From 19b9102cf7290de1e70c962e556caccc4e0fd5d9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Cliff Click <cliffc@acm.org>
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 2026 14:03:48 -0700
Subject: Chapter 17b: Syntax Sugar

Co-authored-by: Jun Kawasaki <jun784@gmail.com>
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+# Chapter 17b: Syntax Sugar
+
+English | [日本語](README.ja.md)
+
+[Previous: Chapter 17a](../chapter17a/README.md) |
+[Next: Chapter 18](../chapter18/README.md)
+
+
+Here is the [complete language grammar](17-grammar.md) for this chapter.
+
+## Table of Contents
+
+1. [Pre/Post-increment](#prepost-increment)
+2. [Operator assignment](#operator-assignment)
+3. [var/val](#var--val)
+4. [Trinary](#trinary)
+5. [For Loops](#for-loops)
+
+Chapter 17a established the permissions checked by assignments. This chapter
+adds shorter ways to write assignments and control flow without changing those
+permissions. Chapter 18 then introduces functions and calls.
+
+## Pre/Post-increment
+
+Allow `arg++` and `arg--` with the usual meanings; the value is updated and the
+expression is the pre-update value.  Greedy match is used so `arg---arg` parses
+as `(arg--)-arg`.
+
+Also allows `s.fld++` and `ary[idx]++`, and their `--` variants.
+
+Allow pre-increment for identifiers only, for now: `--pc`.
+
+
+## Operator assignment
+
+Along the same lines as post-increment, we now allow `op=` assignment
+on local variables with semantics similar to other languages. The supported
+operators are `+=`, `-=`, `*=`, `/=`, `&=`, `|=`, `^=`, `<<=`, `>>=`, and `>>>=`.
+Bitwise and shift assignments require integer operands; `>>=` preserves the sign
+while `>>>=` shifts in zeros. The assignment evaluates its right-hand side once,
+stores the result narrowed to the variable's type, and yields that stored value.
+Assignments associate right-to-left, as in `x |= y <<= 2`.
+
+
+
+## var & val
+
+`var` and `val` declare variables and infer their types; `var` infers a
+reassignable binding while `val` infers a fixed binding.  Both preserve access
+permissions from the initializing expression.  Neither makes a writable object
+read-only.  The two independent permissions come from [Chapter
+17a](../chapter17a/README.md).
+
+```cpp
+struct Point { int x; };
+val p = new Point; // Fixed binding to a writable new object
+p.x = 3;           // Allowed
+// p = new Point;  // Error: fixed binding
+Point view = p;    // Explicit read-only view
+var q = view;      // Reassignable binding, still read-only access
+// q.x = 4;        // Error: cannot restore write permission by inference
+```
+
+The initializer is required for type inference.  Primitives infer their broad
+numeric type (`int` or `flt`); references retain their access permissions.  A
+reassignable inferred reference allows null so it can later hold the empty
+value.  Explicit types retain their declared width and nullability.  Function
+parameters still require explicit types.
+
+## Trinary
+
+Allow `pred ? e_true : e_false`.  Also allow `pred ? e_true`, where the false result
+is the zero type version of the true result.
+
+
+## For Loops
+
+Allow C/C++ style `for` loops:
+
+`for( init; test; next ) body`
+
+Example:
+
+```cpp
+int sum=0;
+for( int i=0; i<arg; i++ )
+    sum += i;
+return sum;
+```
+
+Any of `init`, `test` and `next` can be empty.  `init` allows for declaration
+of a new variable, with scope limited to the `for` expression.
+
+```cpp
+int sum=0;
+for( int i=0; i<arg; i++ )
+    sum += i;
+return i; // ERROR: Undefined name 'i'
+```
+
+A broken `find` call:
+```cpp
+for( int i=0; i<ary#; i++ )
+  if( ary[i]==e )
+    break;
+do_stuff(i); // ERROR: undefined name 'i'
+```
+
+An example `find` call:
+```cpp
+for( int i=0; i<ary#; i++ )
+  if( ary[i]==e )
+    return i;
+return -1;
+```
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