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Postings from May 2001
< QUOTE LARRY >
Dave Storrs writes:
: You know, it would be really cool if you specify the number of
: lines you wanted like so:
:
: <$STDIN # One line
: *<$STDIN # All available lines
: *4<$STDIN # Next 4 lines
:
: Or even:
:
: *$num_lines<$STDIN # Numifies $num_lines, gets that many
: *int rand(6)<$STDIN # Gets 0-5 lines
: *&mySub($bar)<$STDIN # mySub returns num, gets that many
Given appropriate overloading on the iterator object:
@foo = $STDIN * 4;
Larry
< END QUOTE>
Actually, on more reflection, I'm going to side with the people who say
that the single-character version is not an improvement, and that we
should stick with <>. Also, I'd prefer to use the 'x' operator for
specifying multiples:
@foo = <$STDIN> x 4;
@foo = <$STDIN> x &mySub;
The parallel with "$foo = 'bar'x2;", where bar is simply repeated twice,
is obvious: '<$STDIN' iterates the, uh, iterator, and repeating that
operation iterates it multiple times. It even reads nicely "Fetch a line
from STDIN times four" (or, more idiomatically, "...four times").
Dave