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Re: [PC] Simple AST

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Jorgen Grahn <grahn+nntp@snipabacken.se> writes:

> On Thu, 2019-03-14, James Kuyper wrote:
>
>> On 3/14/19 02:48, Jorgen Grahn wrote:
>>
>>> On Wed, 2019-03-13, Tim Rentsch wrote:
>>>
>>>> Bart <bc@freeuk.com> writes:
>>>
>>> ...
>>>
>>>>> One or two here claim to know the precedences by heart, notably
>>>>> Tim Rentsch.
>>>>
>>>> I have never made that claim.  I ask that you not make statements
>>>> that purport to represent my views.  Your batting average trying
>>>> to do that so far is a lot closer to zero than it is to 1000.
>>>
>>> When you write, elsewhere in the thread
>>>
>>>      It isn't hard to remember if one makes an effort to learn.
>>>      Fifteen to thiry minutes, tops, and that's a one-time cost.
>>>
>>> it's easy to assume you made that effort.
>>
>> Tim is all about subtle distinctions - too subtle for most other people.
>> There are, as a rule, subtle differences between what Tim seems to be
>
> ...
>
> Well, I later saw a posting about a difference between learning and
> memorizing ... My only point is, I guess, most people aren't good at
> splitting hairs.

There are times when I engage in hair splitting, but this wasn't
one of them.  There is an important difference between the two
modes here, which is a significant component of what I've been
saying about C expression syntax.  Let me offer a story to
illustrate.

Where I went to school, Chemistry majors were given a closed-book
exam - the nature of which was known in advance - on the chemical
elements.  The test consisted of being given a blank outline of
the standard periodic table, with the test being to fill it in
during the examination period.  (I was not a Chemistry major.  I
don't know what level of detail was asked for, or was expected.)

This test is one that could be approached just as an exercise in
rote memorization.  But that wasn't the purpose of test, and most
students didn't approach it that way.  The point is to understand
the nature of relationships between the various elements, which
if done allows the blank periodic table to be filled in fairly
easily, and much moreso than just relying on straight memorization
(at least for Chemistry majors).  The value of preparing for the
exam is not to know how to fill in a blank periodic table, but to
learn how the different elements relate to each other, which goes
a long way towards understanding how the chemistry works when
various elements are combined.

Similarly, how operators in C relate to each other has a fair
amount of organizational structure.  Most of what I know about
C expression syntax comes from understanding that structure,
not rote memorization.  Rarely is it the case that I feel a
need to look up how a given expression parses, but a more
important benefit is a deeper understanding of the language as
a whole and how it all fits together.  I do think there is
value in knowing the whole of C expression syntax (even if not
necessarily the exact grammar rules that define that syntax).
More importantly though there is value in understanding the
structure of the language as a whole, which learning more
of C's expression syntax will promote.

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Thread

[PC] Simple AST luser droog <luser.droog@gmail.com> - 2019-02-16 14:23 -0800
  Re: [PC] Simple AST BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2019-02-19 15:14 -0600
    Re: [PC] Simple AST luser droog <luser.droog@gmail.com> - 2019-02-19 19:51 -0800
      Re: [PC] Simple AST Rosario19 <Ros@invalid.invalid> - 2019-02-20 09:28 +0100
        Re: [PC] Simple AST "Pascal J. Bourguignon" <pjb@informatimago.com> - 2019-02-20 09:39 +0100
          Re: [PC] Simple AST Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> - 2019-03-06 08:34 -0800
            Re: [PC] Simple AST "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2019-03-06 09:02 -0800
              Re: [PC] Simple AST "I Set My Girlfriend's Pantyhose on Fire" <cdalten@gmail.com> - 2019-03-06 11:14 -0800
              Re: [PC] Simple AST Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2019-03-07 14:11 +1300
                Re: [PC] Simple AST "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2019-03-06 17:48 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2019-03-07 15:21 +1300
                Re: [PC] Simple AST luser droog <luser.droog@gmail.com> - 2019-03-06 18:28 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST luser droog <luser.droog@gmail.com> - 2019-03-06 18:37 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2019-03-06 18:47 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST luser droog <luser.droog@gmail.com> - 2019-03-06 18:53 -0800
            Re: [PC] Simple AST "Pascal J. Bourguignon" <pjb@informatimago.com> - 2019-03-06 18:38 +0100
              Re: [PC] Simple AST Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-03-06 09:53 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2019-03-06 09:59 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST "Pascal J. Bourguignon" <pjb@informatimago.com> - 2019-03-06 19:49 +0100
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-03-06 19:23 +0000
                Re: [PC] Simple AST David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-03-06 23:29 +0100
                Re: [PC] Simple AST BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2019-03-06 21:54 -0600
                Re: [PC] Simple AST James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2019-03-08 18:52 -0500
                Re: [PC] Simple AST "Pascal J. Bourguignon" <pjb@informatimago.com> - 2019-03-09 01:56 +0100
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-03-08 18:22 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-03-09 14:02 +0100
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-03-09 12:20 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-03-10 00:04 +0100
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2019-03-09 02:28 +0000
                Re: [PC] Simple AST BGB <cr88192@gmail.com> - 2019-03-08 23:06 -0600
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> - 2019-03-12 23:06 -0700
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Jorgen Grahn <grahn+nntp@snipabacken.se> - 2019-03-14 06:48 +0000
                Re: [PC] Simple AST James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2019-03-14 07:14 -0400
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Jorgen Grahn <grahn+nntp@snipabacken.se> - 2019-03-14 14:58 +0000
                Re: [PC] Simple AST James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2019-03-14 10:13 -0700
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> - 2019-03-18 08:34 -0700
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> - 2019-03-23 10:57 -0700
                Re: [PC] Simple AST James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2019-03-25 11:42 -0700
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> - 2019-03-18 07:18 -0700
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-03-14 15:34 +0000
                Divorcing rabbits with Tim R (Was: [PC] Simple AST) gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2019-03-14 16:52 +0000
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-03-06 22:12 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-03-07 08:54 +0100
                Re: [PC] Simple AST "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2019-03-07 03:20 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> - 2019-03-12 23:08 -0700
                Re: [PC] Simple AST luser droog <luser.droog@gmail.com> - 2019-03-06 14:08 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-03-06 22:13 -0800
              Re: [PC] Simple AST Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2019-03-06 19:38 +0000
                Re: [PC] Simple AST "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2019-03-06 11:54 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST Anton Shepelev <anton.txt@g{oogle}mail.com> - 2019-03-07 14:43 +0300
                Re: [PC] Simple AST "Rick C. Hodgin" <rick.c.hodgin@gmail.com> - 2019-03-07 03:58 -0800
                Re: [PC] Simple AST David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-03-07 13:07 +0100
        Re: [PC] Simple AST Rosario19 <Ros@invalid.invalid> - 2019-02-20 10:35 +0100
    Re: [PC] Simple AST Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-02-20 14:26 +0000
      Re: [PC] Simple AST BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2019-02-20 14:32 -0600
        Re: [PC] Simple AST "I Set My Girlfriend's Pantyhose on Fire" <cdalten@gmail.com> - 2019-02-21 13:38 -0800
        Re: [PC] Simple AST Thiago Adams <thiago.adams@gmail.com> - 2019-02-22 04:03 -0800

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