Re[2]: New syntax feedback for 4.0
This WebDNA talk-list message is from 2000
It keeps the original formatting.
numero = 29366
interpreted = N
texte = Yuk. Grant, if you do this, I will never use WebCat again...John Peacockp.s. I am only being slightly facetious... ____________________Reply Separator____________________ Subject: Re: New syntax feedback for 4.0 Author:
Date: 3/20/00 4:13 PMGrant,The only character you seem concerned about is >, is this correct?I understand why, and that's because no other character can cause any problems anyways. after all, your parsing code more than likely BEGINS at which means the only possible character that can cause it to end a tag prematurely is > ... isn't this correct?So why don't you just substitute another character for >, but only in tags where comparisons are being used, such as showif's and hideif's? What other tags use comparison operators anyways?Personally I would choose the character ) to be used in place of > since the only other place ) is used in the entire webdna language is in a math context, so it's one of the least likely to be confused.And if you have webcatalog interpret ) as > only in comparison tags -- not inside contexts and not inside any other tags but comparison tags -- it won't make any difference that ) appears in a math context because comparisons do not occur in math contexts directly -- and besides, the ) would be appearing inside the math context itself, and not inside the tag.This eliminates all the issues you brought up below regarding changes to the existing webdna syntax. I think it would be the simplest and least intrusive change ...:) >Hey guys, we are entering into the decision phase for our DreamWeaver >syntax for 4.0, and I'd like to open up a small discussion to help me >decide which way to go. This information is confidential, and should >not be discussed outside this list. > >Background: WebDNA's [] syntax tends to make most GUI editors like >DreamWeaver get confused. We decided Mohammed should go to the >mountain in this case, so we are modifying WebCatalog's syntax to >match what GUI editors expect to see. > >So for 4.0, one can optionally write two different kinds of snytax in WebDNA: > >[Loop start=1&end=10] >[index] >[/Loop] > >or > > > > > >This works well for most contexts, but there are a few exceptions >that can confuse most parsers. Specifically, ShowIf can contain >characters like > which look just like HTML to a parser: > >3> > ^ looks a lot like followed by a 3 > >...so one solution is to force all contexts to use named/quoted parameters: > >3> > >..but that's really starting to look stupid. I'm not so worried >about the amount of typing involved, because the GUI editor is going >to be doing most of the work anyway, but it still looks pretty weird, >and I think it's hard to follow. > >Another solution would be to change the syntax of ShowIf itself: > > > >...but I don't like this one because it requires a lot more than a >simple global search and replace in a text editor to make this kind >of change to pre-existing old-style WebDNA code. > >There's also a hybrid approach that would allow both a named- and >non-named syntax to be allowed: > >3> or 3> > >The first is more easily readable by people hand-tying the code, and >the second is more easily parsed by GUI editors. I'm leaning toward >that one. > >Thanks for your feedback! > >Grant Hulbert, Director of Engineering ********************************** >Smith Micro, Internet Solutions Div | eCommerce (WebCatalog) >16855 West Bernardo Drive, #380 | ------------------------- >San Diego, CA 92127 | Software & Site Development >Main Line: (858) 675-1106 | http://www.smithmicro.com > Fax: (858) 675-0372 ********************************** > >############################################################# >This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to > the mailing list . >To unsubscribe, E-mail to: >To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to >To switch to the INDEX mode, E-mail to >Send administrative queries to ================================ Kenneth Grome, WebDNA Consultant 808-737-6499 http://webdna.net ================================ ############################################################# This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to the mailing list . To unsubscribe, E-mail to: To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to To switch to the INDEX mode, E-mail to Send administrative queries to
Associated Messages, from the most recent to the oldest:
Yuk. Grant, if you do this, I will never use WebCat again...John Peacockp.s. I am only being slightly facetious... ____________________Reply Separator____________________ Subject: Re: New syntax feedback for 4.0 Author: Date: 3/20/00 4:13 PMGrant,The only character you seem concerned about is >, is this correct?I understand why, and that's because no other character can cause any problems anyways. after all, your parsing code more than likely BEGINS at which means the only possible character that can cause it to end a tag prematurely is > ... isn't this correct?So why don't you just substitute another character for >, but only in tags where comparisons are being used, such as showif's and hideif's? What other tags use comparison operators anyways?Personally I would choose the character ) to be used in place of > since the only other place ) is used in the entire webdna language is in a math context, so it's one of the least likely to be confused.And if you have webcatalog interpret ) as > only in comparison tags -- not inside contexts and not inside any other tags but comparison tags -- it won't make any difference that ) appears in a math context because comparisons do not occur in math contexts directly -- and besides, the ) would be appearing inside the math context itself, and not inside the tag.This eliminates all the issues you brought up below regarding changes to the existing webdna syntax. I think it would be the simplest and least intrusive change ...:) >Hey guys, we are entering into the decision phase for our DreamWeaver >syntax for 4.0, and I'd like to open up a small discussion to help me >decide which way to go. This information is confidential, and should >not be discussed outside this list. > >Background: WebDNA's [] syntax tends to make most GUI editors like >DreamWeaver get confused. We decided Mohammed should go to the >mountain in this case, so we are modifying WebCatalog's syntax to >match what GUI editors expect to see. > >So for 4.0, one can optionally write two different kinds of snytax in WebDNA: > >[Loop start=1&end=10] >[index] >[/Loop] > >or > > > > > >This works well for most contexts, but there are a few exceptions >that can confuse most parsers. Specifically, ShowIf can contain >characters like > which look just like HTML to a parser: > >3> > ^ looks a lot like followed by a 3 > >...so one solution is to force all contexts to use named/quoted parameters: > >3> > >..but that's really starting to look stupid. I'm not so worried >about the amount of typing involved, because the GUI editor is going >to be doing most of the work anyway, but it still looks pretty weird, >and I think it's hard to follow. > >Another solution would be to change the syntax of ShowIf itself: > > > >...but I don't like this one because it requires a lot more than a >simple global search and replace in a text editor to make this kind >of change to pre-existing old-style WebDNA code. > >There's also a hybrid approach that would allow both a named- and >non-named syntax to be allowed: > >3> or 3> > >The first is more easily readable by people hand-tying the code, and >the second is more easily parsed by GUI editors. I'm leaning toward >that one. > >Thanks for your feedback! > >Grant Hulbert, Director of Engineering ********************************** >Smith Micro, Internet Solutions Div | eCommerce (WebCatalog) >16855 West Bernardo Drive, #380 | ------------------------- >San Diego, CA 92127 | Software & Site Development >Main Line: (858) 675-1106 | http://www.smithmicro.com > Fax: (858) 675-0372 ********************************** > >############################################################# >This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to > the mailing list . >To unsubscribe, E-mail to: >To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to >To switch to the INDEX mode, E-mail to >Send administrative queries to ================================ Kenneth Grome, WebDNA Consultant 808-737-6499 http://webdna.net ================================ ############################################################# This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to the mailing list . To unsubscribe, E-mail to: To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to To switch to the INDEX mode, E-mail to Send administrative queries to
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