At first I thought, how is this different than Honu? If this isn't a reader, I don't see it being fundamentally different from Honu. (Many of the same ideas are recreated, actually. The macro slack term, for example, is exactly what Jon does.)
I think there is a place for a non-sexp reader like the @ reader, but optimized for something other than text. But I don't like P4P's ad-hoc set of special keywords like "defvar:" etc rather than a uniform rule. If the parser has to know about these, then P4P is not extensible in the same way as the sexp or @ readers. A constructive suggestion: treat a trailing : as a special parser cue, treating {s specially, taking the meaningful indentation ideas, etc. Jay On Wed, Jul 28, 2010 at 11:45 AM, Shriram Krishnamurthi <s...@cs.brown.edu> wrote: > I've been vexed for a while about parenthetical syntax: I love it, > appreciate what it offers, but also recognize that no amount of > teaching or arguing alters how people perceive it. With the switch to > Racket, and our continuing interest in user interface issues, I > believe it is wise to consider an optional alternate syntax. > > I finally had a breakthrough last weekend on how to create a syntax > that may be more palateable without losing the essence of > parenthetical syntax. As a preview, it does incorporate indentation, > but in a good way. You'll see. > > Feedback welcome. The most important is whether you spot any flaws > regarding predictable parsing. > > Here's a *non-permanent* URL where you can learn more: > > http://www.cs.brown.edu/~sk/tmp/P4P/ > > Shriram > _________________________________________________ > For list-related administrative tasks: > http://lists.racket-lang.org/listinfo/dev > -- Jay McCarthy <j...@cs.byu.edu> Assistant Professor / Brigham Young University http://teammccarthy.org/jay "The glory of God is Intelligence" - D&C 93 _________________________________________________ For list-related administrative tasks: http://lists.racket-lang.org/listinfo/dev