Adding Unicode operators to D

[Jesse Phillips]

On Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:52:34 +0900, Bill Baxter wrote:

> On Thu, Oct 23, 2008 at 7:27 AM, Andrei Alexandrescu
> <SeeWebsiteForEmail at erdani.org> wrote:
>> Please vote up before the haters take it down, and discuss:
>>
>> http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/78rjk/
allowing_unicode_operators_in_d_similarly_to/
>>
>>
> (My comment cross posted here from reddit)
> 
> I think the right way to do it is not to make everything Unicode. All
> the pressure on the existing symbols would be dramatically relieved by
> the addition of just a handful of new symbols.
> 
> The truth is keyboards aren't very good for inputting Unicode. That
> isn't likely to change. Yes they've dealt with the problem in Asian
> languages by using IMEs but in my opinion IMEs are horrible to use.
> 
> Some people seem to argue it's a waste to go to Unicode only for a few
> symbols. If you're going to go Unicode, you should go whole hog. I'd
> argue the exact opposite. If you're going to go Unicode, it should be
> done in moderation. Use as little Unicode as necessary and no more.
> 
> As for how to input unicode -- Microsoft Word solved that problem ages
> ago, assuming we're talking about small numbers of special characters.
> It's called AutoCorrect. You just register your unicode symbol as a
> misspelling for "(X)" or something unique like that and then every time
> you type "(X)" a funky unicode character instantly replaces those chars.
> 
> Yeh, not many editors support such a feature. But it's very easy to
> implement. And with that one generic mechanism, your editor is ready to
> support input of Unicode chars in any language just by adding the right
> definitions.
> 
> --bb

I don't find this terribly appealing. Walter mentions having thrown out 
support for 16bit processors and such. Why not through out 32bit too? 
Those are going out of style.

The point is, it's not the languages job to force change of hardware. And 
support via a text editor is also not acceptable. Going the software 
support route relies on the OS to support a universal easy method to 
enter unicode.

As for D's case, I say support unicode for these new operators, but 
provide the same function with keyboard provided symbols.