[PD-dev] $0 in messages, was: multiple $arg-expansion

[Hans-Christoph Steiner]

On Jan 21, 2006, at 6:27 PM, cdr wrote:

>> But with pd-0.39 this issue is solved thanks to the [list] object,
>
> justa bout every patch i've made (from 0.36 to 0.39) involves :
>
> - an inordinate amount of objects just adding and removing selectors  
> eg turning lists into non-lists and vice-versa

Indeed.  When I work with variable data sets, I generally try to stay  
out of the realm of lists entirely, and use "undefined sets" and  
[prepend].

> - crazy dances to get into get instance variables into messages  
> alongside and mixed with local variables (i was appalled that the  
> documentation suggests using a bunch of [symbol $0] [float $0] and  
> unwieldy chained series of makefilenames (since theres only one  
> substitution per object, and even though youre not making filenames)  
> when later discovering this could all be reduced to a single [sprintf]  
> but this object was never mentioned in the docs)

That's because [sprintf] is a cyclone object, so its an external.

> - similar crazy dances to things like asd-$0 instead of $0-asd, the  
> equivalent of say indices [1..3] of a list but sometimes its [2..5]  
> and simulating nested lists

This is fixed in a patch from IOhannes.

.hc

> - simulating key / value stuff and naming list elements (via fake  
> nested lists) so that you dont have to worry so much about ordering  
> stuff, esp when reusing abstractions in difft places, and to be able  
> to think in terms of named variables instead of rememerbing wtf $3 was
>
> i love Mathieu's idea of a documentation for the similarities that all  
> or most classes share - learning all these peculiarities up front  
> would have removed a big barrier of entry in terms of getting up and  
> running fast..
>
> imo a few additions to the message syntax would solve most of these  
> problems and make it much easier to see what a patch does by glancing  
> at it
>
> who does that best? C's sprintf? "or #{@ruby} " or maybe "ecma"+script?
>
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