From janis.schoeck at stl-software.de Wed Sep 13 08:24:45 2017 From: janis.schoeck at stl-software.de (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Janis_Sch=F6ck?=) Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2017 08:24:45 +0000 Subject: Alternate Syntax for Zero-Length Parameter List Lambda Expressions Message-ID: Dear Lambda-Expression EG Team, Having worked with lambda expressions for only a short time now, I have noticed, that both the Runnable and Supplier Interfaces are very common candidates for lambda expressions. If they are passed as sole parameters in a parameter list, they tend to look like this: someObject.setSomeProvider(() -> doSomething(a)); someHandler.setTrigger(() -> doSomethingElse(b)); The resulting examples are trivial, but nevertheless seem a bit cluttered, considering that they effectively feature a function pointer which could usually be written with the :: operator, had they not parameters induced from the surrounding scope. There have to be 4 (to 5 if you count the space) characters to express what could be considered a single operator. To simplify both writing and optimize readability, I propose the following operator as an optional alternative to () -> +> This operator implies a 'strikethrough lambda arrow', which suggests that nothing is passed into the method, which perfectly mirrors the actual behavior. The + character is also easy to type and hard to mistake for some other character. In conjunction with the single-parameter lambda expression, which also optionally reduces the parenthesis, I believe this operator complements the simplicity approach. Here are a bunch of examples for the operator: Supplier