Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!midway!ncar!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!MITCH.ENG.SUN.COM!wmb
From: wmb@MITCH.ENG.SUN.COM (Mitch Bradley)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: Files vs Blocks
Message-ID: <9010101326.AA20001@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 8 Oct 90 16:05:46 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: Mitch Bradley <wmb%MITCH.ENG.SUN.COM@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 16

I hate blocks.  The are much too restrictive.  People tend to omit
comments and visual structuring when using blocks, because they don't
have the flexibility to easily move stuff around when they have to
go back and add something in the middle.

I think it is funny when people claim that blocks enforce the discipline
of short definitions.  This is funny because everything else about Forth
tends not to enforce discipline, instead leaving it up to the programmer
to choose.

I think blocks actually increase the average size of definitions, because
you can't easily go back and factor out a plausible subdefinition, due
to not having room to add the extra ": name  ( xx yy -- zz )  ;" and
whatever commentary is appropriate.

Mitch