On 5/20/05 9:35 PM, Richard Gaskin wrote:
Dennis Brown wrote:
Bug# 976 complains about the problem as a bug --resolved as not a bug
due to compatibility with HyperCard
Bug#1137 complains about the problem as a lack of proper
documentation about the quirks of the language. --I voted for this also
It seems that nobody believes that this inconsistency is the desired
behavior, but because HyperCard did it this way, that is the final
answer.
Well, it was the mother tongue, and it may confuse many more people and
possibly break scripts if they changed it.
Personally my own preference is for the consistency you propose. But
before I vote for the bug I'd like to hear the rationale for HyperCard's
behavior -- where's JK Calhoun when you need him? I didn't always agree
with his language recommendations but I did always respect the
thoroughness of his thinking.
If I remember right, it went something like this. You have a list of lines:
Line One <cr>
Line Two <cr>
Line Three <cr>
How many lines are in the list?
How about this list:
Line One <cr>
Line Two <cr>
Line Three
Most people would say there are three lines in both lists. We expect the
last line to be the same whether there is a trailing carriage return or
not. Line -1 of either list is "Line Three".
How many lines in this list:
Line One <cr>
Line Two <cr>
Line Three <cr>
<cr>
Most people would say there are four lines, and the last line is empty.
That's because there are two trailing returns.
To retain consistency when processing all types of text chunks, single
trailing delimiters are dropped. Thus:
item1,item2,item3,
has three items, as does:
item1,item2,item3
and item -1 of either list is "item3".
And so on. It makes sense in its own way.
--
Jacqueline Landman Gay | [EMAIL PROTECTED]
HyperActive Software | http://www.hyperactivesw.com
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