Does anyone have any thoughts about always putting...

# codingconventions

[bsimmons]

Does anyone have any thoughts about always putting a space before a lambda? It seems to me like there should be no space as to make it similar to function call syntax?

// Why is it that we are encouraged to add spaces before EVERY lambda?
// Seems to me like the spaces arbitrarily break up this expression.
list.filter { it < 10 }.map { it * it }

// This is the long-form syntax, right?
list.filter({ it < 10 }).map({ it * it })

// So after a little syntactic sugar, we should end up like this?
list.filter{ it < 10 }.map{ it * it }

[Tobias Berger]

interesting point. I'd say having the space makes it closer to a function declaration

[bsimmons]

Yeah, that's true. That's what I thought at first, but they are sorta fundamentally different, right? A function declaration is, to some degree, a special statement (it can have different modifiers and such). Whereas, a lambda is a self-contained expression that I think should be treated as just regular data.

[Kroppeb]

I don't think I have a space there

[Milan Hruban]

do you mean lambda or last function parameter that's also a lambda? Actually doesn't matter, I like both the way they are. Function name immediately followed by { just seems weird to me

[bsimmons]

I agree with the function declaration case. I mean, any function parameter that is a lambda. So you don't feel that the extra spaces in the list.filter example are obtrusive?

[Milan Hruban]

not at all. This just feels like the { is part of the filter word, and the rest just stands there alone

list.filter{ it < 10 }
  .map{ it * it }

[bsimmons]

Mmmmm, ok. Interesting take. Maybe after a while I'll get used to it. atm I just see that as a good thing, like I want to see that tight cohesion between { and filter because it's like a direct argument of it.

(I guess it was only just a few weeks ago that I disliked the primary constructor being slapped in the middle of a class declaration, but now I've come to enjoy it.)

[Milan Hruban]

what's your main programming language btw? before kotlin of course 🙂

[bsimmons]

A lot of C back in the day. Then had a job in Python for a while. Now been doing Java Android dev for a few years and just getting into Kotlin now. So, a lot of different things. 😉

[elizarov]

For a person used to writing class Foo { … }, synchonized { … }, do { … } while, etc it is very natural to put a space before an opening curly brace.

[bsimmons]

Ok, it makes sense to keep everything consistent. I guess the list.filter case is just a minor edge case relative to the most common uses of curly braces.

[Tobias Berger]

you must be new to kotlin 😉

[bsimmons]

Yes indeed.

[bsimmons]

Still learning the ropes.

[Tobias Berger]

I just mean you'll realize soon that higher order functions are no edge case at all in kotlin

[bsimmons]

I just meant the case where you might have two lambdas on a single line like that, relative to all others.
But yeah, it's great that after decades of Java's Object Land™, we finally have first class functions.