missing something. I have always just used "cr" or "return" 
(interchangeably) and line endings have always been converted correctly 
no matter what platform I move my stack to. Never had any problems with 
it. If hard binary data needs to be converted, as in the case we've been 
discussing, then I just replace the appropriate ascii characters with 
"cr" or "return" and it fixes things. This also works when writing text 
files; the correct line endings get written depending on the platform. I 
suppose if you were writing binary data, you'd need a switch statement 
to write the correct line endings depending on platform, but those 
constants already exist.

-- 
Jacqueline Landman Gay         |     jacque at hyperactivesw.com
HyperActive Software           |     http://www.hyperactivesw.com