I know this thread is a bit stale now, but didn't see what the
likely conclusion of this issue is meant to be
I see that 3.9 (7055) displays underscores - I installed the Shout
package (to get syntax highlighting back) and see that there is
a preference for underscore vs :=. Is it the idea that the appearance
of the left arrow will eventually be built into the code editor, and for
the interim those who prefer left-arrow should use bear with the
underscore actually appearing in code?
Would like to vote that that the the elegance, and combined
millennia's worth of neural wiring among smalltalkers who've become
accustomed to the left-assignment key far outweighs the danger
of off-putting newbies.
If it's too difficult to work it into 3.9 for technical reasons, then no
complaints there (especially since I'm not volunteering to make it
happen) - just don't think that purported "confusion" is a good reason to
deny use of left-arrow as an option. I strongly disagree with the idea that
having Paragraph editor "magically" display one or the other is somehow
a bad thing. Just my $0.02.
Jay
>
> I would also suggest that the left arrow is off-putting to newbies. There's
> no obvious key for it, and it causes a lot of confusion for the user trying
> to figure out how to make one. So it ends up being a barrier to entry.
> Making ParagraphEditor "magically" replace things (or render them specially)
> isn't really better.
Even worse, the tranditional assignment operator looks an aweful lot
like the figure that is silk screened on my "Backspace" key (at least
on my keyboard). ;-)
> I think it's time to let this convention go - it's more trouble than its
> worth.
With that said, I really *love* the single left arrow for assignment.
I am saddened by the trend to eject it, but I understand it might not
be the best for the long run.
I guess I can get used to := instead, but it just feels so "programmery".
Regards,
John
--
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all
progress depends on the unreasonable man. -- George Bernard Shaw