October 24, 2010

Implicit Line Continuation in WinWrap® Basic Scripting Editor

WinWrap® Basic now has Implicit Line Continuation Functionality

Statements can span several lines
Scripts without line continuations are more readable
Syntax elements are used to end statements
Line continuations are intelligently inferred from context
Enhanced compatibility with VB.NET

WWB.NET Implied Line Continuation Rules

implied line continuation after any of
. , ( { + - * / ^ >> << & += -= *= /= = ^= >>= <<= &= > >= < <= = <> := And AndAlso Is IsNot Like Mod Or OrElse Xor
implied line continuation before any of
, ) }

WWB.NET Implied Line Continuation Example

'Macro1.bas WWB.NET Script Code '#Language "WWB.NET" Sub Main SubA("Arg1", "Arg2", "Arg3" ) Stop End Sub Sub SubA(ByVal Arg1 As String, ByVal Arg2 As String, ByVal Arg3 As String ) Debug.Print Arg1 + " " + Arg2 + " " + Arg3 End Sub

Implicit Line Continuation - Industry Quotes

"The most striking thing when looking at Visual Basic 2010 code is the lack of line-continuation characters. At last we can use long and expressive method and variable names in statements that span several lines without constantly holding down that annoying shift key to type the underscore line-continuation character." Visual Studio Magazine, June 1, 2010.

Conclusion

VB is a line-oriented language. Intelligently inferring statement ends from context is better than explicit statement ends and better than restricting statements to one line. The new WWB.NET line continuation capability enhances compatibility with VB.NET. And WWB.NET now is more readable without those unwanted line continuation characters.