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Brendan Eich: The infernal semicolon

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Re: Brendan Eich: The infernal semicolon

#3

Post by chad_walters »

raganwald wrote: post #2

The key point: "ASI [“Automatic Semicolon Insertion”] is an error correction procedure. If you start to code as if it were a universal significant-newline rule, you will get into trouble."—Brendan Eich

It's interesting because the 5.1 specification doesn't say it is an error correction mechanism, it states: "For convenience, however, such semicolons may be omitted from the source text in certain situations".

Re: Brendan Eich: The infernal semicolon

#5

Post by overshard »

This whole argument is silly (the semicolon in JS argument, not this post itself). JavaScript was built for semicolon use, use them. If you don't want to use semicolons then at least make sure you aren't breaking major libraries that are in mass use. If it does break something many people use then work with the creator to fix it. If he refuses to fix it then ignore everyone using these libraries, provide a weird workaround, or just use a semicolon! Personally I've created a branch off of bootstrap and another library (can't remember off top of my head) that adds in semicolons as to not break JSMin which is critical to my deployments of websites.

Re: Brendan Eich: The infernal semicolon

#7

Post by enneff »

raganwald wrote: post #2

The key point: "ASI [“Automatic Semicolon Insertion”] is an error correction procedure. If you start to code as if it were a universal significant-newline rule, you will get into trouble."—Brendan Eich

That doesn't sound right to me. Making s language's syntax more liberal is not a sane way to correct errors. If anything, JavaScript's ASI is an error creation mechanism.

Re: Brendan Eich: The infernal semicolon

#8

Post by magicalist »

enneff wrote: post #7
raganwald wrote: post #2

The key point: "ASI [“Automatic Semicolon Insertion”] is an error correction procedure. If you start to code as if it were a universal significant-newline rule, you will get into trouble."—Brendan Eich

That doesn't sound right to me. Making s language's syntax more liberal is not a sane way to correct errors. If anything, JavaScript's ASI is an error creation mechanism.

Yes, he's acknowledged many times (including in this post) that it was a mistake. That was the intention, but it wasn't successful. It should have gone all in (no semicolons at all) or not have existed.

Re: Brendan Eich: The infernal semicolon

#9

Post by raganwald »

enneff wrote: post #7
raganwald wrote: post #2

The key point: "ASI [“Automatic Semicolon Insertion”] is an error correction procedure. If you start to code as if it were a universal significant-newline rule, you will get into trouble."—Brendan Eich

That doesn't sound right to me. Making s language's syntax more liberal is not a sane way to correct errors. If anything, JavaScript's ASI is an error creation mechanism.

"Here is your new apartment. You must use a key to enter it. If you forget your key, you can buzz the superintendent during business hours, and if the super is home, (s)he will open the door for you.”

If you try to take your key with you at all times, the super will save your bacon once in a blue moon when you forget your key. On the other hand, if you think of the door as only needing a key when you wish to have it opened on nights and week-ends, you are on your way to trouble.

Re: Brendan Eich: The infernal semicolon

#10

Post by chc »

carsongross wrote: post #4

Moar downvotes! Can we reconsider using this thing as the assembler for the web? Can we come up with a sane, cross-platform bytecode standard?

Feel free to come up with a sane, cross-platform bytecode standard if it sounds doable to you. It doesn't to me.
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