Added: LDM Notes for May 17th, 2021

[333fred]

https://github.com/dotnet/csharplang/blob/main/meetings/2021/LDM-2021-05-17.md

Agenda

1. Raw string literals

[CyrusNajmabadi]

I'm worried about this. When I use VS Code with the extension to trim trailing whitespace on save, it doesn't understand string literals IIRC. It would be nice to have at least the option of an entirely empty line as an acceptable alternative to the full whitespace prefix.

That's the logic we'll be having.

[MgSam]

We considered whether to use ``` or ''' instead of or in addition to """...

This seems like the wrong thing to consider. Given backticks have no current use in C#, it seems like ` vs """ is the right question to consider.

The ` symbol is concerning because it can be hard for non-English keyboard layouts to hit

I still don't buy this argument. I hope the developers we're trying to save from using backticks in C# never have to write JavaScript, Swift, Markdown, commands on Unix, F#, Powershell, or any of the other languages that use them. In other words, if I'm a developer using a non-English keyboard, I already need a shortcut to create backticks regardless of any decision the C# LDT makes. This character is far too commonly used to go out of mainstream usage now.

Having a single line regex that requires 6 double quotes (12 glyphs!) just to not deal with escaping is going to be really ugly. """^\S+@\S+\.\S+$""" 🤮

Really, the whole need for this feature is because verbatim strings in C# were misdesigned from the get-go and just traded one kind of escaping for another. If we must add yet another new string form, it should be as lightweight and easy to read as possible.

[jnm2]

@CyrusNajmabadi I don't understand your point about ` `` `. People wouldn't expect that coming from markdown because markdown requires ``` `` ```.

[CyrusNajmabadi]

Compare that to "(.*?)" Clearly the second is far more readable.

This is called out in the drawbacks section, with a suggestion on how we could support it. For example: '"(.*?)"'.

Note that your approach makes some strings nicer, but would similarly make some harder because you still have the problem of: what if my content starts or ends with my delimiter?

So, for example, a regex matching a markdown fence would be more complex in your case as well and either require multi line.

That said, as the proposal makes clear, this is something that can be expanded on to make the case of "I want to be single line and I want to start and end in a delimiter" easier in the future.

[CyrusNajmabadi]

People wouldn't expect that coming from markdown because markdown requires

It doesn't. You can write ` `` ` today.

If you do, you get ``. Funky hunh!

[jnm2]

@CyrusNajmabadi TIL, thanks! https://spec.commonmark.org/0.29/#example-330

[CyrusNajmabadi]

You're missing the point. If we add a new string form it should be as widely applicable as possible

This is goals 1 and 2. This proposal meets those goals.

Note that replacing quote with backtick just replace one set of bad cases with a good set, but also does the reverse. That's why the spec states that in order to make things nice for the union of those cases, you'd need to allow for at least two delimiter forms. And even then, that would only help when the string started or ended with the other delimiter.