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Syntax: orthogonality

orthogonality = universality, no special case to know (least surprise)
more orthogonality means
- faster learning curve
- easier maintenance

examples of non-orthogonality

C's macros: language in the language
C's comments: can't be nested
Perl's horrors
- () used for grouping and lists and function calling
  - eg: ("Hello " . $name) x 2
- filehandles
- $_ used as default value in some functions (esp. split ' ')
- {} used for blocks and hashes
- if-then-else returns a value but is not an expression

Notes: