Re: Comments are KILLING me
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg37742] Re: Comments are KILLING me
- From: Tom Burton <tburton at brahea.com>
- Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2002 05:09:56 -0500 (EST)
- References: <aqfp6g$7d3$1@smc.vnet.net>
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
On 11/7/02 11:30 PM, in article aqfp6g$7d3$1 at smc.vnet.net, "Nafod40" <may106 at psu.edu> wrote: > I can write a simple package with a single line of code written in > StandardForm, so the 1/10 term is written 1 on top of 10... > > test := Module[(x = 1/10, (* now is the time *) y = 2}, x] > > Using StandardForm and 2D mathematical typesetting, it works fine in > the notebook. Save it as a package and load it in, and I get a slew of > error messages... > > \!\(InputForm\`Syntax::"sntxb" : > "Expression cannot begin with etc.... > > This is KILLING me! Same goes for highlighting changes with color, font changes, etc. A serious nuisance! Problems may lie dormant until you port to another platform. A related issue is that when you process the code through the kernel (e.g., menu Cell, Convert To, StandardForm), this local formatting is stripped away. This loss cannot be undone. Wolfram Support has discouraged me from using all such "fragile" constructions. Comments are the least of it really, because alternatives are better for other reasons: (1) Divide code into small chunks interspersed with explanatory material. (2) Use longer, self-descriptive names for symbols. The related issue above suggests a cure: Process the code through the kernel, stripping out all local formatting, on the way to the m-file. This change would "kill" folks who still look at m files. Still, if the correction were that easy, WRI would have done by now :-) Perhaps the instability is in the notebook. That would present a more difficult problem. Tom Burton