Re: Eiffel gripe (was Ada vs. Eiffel)

[dewar@cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar)]

If we are on the subject of loop syntax, how about the loop kit for SETL
that I (probably in a fit of over-complex thinking) designed:

init <stuff to do before loop.
doing <stuff to do at start of each loop>
step <stuff to do at end of each loop>
while <condition to test at start of loop>
loop
...
end

within the loop there was both a quit and a continue for early exits to
either outside the loop or the next iteration (actually to the step code)

Well you sure could do anything with that. As in C, one of the powerful
uses of general iteration schemes like this is in connection with macros,
which allow you to do lots of nice things, but are so open to major
abuse that in the final analysis I prefer Ada's approach of excluding
macros as a first class capability (SETL *did* have a powerful macro
facility as well).