Am 22.11.2016 um 08:35 schrieb Mike Horvath:
> On 11/19/2016 7:34 PM, clipka wrote:
>> Am 20.11.2016 um 01:10 schrieb Mike Horvath:
>>> On 11/19/2016 2:26 PM, clipka wrote:
>>>>     // alternative
>>>>     #declare Fnord = dictionary {
>>>>       .Foo: 42,
>>>>       .Bar: sphere { <0,0,0>, 1 }
>>>>     }
>>>
>>> Will the dotted syntax allow people to use strings like ".declare" or
>>> ".texture"? I don't think it should.
>>
>> No -- just like with variable identifiers, keywords are not allowed
>> there.
> 
> I still think the dot is superfluous.

Think about it:

    #declare Foo = "Dang";
    #declare Bar = "What";

    #declare Fnord = dictionary {
      Foo: 42,
      Bar: sphere { <0,0,0>, 1 }
    }

Which of the following would that supposedly be equivalent to?

(A)

    #declare Fnord = dictionary;
    #declare Fnord.Foo = 42;
    #declare Fnord.Bar = sphere { <0,0,0>, 1 }

(B)

    #declare Fnord = dictionary;
    #declare Fnord[Foo] = 42;
    #declare Fnord[Bar] = sphere { <0,0,0>, 1 }

aka

    #declare Fnord = dictionary;
    #declare Fnord.Dang = 42;
    #declare Fnord.What = sphere { <0,0,0>, 1 }

I think mandating the dot is a nice way to prevent such ambiguity; plus,
it makes things a tiny bit more consistent: Whatever you'd normally put
after the dictionary identifier, you just pop it into the initializer.

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