Re: A couple of extensions

[haskell-request@cs.glasgow.ac.uk]

Date: 29 May 91 17:03
From: haskell-request@cs.glasgow.ac.uk
Sender: Simon L Peyton Jones <simonpj@cs.glasgow.ac.uk>
To: haskell@cs.glasgow.ac.uk
Subject: Re: A couple of extensions 

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Joe writes...

| 1.  Sections
|     ========
| 
| I was once opposed to sections, since they seemed like a frill alongside
| lambda abstractions.  I have since changed my mind.  I find that I
| want to use sections often, that the alternative lambda syntax is _much_
| heavier, and that it is frustrating that ordinary functions can be
| curried, but infix forms can't be sectioned.  In fact, I have been
| caught using the curried application  ((>=) m)  where I really want
| the section (<=m), which can be more than a little confusing.

I think Joe is probably right but I remember long (very long) (very very
long) discussions about the interaction of sections with other parts of
the syntax.  

That makes me think that to add something hastily now (ie in the next 10
days) would be risky.  I PROPOSE not to do this, unless someone can come
up with a very convincing concrete proposal very soon...



Simon