Re: I-D ACTION:draft-daboo-sieve-include-04.txt (fwd)

["Nigel Swinson" <[e-mail]>]

> Title : SIEVE Email Filtering: Include Extension
> Author(s) : C. Daboo
> Filename : draft-daboo-sieve-include-04.txt
> Pages : 13
> Date : 2006-6-13

Boring nit:

-   The explicit use of "export and "import", coupled with the default
+   The explicit use of "export" and "import", coupled with the default


Must you do this?

   In the examples below, script content is indicated by a '|' as the
   first non-space character on a line for clarity.  The '|' characters
   are not part of the script itself.

Means copy/paste of sieve code is awkward. :o(


In:

   The "import" command contains a string list argument that defines one
   or more variables names of variables exported and set by other
   scripts which should be made available to the current script.

and:

   If an "import" command lists a variable that has not been exported
   and set by any other script at that point during the SIEVE execution
   process, then an error MUST occur.

If you remove "and set" as agreed, then what is the difference between import and export?  I'm not clear why we can't just have a "global" command with a string list argument of variables instead.  Either that or just specify that all variable names starting with "global." have global scope.


Must we say this?

    The "import" command, if present, MUST be used immediately after any
   "require" commands (at least one of which will be present listing the
   "include" extension).  Multiple "import" commands are allowed.  An
   error occurs if an "import" command appears after a command other
   than "require" or "import".  Use of the "import" command makes the
   listed variables immediately available for use in the body of the
   script that uses it.

I would imagine a use of import would be linked to some kind of "rule".  If later we remove the rule, we may forget to remove the variable names from the "import" and then our "import" command will slowly fill up with silt.  I'd prefer to "declare" the variables near their use.  Is there some technical reason why we want it that way or are you trying to enforce a script writing prefence?  

This restriction in C is one of the reasons I tend to convert .c files to .cpp even if I have no immediate plan to use objects. :o(

Cheers

Nigel