Re: RFC 164 (v2) Replace =~, !~, m//, s///, and tr// with match(), subst(), and trade()

> What's next, replace the regex syntax with something that more closely
> ressembles the rest of Perl?

No.
 
> Regexes are a language within the language. And not a tiny one.

I know... :-)

> So, if regexes are such a completely different sublanguage, I can see
> the m// and s/// syntax as just a link between these two entirely
> different worlds. I don't care that it has a weird syntax itself. That,
> by itself, simply stresses the fact that regexes are indeed "different".

One thing to remember is that regex's are already used in a number of
functions:

   @results = grep /^VAR=\w+/, @values;
   @array = split /\s*:\s*/, $input;

So I don't think there's that much difference just standardizing on this
as:

   @output = trade /$input/$output/, @strings;
   $num = match /\w+/, @these;

Plus you can now easily work with arrays, which you can't currently.

That being said, please read the whole RFC, since it provides a means
for 100% backwards-compatible syntax. That way, existing regex lovers
(myself included) can stuff use the "true Perl way". ;-) Plus, since =~
winds up being generalized (RFC 170) it is extensible to other
operations as well.

-Nate