Yeah, that was my thinking on the topic too! But you said it much better :)<div><br></div><div>BTW, I'm wondering if Bob, the originator of this thread, wants to chime in and let us know if any of these suggestions helped or not.</div>
<div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 27 April 2010 10:34, Jolyon Smith <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jsmith@deltics.co.nz">jsmith@deltics.co.nz</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Maybe
it’s just me, but “A doesn’t equal B” surely reads more
closely to the <i>real meaning</i> than “not (A does equal B)”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Apart
from anything else, the latter <b>requires</b> parentheses to avoid the
compiler getting confused and trying to do : “(Not A) equals (B)”.
i.e. the latter syntax is also to the compiler less close to the real meaning (since
it requires disambiguation).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">From
a human perspective the scanning is more fluid: A <> B, reads left
to right entirely as intended: “A does not equal B”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">NOT
(A = B) on the other hand requires me to read it like a syntax tree
parser: “NOT “ … (OK, store the fact that I have to
logically invert what follows, keep a mental note of parentheses) … then what
follows is “( A is equal to B )” , right OK, so “A is equal
to B inverted”, i.e. A does not equal B.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">In
other words, exactly what is menat literally and clearly when I write… A
<> B.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">But
as I say, maybe it’s just me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">NOT
(I think like a computer).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">;)</span></p>
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