Bad grammar

[Mark Wieder]

Richmond-

Saturday, September 4, 2010, 2:03:06 AM, you wrote:

> what I wanted to 'say' by

> if fld "fXXX" and fld "fZZZ" is empty

> was

> if fld "fXXX" is empty and fld "fZZZ" is empty

Methinks the "bad" here is bad logic rather than bad grammar. What you
typed was a partial logical statement (akin to using a contraction
instead of writing out full words) and then expected the compiler to
fill in the details and extrapolate. The compiler, being a fair-minded
device, expanded your statement to what it knew deep in its heart you
really meant: as Mark pointed out, that would be

if fld "fXXX" is true and fld "fZZZ" is empty

which is proper logic and proper grammar.

Although not the logic you intended. If indeed you had typed out
either of

if fld "fXXX" is empty and fld "fZZZ" is empty

or (as Thierry has cleverly pointed out)

if (fld "fXXX" & fld "fZZZ") is empty

you would again have proper (and intended) logic and proper grammar.

...I'm stopping now before I start veering into the dangerous ground
of the syntax of statements like

if me is empty

-- 
-Mark Wieder
 mwieder at ahsoftware.net