Documentation for += #411
Description
This is a response to:
processing/processing-docs#847
Please reconsider.
The operator += combines assigment and addition.
The documentation explains assignment = as:
Assigns a value to a variable. The "=" sign does not mean "equals", but is used to place data within a variable.
Furthermore, the syntax is listed as:
var = value
From the old issue:
Additionally, the use of more technical language such as "identifiers" and "expressions" may be confusing for beginners, who may not be familiar with these terms. We believe that the current syntax is more straightforward and easier to understand for the intended audience.
The words variablename and expression are well-known from math.
As a math teacher of 20 years I can assure you that concepts - not words - confuse beginners.
The use of value += value is confusing since it conflates the concepts of variable and value.
If you are afraid of the word expression how about:
var += value
This matches the convention used in the documentation for assignment.