Make numberFormat even better

[William Prothero]

Sorry Roger. I didn’t mean to open a debate on whether English-like syntax is good or bad. Just to make a point about doing coding gymnastics to follow a viewpoint, that actually makes things more complex. I think that all of us who start with LiveCode get hooked, then learn more by discussing and reading the docs. For some applications we really need to burrow down to details of the engine that can’t be automatically take care of without understanding them. There is a tendency for those who already have learned something to see it as simple. But I think you need to really watch the newbies and their thought processes to really determine how easy it is to get started in livecode. Richmond is probably the most expert because of his work in teaching young learners.

I don’t see that simply declaring (optionally) that you want a variable to be an integer, a real, or whatever, actually violates the spirit of the language. To me, it seems like some folks are interested in doing numerical computations that exceed the scope of what now exists. For example, the computation of prime numbers. Others focus more on applications that are not heavily numerical and the current situation is fine. Although I personally may prefer other syntaxes, my suggestion was only to look at the trees and let the forest stay the same for livecode. Many of the discussions lately have been pretty esoteric and I could easily see where folks could get confused. Example: “how many items are in “x,x,x,” ?) or Is a number treated as a string or as a number, and when is it invisibly converted by the engine? I just think that the mantra of “English-like” is only partially applicable to livecode. Other languages have “English-like” syntaxes too, although their vocabulary and its application may be quite different. And, what about French speakers, Chinese speakers, etc, etc. I could go on, but …….

Anyway, have a great day (or evening, whatever the case may be). 
Best,
Bill P

> On Apr 25, 2017, at 11:16 AM, Roger Eller via use-livecode <use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
> 
> I wouldn't even be here if not for my introduction to English-like syntax
> via HyperCard 25+ years ago.  My apparently "not very useful work" over the
> past 25 years while benefiting from that very same "less complex" syntax
> has kept me employed, my family clothed and fed, a roof over our heads, and
> all my bills paid.  Not too bad for a less than useful old hack who rarely
> has to rely on a cryptic syntax!
> 
> 
> On Tue, Apr 25, 2017 at 12:57 PM, prothero--- via use-livecode <
> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
> 
>> My point was to set variable types when they need to be set explicitly.
>> Those who don't want to set a type can just use forget about it. Once you
>> get into more scientific, numeric type applications, the precision and type
>> of variables can get crucial. To me, the suggested changes to numberformat,
>> adding numberformatXL, etc, just make the situation more complex rather
>> than applying a simple, direct solution that is common in other programming
>> languages. I see no advantage in going through extreme gymnastics to solve
>> a problem that has been solved clearly in other environments. As far as I'm
>> concerned, the English language-like features are great for the new
>> programmer, but actually doing useful work pretty quickly deviates from
>> English like syntax. I'm thinking of Adobe Director rather than C++ or
>> JavaScript. To me, LC's greatest strength is in its UI support and cross
>> platform capabilities.
>> 
>> Best,
>> Bill P
>> 
>> William Prothero
>> http://es.earthednet.org
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