[ddp]

The point is that ':=' evolved in Algol 68 to solve the ambiguity inherent in '='. C is simply from a less thoughtful and primitive language family and modern languages still seem to be copying C's horrible syntax. It's also probably why technical papers are written in Algol-like pseudocode using the '<-' symbol in LaTeX for assignment.

[jjgreen]

The syntax of C is a thing of beauty. The decision to use = for assignment and == for equality was natural, since assignment is more common than equality testing; similarly, articles are usually short words in natural languages. Algol 68 and Pascal got this wrong, and where are they now?

[caf]

Pascal got a new name and career as PL/SQL ;)

[tnecniv]

Technical papers are written using '<-' in pseudocode because the papers likely use '=' elsewhere to assert equality in a mathematical statement and they want to avoid confusion.

[goatlover]

> avoid confusion

You’re kind of making the parent’s point.

[tnecniv]

Yes, although my intention was to further support their last statement which was left open to a degree.

There is a slight distinction. If you are creating a programming language, you can come up with whatever syntax you'd like for assignment and the user has to learn it. Some choices are better than others if you want your language to be used, but there is a specification for the language that you have written down, either as a human readable document or as the compiler/interpreter. With pseudocode in technical documents, the author typically lacks the space, time, and interest to generate such a specification and leans on mathematical notation to keep things precise.

[bonesss]

"<-" is used for assignment in F#, though variable binding is "=", so:

    let mutable x = 4   // x is equal to 4
    x <- 7              // x is equal to 7