Documentation on expressions??

[Geoff Caplan]

Hi folks,

Graham Samuel wrote:

GS> ... I wonder whether he is asking a question that's been in the
GS> back of my mind since I first saw HyperCard - is there a formal
GS> description of the language (in RR's case, Transcript) anywhere to
GS> be found, so that we would know **exactly** what an expression is,
GS> what a condition is, what a chunk is, etc. and could therefore
GS> have the foundation of the ability to write correct code first
GS> time through?

Well said. Something readable though - not a formal grammar. Here's a
good example of how it should be done:

http://www.php.net/manual/en/langref.php

Usable and with lots of examples. It's preceded by a simple tutorial,
so newbies can get some context before reading it, and followed by the
formal function dictionary.

Making the manual editable by the community is a master-stroke: PHP
was one of the first projects to do it, and the notes are often
invaluable.

I know from experience that the excellent manual is a major factor in
the incredible success of PHP over the last few years.

Hopefully, RunRev are listening.

------------------ 
Geoff Caplan
Vario Software Ltd
(+44) 121-515 1154