2006/6/6, Robert Cummings <robert@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
On Tue, 2006-06-06 at 00:01, Martin Alterisio wrote: > > Because defining ++ and < and > in such a way as to make them "behave like > > numbers" would have made them not work for alphabetizing. A string is a > > string, and comparison of strings is alphabetic (for some definition of > > alphabet). It's more useful to deal with strings as strings than to make > > them quack like numbers. > > > > Then, if it's not a math operation, why use a math operator for such > functionality? In which way is the ++ operator that generates a string I don't ever remember seeing ++ in math class. I do remember seeing it in lots of computer classes and to that end it was "just an operator" with whatever semantic meaning was applied to it for a given language. I guess it's usually to increment an integer, but that's just "in general". I mean if we want to get into "math" operators being used for string purposes, then we should look at how many languages use the "+" operator to concatenate two strings -- by your accounts they should treat their operands as integers and do a rote addition. > sequence, useful enough to justify the formal inconsistency between the math > operators? I still don't see the advantages of having the ++ recognize the > string as a sequence, and generate the next item in the sequence. I believe > those decisions should be left to the coder, because he knows what the > string really represents and which kind of sequence is being used. In C++ they do leave it to the coder, and well, we all know what a mess it can be deciphering overloaded operators in C++ (or maybe we ALL don't). At any rate, the PHP overlords made a choice, and IMHO the best choice. For such a fringe issue I don't see what the argument is all about. If you want the functionality you get in C by incrementing a char, then use the chr() function on an integer.
You're right about ++ operator not to be considered a math operator, my mistake. What I should have said is that the usual connotation and expected behaviour of ++ and the comparison operators is to give iteration capabilities to a certain data type, as used in a for statement. For that to happen certain constrains must be true for these operators, one of them being: any < ++any, which is not true for the way these operators behave in php. I'm not saying "It's wrong let's change it right away!", I completely agree that these rules can be bent on a not strongly typed language. The point I'm trying to make, the thing I want to understant without a trace of doubt, is: is it really worthy the functionality supplied with the string ++ operator as it is? I don't see its usefullness yet.
