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From: farrell@batserver.cs.uq.oz.au (Friendless)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.functional
Subject: Re: "Off-side rule"
Message-ID: <6746@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au>
Date: 14 Jan 91 04:35:09 GMT
References: <22307@rouge.usl.edu> <1991Jan10.111559.12440@odin.diku.dk> 	<27793.278c3bb0@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> 	<1991Jan11.100048.3121@odin.diku.dk> <ACHA.91Jan11151418@DRAVIDO.CS.CMU.EDU>
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In <ACHA.91Jan11151418@DRAVIDO.CS.CMU.EDU> acha@CS.CMU.EDU (Anurag Acharya) writes:
>What is the justification for this "off-side" rule ? The idea of whitespace 
>having semantics is a potential source of inscrutable bugs and, frankly 
>speaking, seems to go against the grain of modern programming language
>design. 

  It is unusual, but it works. Since I am an obsessed with correct
indentation, it rarely causes me problems - usually only when I have changed
an identifier name on the first line of a definition, which moves the text and
mucks up the lining up of something below it. However, in those cases Miranda
says "Unexpected token: OFFSIDE" and I know what to fix. I find Miranda a
delight to program in.


John