Re^5: Untillian Headache or about the semantic of until

in reply to Re^4: Untillian Headache or about the semantic of until
in thread Untillian Headache or about the semantic of until

Given this I dont see where the disagreement lies? Did I miss something?

Yes. You missed that I completely disagree with your assertion that [it is] far better to use while( ! ) and if(!) for complex conditions.".

The disagreement is in the imperativeness of the phrase "for complex conditions".

It implies -- and by your arguments you are more than just implying, you are stating -- that all complex conditions will be easier to understand if phrased in their while form rather than their until form. And that is patently not so.

Take your own example -- despite that it is tortuously contrived and completely illogical. This:

while (
    ! $no_error_opening_file
    and !( eof and $need_not_process_beyond_eof )
    and ! $found_all_elements_I_was_looking_for 
) {
[download]

Is no clearer -- and is arguably much less clear -- than this:

until( 
    $no_error_opening_file 
    or ( eof and $need_not_process_beyond_eof )
    or $found_all_elements_i_was_looking_for 
) {
[download]

(And no matter how you decide to apply deMorgan to it, it will never get any clearer; and will frequently resolve to a conditional that no one understands in terms of the semantics of the surrounding code.)

Neither of those are clear. And that's because it is a ridiculously contrived example that (hopefully) no one would ever code.

Would anyone re-test whether they had succeeding opening the file after having successfully already read a line from it?
And then continue to do so for every line of that file?
$need_not_process_beyond_eof; you mean it is possible to process a file beyond the of that file?
!?
And what logic is there is adding or $found_all_elements_i_was_looking_for to the looping condition?
In order for flag variable $found_all_elements_i_was_looking_for to change state, it has to be set within the loop.
And if you can set a flag variable within the loop; why defer the exit action until the loop iterates, when you can just last; at the point of discovery? It makes no sense.

And that's what happens when you try to contrive an example to support an illogical argument. You end up arguing on the basis of code that no one would write.

Some conditions -- complex or simple -- lend themselves to clarity when phrased with while. Eg:

open FH ... or die ...;
while( <FH> ) {
    my $foundEverything = processLine( $_ );
    last if $foundEverything;   
}
[download]

Other are clearer phrased using until. Eg:

open FH ... or die ..;
until( eof FH ) {
    my $line1 = <FH>;
    my $line2 = <FH>;
    my $foundEverything = processRecord( $line1, $line2 );
    last if $foundEverything;
}
[download]

Having both available to Perl is a strength -- highlighting a weakness in languages that do not -- and should be applauded and lauded; not denigrated away in appeasement to those who think anything not found in their first programing language is weird or dangerous.

With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday'

Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.

"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".

In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

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Re^6: Untillian Headache or about the semantic of until by tmharish (Friar) on Feb 12, 2013 at 13:57 UTC
And that's what happens when you try to contrive an example to support an illogical argument. You end up arguing on the basis of code that no one would write. In hindsight that was not a very good example! not denigrated away in appeasement to those who think anything not found in their first programing language is weird or dangerous. That might be whats happening here - I guess the only way to know would be if I watched myself the next time I use `while` instead of `until` and see if I am doing so because its better or because I am more comfortable with it.	[reply] [d/l] [select]

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Re^6: Untillian Headache or about the semantic of until
by tmharish (Friar) on Feb 12, 2013 at 13:57 UTC

And that's what happens when you try to contrive an example to support an illogical argument. You end up arguing on the basis of code that no one would write.

In hindsight that was not a very good example!

not denigrated away in appeasement to those who think anything not found in their first programing language is weird or dangerous.

That might be whats happening here - I guess the only way to know would be if I watched myself the next time I use while instead of until and see if I am doing so because its better or because I am more comfortable with it.

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