Because let x: y is syntactically unambiguous, but you need to know that y names a type in order to correctly parse yx. (Or at least that’s the case in C where a(b) may be a variable declaration or a function call depending on what typedefs are in scope.)
Can’t say I’ve ever experienced this kind of confusion in Java but that’s probably because they intentionally restricted the syntax so there’s no ambiguity.
Because
let x: yis syntactically unambiguous, but you need to know thatynames a type in order to correctly parsey x. (Or at least that’s the case in C wherea(b)may be a variable declaration or a function call depending on what typedefs are in scope.)Can’t say I’ve ever experienced this kind of confusion in Java but that’s probably because they intentionally restricted the syntax so there’s no ambiguity.
Also useful when the types are optional, like Python. Though they don’t use any
letorvaror anything so maybe throw that entire point out the window