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Something about foolish consistencies…

The priorities of a programming language syntax are to be readable first, consistent second.

When it comes to syntax that is used more frequently then the importance of readability increases, and the importance of consistency drops, because people will become familiar with the syntax through frequency of use, so there is no need for them to be guided by consistency. Yet they will be reading the code more often.

When it comes to syntax that is used infrequently then consistency is of more importance because you want users to be able to intuit the syntax. Since it will be infrequently used, the readability is of lesser impact.



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