[uryga]

> one would expect to annotate the return type as

> foo(x : int) : string

> since the pattern is showing foo applied to x.

kind of like the C/C++ "declaration mirrors use" thing, i.e.

  int *foo;

which means

"the result of dereferencing `foo` is of type `int`"

which is not the same as saying

  foo : Ptr<int>;

because in the former, you're kind of describing what `foo` is a without actually saying it, if that makes sense.

i find that way of specifying types counterintuitive in both C/C++ and MLs.