> =head1 TITLE
>
> Less line noise - let's get rid of @%
I understand that with the pervasiveness of object-orientation we
are now more than ever seeing objects that behave like arrays and
hashes and that it seems strange to see these listlike or hashlike
objects represented as scalars. However, this is what the tie
interface was designed for. If your object works like an array or a
hash, by all means, provide the ability to tie it to an array or a
hash.
Having once lived in darkness before the marvels of OO enlightened
me (meaning I used to just think object-oriented was a useless
buzzword), I am still very sympathetic towards allowing people to come
to Perl without any requirement that they learn OO. While this
proposal certainly does not require OO, it seems to be assuming the
universal use of it.
I find the standard prefix symbols so intuitive I find it hard to
articulate the reasons why I balk at giving them up. It's like
explaining breathing or the ability to distinguish colors.
I strongly disagree with the assertion that the Perl type prefixes
are line noise. I think that phrase is very emotionally charged but
carries little objective fact, and I think you would do better to come
up with a different title.
I noticed that the examples you cited in a later example about
"cluttered" code all seemed to include references. May I suggest that
perhaps you would be happy if there were just a cleaner syntax for
dealing with references?
J. David
