Understanding isInfinite(Range)

[bearophile]

Andrej Mitrovic:

> I'm sorry, but what does q{..} mean?

q{} is just a different syntax to write "" or ``

It's a controversial feature. q{} isn't recognized by editors as a string, so they colour the syntax it contains normally as code, and not as a string. So it's a bit useful if you want to give a string to a higher order function like map, instead of a delegate, and you want to keep the visual illusion of a delegate:

map!q{a * a}([1, 2, 3])

The problem comes straight from its purpose: is that it doesn't look like a string, so its true nature is a bit hidden; and this may cause some troubles.

Another possible problem was discussed when the q{} syntax was introduced. It's not a clean syntax, it's a hack from the point of view of parsing/lexing too.

It's handy, but it may cause troubles too. I am getting used to it, but it's a untidy hack and it will keep being nothing more than a hack. And sometimes hacks later come back and bite your bum.

Bye,
bearophile