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shevy-java • today at 3:32 AM • 4 replies • view on HN

Lua has a lot of useless syntax. For instance, the "then". I have been using ruby and python for many years. Lua is living in the old age here.

That's just one example of so many more. I get that lua occupies a useful niche with its focus on embedded systems, but lua is not really a well-designed language in general. JavaScript has a similar problem.

Replies

xonre • today at 6:09 AM

For readability, `then` allows splitting with newlines very long conditional expressions, without having to wrap the condition in parentheses:

  if x + y + z > a
    or verylongconditionalhere ()
    or anotherverylongconditionalhere ()
  then
    ...
after `if` and `elseif` the parser simply goes on until it finds `then`.
➕ show 2 replies
Dylan16807 • today at 5:06 AM

Python spells "then" as ":"

In Ruby you can choose between "then" and a newline.

This is very pot calling the kettle black.

mjmas • today at 6:10 AM

English too

modulared • today at 4:11 AM

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