Re: Delimiters for pragmas

Tempted to suggest using 🐀 and 🍑...

More seriously, I think that this isn't the bus any of us want to lie under.

I don't think that it is the best solution to re-use comments, because I disagree with Steven's belief that pragmas are comments, and have been unable as yet to recognise the motivation for it.  But I also accept that avoiding their usage is (also?) based on value judgments rather than rationale.  I can live with it, and be grateful not to have to argue about it again.

The only argument I will make is that we will not be remembered kindly if we insist on using brackets that users can not easily type.

I accept the point that not all of the world work using US or UK keyboards, but I would point out that those users who are technically inclined enough to be likely to write an iXML grammar who are not using said keyboards are at least familiar with the workarounds that they need to produce the symbols and brackets that are already in widespread usage.  I have no desire to be the subject of curses from users constantly having to remember code points or bring up character maps simply in order to specify a commonly used pragma every other line in a grammar.


I am happy to have alternative syntaxes, or a single syntax.  I can live with white brackets, and I am fine with {[]} or {||} as suggestions.  I agree that the `?` standard is cute, but ultimately hard to grok for humans.

_________________
Tomos Hillman
eXpertML Ltd
+44 7793 242058
On 29 Jan 2022, 17:26 +0000, Norm Tovey-Walsh <norm@saxonica.com>, wrote:
> > Since you mention ¿...?, I will note that writing out a few examples the
> > other day, I noticed that I found the ¿ ... ? syntax slightly
> > distracting.
>
> Yes, I’ve gone off them a little bit myself.
>
> > Bottom line: I don't think we're ready to vote yet.
>
> Other folks on the list with opinions about what pragmas are and what
> they’re for, if you can possibly engage in email so we don’t have to
> start from scratch on Tuesday, … that would be nice.
>
> Be seeing you,
> norm
>
> --
> Norm Tovey-Walsh
> Saxonica