<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class=""><div class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; line-height: normal;">The point of this comparison is to point out that the anonymous type generating tuple is a) superfluous and b) a source of confusion and gratuitous complexity. It assumes the role at times of immutable arrays, anonymous structs, and immutable dictionaries depending on context and we already have all of those things. </div></div></blockquote></div><br class=""><div class="">There is another anonymous type — and it's very popular right now:</div><div class="">Closures*.</div><div class="">They are also a potential source of confusion (and even more complexity ;-), so should they be removed as well?</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I guess we'll keep both, but you are definitely right that there is much complexity… but I'd rather improve that not by removing features, but by adding more regularity:</div><div class="">There has been a discussion about anonymous enums as well, and if we could come up with a syntax for anonymous reference types, imho everything would feel simpler.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Most likely someone already mentioned this, but tuples can be used in assignments in a way that isn't possible with any of the alternatives:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #ba2da2" class="">func</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class=""> tupleTest() -> (</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #703daa" class="">String</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">, </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #703daa" class="">Int</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">) {</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #ba2da2" class="">return</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class=""> (</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #d12f1b" class="">"Foo"</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">, </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #272ad8" class="">10</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">}</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo; min-height: 13px;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #ba2da2" class="">let</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class=""> (name, count) = </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #31595d" class="">tupleTest</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">()</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo; min-height: 13px;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class=""></span><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo; color: rgb(209, 47, 27);" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #3e1e81" class="">print</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class="">(</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">"There are </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class="">\</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">(</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #4f8187" class="">count</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">) </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class="">\</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">(</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #4f8187" class="">name</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">)"</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class="">)</span></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">- Tino</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">* so there is yet another (odd) variant:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #ba2da2" class="">var</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class=""> cxy = { (c: </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #703daa" class="">Character</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">) -> </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #703daa" class="">Int</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class=""> </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #ba2da2" class="">in</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #ba2da2" class="">switch</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class=""> (c) {</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo; color: rgb(186, 45, 162);" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">case</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class=""> </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #d12f1b" class="">"x"</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class="">: </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">return</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class=""> </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #272ad8" class="">1</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo; color: rgb(186, 45, 162);" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">case</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class=""> </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #d12f1b" class="">"y"</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class="">: </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">return</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class=""> </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #272ad8" class="">2</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo; color: rgb(62, 30, 129);" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #ba2da2" class="">default</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class="">: </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">fatalError</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; color: #000000" class="">()</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>}</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Menlo;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class="">}</span></div></div><div class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures" class=""><br class=""></span></div></body></html>