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Article:
  Readable Java 1.5
Subject:   interesting, but...
Date:   2003-12-20 06:54:24
From:   anonymous2
Response to: interesting, but...

Java's keywords are reserved -- you can't
use any of the keywords as variables or
method names. Making an exception for "in"
isn't just a matter of making it "difficult"
to write the compiler, it's a radical change
in the language structure that would require
the lexer to be context-sensitive. Sun would
(justifiably) never ever make such a change, so
it's pointless to debate the value of an "in" keyword.


Someone suggested "from". "of" is another
possibility. But it's not like Sun didn't
consider these -- they almost certainly did,
and rejected them because there may be programs
that use them as variable names. Thus, they
chose the ":" syntax, and it's very unlikely
that they're about to change their minds.

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