October 24, 2010
Implicit Line Continuation in WinWrap® Basic Scripting Editor
WinWrap® Basic now has Implicit Line Continuation Functionality
- Statements can span several lines
- Scripts without line continuations are more readable
- Syntax elements are used to end statements
- Line continuations are intelligently inferred from context
- Enhanced compatibility with VB.NET
WWB.NET Implied Line Continuation Rules
- implied line continuation after any of
- . , ( { + - * / ^ >> << & += -= *= /= = ^= >>= <<= &= > >= < <= = <> := And AndAlso Is IsNot Like Mod Or OrElse Xor
- implied line continuation before any of
- , ) }
WWB.NET Implied Line Continuation Example
'Macro1.bas WWB.NET Script Code
'#Language "WWB.NET"
Sub Main
SubA("Arg1",
"Arg2",
"Arg3"
)
Stop
End Sub
Sub SubA(ByVal Arg1 As String,
ByVal Arg2 As String,
ByVal Arg3 As String
)
Debug.Print Arg1 + " " +
Arg2 + " " +
Arg3
End Sub
Implicit Line Continuation - Industry Quotes
"The most striking thing when looking at Visual Basic 2010 code is the lack of line-continuation characters. At last we can use long and expressive method and variable names in statements that span several lines without constantly holding down that annoying shift key to type the underscore line-continuation character." Visual Studio Magazine, June 1, 2010.
Conclusion
VB is a line-oriented language. Intelligently inferring statement ends from context is better than explicit statement ends and better than restricting statements to one line. The new WWB.NET line continuation capability enhances compatibility with VB.NET. And WWB.NET now is more readable without those unwanted line continuation characters.
Copyright Polar Engineering, Inc.