Case Range Statement ..

[Daniel Keep]

Valery wrote:
> I think that inclusive ranges more intuitive for beginner programmers because statements:
> 
>   case 1..10,
>   array [1..10],
>   foreach (int item; 1..10),
>   foreach_reverse (int item; 1..10) (now foreach_reverse range is too dificult to understand it: item begins with 10 or 9, ends 1 or 2?)
> 
> will not require an explanation of their actions. Thanks.

I can say from personal experience that this is true.

1-based indexing is also easier for beginners.

So are BASIC and LOGO.

You may notice a trend here... :P

Inclusive ranges are easier for naive programmers to grok, but are
fundamentally mismatched to programming.  It's harder to split an
inclusive range, and it complicates the math.  Just try writing anything
which involves manipulating ranges in Lua; it's considerably harder than
with exclusive ranges.

The question is which you would rather: help naive programmers work
inefficiently or prevent competent programmers from working efficiently?

I say screw the beginners; learning will do them good.