Re: I'd give my right arm for a continue statement

[Steve Litt <slitt@...>]

On Sunday 23 January 2011 14:04:09 Dirk Laurie wrote:
> On Sun, Jan 23, 2011 at 08:16:10PM +0200, Mark Hamburg wrote:
> > Three seemingly simple answers to the repeat/until v continue problem (in
> > order of decreasing harshness but more complex definitions):
> 
> I haven't been following this discussion all that closely, so please
> forgive me if I have missed a point that has been made.
> 
> The most common use of continue occurs when it is required once per
> loop.  In that case, it actually costs four extra keystrokes.
> 
> while condition do
>   -- some code
>   if test then
>     continue
>     end
>   -- more code
>   end
> 
> while condition do
>   -- some code
>   if test then
>   else
>     -- more code
>     end
>   end

Speaking personally just for myself, I really hate that extra level of 
indentation. For me personally, the more levels of branching I have, the 
likelier errors become.
> 
> If you require it more than once, you'll save only whitespace.
> It will still need four extra non-blank characters per instance.
> 
> You expect, seriously expect, Roberto to add another keyword just
> so you can do THIS???

First, as the originator of this thread, I apologize for the subject line. 
What I was asking in the message body was "Have any of you found convenient 
ways to simulate a continue statement in Lua?", so the subject should have 
been "Workarounds for continue statement?". That message was written while 
solving a frustrating problem at 3am, but that's no excuse -- I apologize.

I never expected anyone to change the language. Language changes bring a risk 
of both introducing bugs and breaking existing code. And they're a lot of 
extra work.

I actually found a workaround that will work for me once it's cleaned up a 
little. Sure, it's been called "using a sledgehammer to chase a mouse", but 
the fact it scratches my itch -- I no longer have to descend that extra level 
just to rule out lines that obviously don't qualify to be processed.

SteveT

Steve Litt
Recession Relief Package
http://www.recession-relief.US
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/stevelitt