The advantage of using the ++ and -- operators is that you can change the value of one variable and then further use it in an expression. Consider this: ++i +=> x; This command will increment i, then take the incremented value and add to x. In many situations, the ++/-- operators lets you write compact yet readable code. Consider these C statements: Statement 1: i=i+1; x=x+i; Statement 2: i=i+1; x+=i; Statement 3: x+=(i=i+1); Statement 4: x+= ++i; They all do the exact same thing, but at least in my experienced eyes, I know which one reveals most clearly what is going on. /nitro2k01 On 6/28/06, Kassen wrote:

Hi, Ge!

...

The ++ and -- (post and pre) are a bit fishy right now. We plan to fix this. In the meantime, it safest to NOT used them inline with expressions.

I wondered about those.

Why would you use those instead of "+=>" or "-=>"? I don't realy see why we need those at all, personally I avoid them beause to me using the ChucK operator feels more consistend.

Sorry if I'm missing something; clearly this is another thing borowed from C which I don't speak but I'd still like to know WHY we borowed it.

Kas. _______________________________________________ chuck-users mailing list chuck-users@lists.cs.princeton.edu https://lists.cs.princeton.edu/mailman/listinfo/chuck-users

-- -----BEGIN 2ROT13 MESSAGE----- The blog of nitro2k01: http://soundandcomplete.wordpress.com/ Sätt på ett par flipflops, vippa på rumpan och gör det här till en minnesvärd sommar! -----END 2ROT13 MESSAGE-----

nitro2k01 wrote:

The advantage of using the ++ and -- operators is that you can change the value of one variable and then further use it in an expression. Consider this: ++i +=> x;

Wow, you like to live on the edge! :) Unless I'm vastly mistaken, the code is compiled into exactly the same assembly commands as i++; x+i=>x; In other words, there's no computational benefit to writing that as a single statement.

In many situations, the ++/-- operators lets you write compact yet readable code.

I encountered this quote a week ago, and it's already become my favorite saying: "Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it." - Brian W. Kernighan I'm all for using ++ and --, but only if they're the only thing happening on that line. If anything else is happening, I need to actually think about what's happening, and that's dangerous if you're trying to write maintainable code. :) Cheers, - Graham Percival

That being said; out of pure curiocity, would "now++;" compile? Wild guess: No, I think now (as well as other time expressions) are objects and not numbers. Also, such expression would not be very useful, since it's ambiguous depending on sample rate. (Or is the unit of now independent of the sample rate?)

Wow, you like to live on the edge! :) Maybe a bad example, I just wrote down the first thing that crossed my mind. But still that's most probably the way I'd write that piece of code in a real situation.

Unless I'm vastly mistaken, the code is compiled into exactly the same assembly commands as i++; x+i=>x; In other words, there's no computational benefit to writing that as a single statement. I haven't yet looked into the kernel of ChucK, but that's possible. But depending on the CPU architecture (Including both virtual and physical machines) and the effectiveness of the compiler having a statement with a unary operator will make sense from a computational point of view. On the other hand most C compilers have good optimization egines and don't need the statements to be nested by a human brain.

/nitro2k01 -- -----BEGIN 2ROT13 MESSAGE----- The blog of nitro2k01: http://soundandcomplete.wordpress.com/ Sätt på ett par flipflops, vippa på rumpan och gör det här till en minnesvärd sommar! -----END 2ROT13 MESSAGE-----