I suspect that implicit self probably makes Self code more difficult for beginners to read for exactly the reason you state: it doesn't follow the "receiver message" pattern. However, I must add that:
1. I haven't taught Self to anyone who didn't already know Smalltalk, so I have no evidence one way or the other, and 2. The expert Self programmer quckly becomes used to implicit self.
I'll also add that I find Smalltalk code a little more pleasant to read. I like look of assignment arrows. That, of course, is purely a matter of personal opinion and aesthetics.
-- John
At 11:14 PM +0200 8/22/01, Henrik Gedenryd wrote:
Stefan Matthias Aust wrote:
In the last squeak, I changed my mind an nowadays, Self has not enough syntax for my taste. You really have to get used to all that (| .. |) object declarations ( ) method declarations, implicit self sends and the fact that even local variables doesn't exist.
I'd like to hear your opinion: do you think it is an advantage to allow receiver self to be implicit? I have started to think that this breaks the simple principle of always having the "receiver message" pattern and thereby causes more irregularity than advantages. But I'd like to hear others' opinion on this, I don't have a strong opinion yet. Jecel and John Maloney might have something wise to say about this as well?