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From: gaynor@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU (Silver)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: re: '=' vs '<-' vs '.ne' vs '==' vs ':=' vs '.eq.' vs ...
Message-ID: <5282@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Sat, 5-Jul-86 02:36:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: topaz.5282
Posted: Sat Jul  5 02:36:21 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 5-Jul-86 08:48:43 EDT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 55


[Line-Eater, hear me!  Eat this message, or I'll be flamed for sure!]

I've been following this discussion with polite attention, and decided
what the hell, here's my two cents (probably the value of the opinions
anyway, hee-yuk).

I give my preferences, and why.

ASSIGNMENT  <-

It visually seems more consistent with the programming paradigm, 'move
this value there'.  Mathematically, '=' is usually interpreted as 'it
is asserted that these two expressions are equal'.  To illustrate, can
you imagine what errors C or Pascal would generate on a statement like
x * x = 9?  Of course, it's a totally different story with an
assertive, relational language.  In addition, I don't care that it's
two strokes.  If I *really* minded, I would set-key-globally a
rarely-used key like '`' from self-insert to insert-<the-desired-
operator-of-more-than-one-character> (emacs is real nice about things
like this).

EQUALITY  =

Now, with '=' free, it can be used in a way more like it's
mathematical interpretion ('it is asserted...').

INEQUALITY  <>

I like it's visual symmetry, giving each side of the expression the
'half-operator''s mirror image of the other side (hard to express, you
know what I'm trying to say - neither side is favored).  Not so with
'!=', '~=', '|=', ...  Another connotation is that it is a 'true'
assertion, rather than a 'false' one.  That is, a <> b is literally
read as 'a is less than or greater than b', whereas a != b is read as
'a is not equal to b'.

By the way, do(es) any language(~s) implement these choices?

Go ahead then.
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Disclaimer: The opinions and/or information and/or code expressed
            here were generated by this characature, stolen from
            Dave Rasmussen, to which I have taken the liberty of
            adding ears.  So don't look to me for a disclaimer!

Silver  {...!topaz!gaynor}