Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> Op 11/12/2023 om 03:29 schreef William F Pokorny:
> >
> > So... I'm now toying with the idea of making all shorthand updates,
> > parse errors in yuqk and suggesting this for v4.0 too. Essentially, yuqk
> > would be forcing the texture{} block specification(s), always, as a path
> > to consistent overall behavior.
> >
> > This idea is easier for me to swallow because I tend to assign finish{},
> > normal{}, pigment{} (and interior{}) blocks to IDs before using them in
> > texture{} or material{} blocks - also assigned to IDs - prior to use
> > with objects. In other words, I already often code in this style. I do
> > it because it makes modifications easier - but, it also avoids some of
> > the subtle shifts / inconsistencies in parsing behavior which happen
> > today with the texture shorthand / aspect update methods.
> >
> > Aside: As an additional plus, forcing texture{} block(s) would enable
> > eventual simplifications in the parsing code. This, rather than
> > extending already complicated code to support interior_texture{}
> > shorthand / aspect updates.
> >

Hi William!

I am wondering how your idea would affect an explicitly-specified
         #default [texture/pigment/etc].

When I want to quickly get an idea for a scene into POV-ray, I usually use a
#default{...something...} at the start, whether a full texture of just a finish,
etc...which I understand to be a full behind-the-scenes 'default' texture that I
am just updating there with a shorthand change. Then I can additionally use more
shorthand updates for the objects I make, while still getting the #default stuff
that I originally specified:

sphere{0,1 pigment{rgb <.2,.4,.6>}} // already including my #default stuff

It's a nice quick method to sketch-out the basics of a scene.

But if I understand your proposed fix-- of making all shorthand updates into
parse errors-- it seems that I would have to pre-#declare even a #default
texture with an ID, then specify the ID in an object (with another shorthand
update if desired.) That would seem to negate the easy usefulness of the
#default{...} feature as-is.

Am I mistaken?

[As you can tell, I LIKE POV-ray's 'shorthand' ability ;-)  ]

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