Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!dgp.toronto.edu!flaps
From: flaps@dgp.toronto.edu (Alan J Rosenthal)
Subject: Re: colon-equal vs equal
Message-ID: <8812270436.AA12924@explorer.dgp.toronto.edu>
Organization: Dynamic Graphics Project, University of Toronto
References: <3300001@uxg.cso.uiuc.edu> <3290002@hpctdls.HP.COM>
Date: Mon, 26 Dec 88 23:36:07 EST

In article <3290002@hpctdls.HP.COM> rbk@hpctdls.HP.COM (Richard Katz) writes:
>First, := seems better since i = i + 1 looks real funny.

C's solution to that is to introduce ``i += 1''.  (Well, C didn't invent this
I don't believe but it has it.)

>Also, a nice feature is that 'if ( i := 10 )' will produce a syntax error in
>Pascal while 'if ( i = 10 )' will produce an assignment in C, usually not
>intended.

No, this is not because of the different characters which make up the
operator.  This is because in C an assignment statement is an expression
and in Pascal it is not.  This is a completely separate question.  (I
personally think ``assignment'' and ``embedded assignment'' operators
should look different, something I've never seen in the real world.)

ajr

--
"The goto statement has been the focus of much of this controversy."
	    -- Aho & Ullman, Principles of Compiler Design, A-W 1977, page 54.