Removing D embedded in HTML feature

[Bruce Adams]

On Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:22:15 +0100, Jim Hewes <jhewes at sysviewtech.com>  
wrote:
>
> Although I keep an eye on these newsgroups and I think D looks nice, I'm  
> not currently using it. So I wouldn't want to vote on the HTML thing.  
> But I agree about code editors.
>
> I'm kind of surprised, software as gotten to the advanced level it has  
> over the past 20 years or so, and we're still writing source code in  
> ASCII text files. I'm using Visual Studio 2005/2008 to do C++ and C# and  
> it's a great achievement. But we're still using ASCII text files.
> For years I've wanted to draw block diagrams and flow charts right in  
> the code to document what's going on. How great would it be if you could  
> use Microsoft Word to write code with and also draw your diagrams  
> alongside? You could use bold and italics formatting to emphasize  
> important code. Change the size of text, add tables, etc. The compiler  
> doesn't have to understand MS-Word format. Rather, the editor (or some  
> other utility) could just export the ASCII for the compiler's  
> consumption. Perhaps better, create a standard file format for code that  
> can handle graphics and other documentation. Then to avoid the step of  
> exporting the raw ASCII, you can have the file format store the actual  
> code in a separate section that's easy for compilers to find. Then  
> compilers can navigate to that section of the file and ignore everything  
> else. I don't think it's too much to expect standards for source code  
> files, given that standardization seems to have moved along for things  
> like the C++ library and C++98 and 0x. </rant>
>
> Jim Hewes

XML error: line 23: no element 'rant' started.

The problem with that is your language then comes with a file format which  
can be a barrier
to use with your favourite tools. Text files are the lowest common  
denominator. You could
do better but you have to tread cautiosly or end up going the way of APL.