Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ncar!ico!haddock!ima!esegue!compilers-sender
From: adamsf@turing.cs.rpi.edu (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: comp.compilers
Subject: Re: A Low-Rent Syntax Problem
Summary: Put continuation character on continuation line.
Keywords: lex, parse, design
Message-ID: <=M~%JG&@rpi.edu>
Date: 30 Aug 90 23:04:23 GMT
References: <MCDANIEL.90Aug28144647@dolphin.adi.com>
Sender: compilers-sender@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us
Reply-To: adamsf@turing.cs.rpi.edu (Frank Adams)
Organization: RPI CS Dept.
Lines: 25
Approved: compilers@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us
Apparently-To: comp-compilers@cis.ohio-state.edu

In article <MCDANIEL.90Aug28144647@dolphin.adi.com> mcdaniel@adi.com (Tim McDaniel) writes:
>Another problem I've had with low-rent syntax is how to tell the
>lexer/parser to continue a source line.
>
>...
>
>- "\" followed by newline is removed, as in C.  However what does this
>  mean?
>	a = 1 2 3 \// comment
>  ?  Or what about
>	a = 1 2 3 // comment\

I have thought about this problem.  My conclusion is that the continuation
character should go on the *next* line (like FORTRAN!).  You can choose
between putting the continuation character as the first character of the
line, or the as the first non-blank character.

And, yes,

	a = 1 2 3 // comment
\	    4 5 6

would continue the statement, not the comment.
-- 
Send compilers articles to compilers@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us
{ima | spdcc | world}!esegue.  Meta-mail to compilers-request@esegue.