A look at the D programming language by Ferdynand Górski

[Chris]

On Wednesday, 16 January 2013 at 15:55:09 UTC, renoX wrote:
> On Tuesday, 15 January 2013 at 13:43:12 UTC, Chris wrote:
>> On Tuesday, 15 January 2013 at 12:36:42 UTC, bearophile wrote:
>>> Chris:
>>>
>>>> Nested for loops with if-statements can be hard on the eye 
>>>> in Python, because you have to go back an double check on 
>>>> which level you actually are
>>>
>>> If you use the standard 4 spaces indentations and you don't 
>>> have ten indentation levels this problem is not common. Some 
>>> persons also avoid your problem with an editor that shows 
>>> thin vertical lines every 4 spaces (but only where the lines 
>>> are actually reaching that length).
>>>
>>>
>>
>> It happens very quickly if you have a class, a def, a nested 
>> for loop with one or two if statements
>>
>> class:
>>    def:
>>        for:
>>            if:
>>
>> You could call it "south west" code.
>
> I'm not sure what is your point, even with 5 level of 
> indentations and the standard 4 space indentations, on a normal 
> 80 colum window you still have 3/4 of the window for the code..
>
> renoX

My point is that Python code is not necessarily more readable 
only because it enforces indentation via syntax. If the code 
between the different blocks (for, if, else etc) is long enough, 
you easily lose track of where exactly you are when scrolling 
down, just like in any other language (Yes, you need tools that 
help you!). And one of the biggest drawbacks is that it is a 
nuisance to cut and paste or comment out in Python because you 
have to format your code _before_ you even know whether it works 
as desired. If it doesn't, all the extra formatting work was in 
vain. So much for "saving time". I do believe that abstract 
ideals should not be given precedence over (coding) reality. If 
Python is the ideal, why and how do other languages manage to 
survive? How can people read code written in other languages at 
all?

As has been said many times before, it should not be the 
language's job to enforce indentation. This should be handled by 
customizable code editors. Any programmer in his/her right mind 
will use indentation. So why enforce it through syntax rules?