Re: Escapes (was String-Based Macro Systems)

James Harris <james.harris.1@gmail.com> wrote or quoted:

Alternatively, if magic symbols were prefixed with ~ then the above two
strings would appear as
"part~[xy~]"
"a[b]"
Is that really worse?

  I reckon it's all about the stats. If a symbol shows up more often in
  "regular text" than when used as a magic symbol, you're more inclined
  to type more when it's used as a magic symbol, and vice versa.
 

\n  - backslash /gives/ significance to n
\"  - backslash /removes/ the significance of the double quote
That inconsistency does seem odd.

 
  This "inconsistency" here only stems from how you've worded
  it above. You could phrase it differently, and then the
  "inconsistency" would vanish.