[Proposal] Support the unless keyword like from Ruby

[starhound]

You know that feeling when you're writing code, and your if (!condition) just looks... a bit clunky? Like wearing socks with sandals to a black-tie event? We've all been there! Currently, our code often ends up looking like this:

if(!boolean) {
    do_work();
}

While it gets the job done, it lacks a certain je ne sais quoi. It's perfectly functional, sure, but imagine a world where our logic could flow a little more naturally, a little more eloquently, like a perfectly brewed cup of coffee on a Monday morning. ☕️

Why wrestle with double negatives when we don't have to? Many of us have admired from afar the elegant simplicity of languages like Ruby, which offer an unless() statement. It's like having a dedicated "if not" button that just feels right! With unless(condition), our example transforms into something far more readable and, dare I say, delightful:

unless(boolean) {
    do_work();
}

This tiny tweak could bring a wave of joy to our coding experience, making our conditions clearer, our intentions more obvious, and our code just a little bit snappier. It's not just about saving a character or two; it's about embracing a more intuitive way to express our logic. What do you say? Ready to make unless() a thing? 🤔

[HaloFour]

See:

#8726
#157

[starhound]

ah it was this one i missed: #560

what a shame, I've always known the .NET ecosystem to steal the best of other languages.

[GabeSchaffer]

There's also dotnet/roslyn#7927 and #2352

Quite frankly, I really like if !(...) because I frequently forget to put in the outer parens.

[ontorder]

don't forget of less sighted people, i tend to not use !condition anymore because it could be misread, i prefer false == condition

[laicasaane]

I also find !condition easier to miss at some place. But with just a bit of additional characters, the readability will be significantly enhanced.

[Serdan]

@ontorder you can also do condition is false

[adammozes]

[Unknown6656]

mildly related:

[DanielShuey]

unless is much easier and quicker to read than if !

The arguments against are silly.

[GabeSchaffer]

Should we also have until instead of while !? Perhaps we should implement all of Perl's syntax?

[spydacarnage]

Until somebody realises that as unless is still just a boolean test, they can write unless ! because "it reads better" and then you're back in the same problem. If you want to be "clearer" or more explicit, show the == true/false in your if statement.

[DanielShuey]

Should we also have until instead of while !? Perhaps we should implement all of Perl's syntax?

If this is not sarcastic,

I agree, we should have until.

If it is ...

Perhaps you should abandon C# in favor of Java.

Until somebody realises that as unless is still just a boolean test, they can write unless ! because "it reads better" and then you're back in the same problem. If you want to be "clearer" or more explicit, show the == true/false in your if statement.

Properties are just Getters and Setters
Null coalescing assignment is just if(null) =
Classes are just wrappers for ADT's
Strings are just arrays of char's
C is unnecessary because you could write Rollercoaster Tycoon in Assembly

[mattwar]

I read this first as the 'useless' keyword.

[DanielShuey]

Speak for yourself

[CyrusNajmabadi]

Dupe of #560.

Locking this as the discussion seems to not be providing any value, and seems more about grievances. Fundamentally, this request has gotten more negative responses than positive. It has also only been pushed by an extremely tiny subset of users. The value does not seem to be there, and any efforts here would certainly take away from far more important items we have broad feedback from the community they feel are valuable.

If hte world changes in teh future and the general sentiment of our ecosystem shifts to indicating that this is now desirable, we can reconsider.