[dllthomas]

Of course, you can build your own closure:

    void do_stuff_with_file(struct relevant_data *, FILE *);

    ...

    {
        struct relevant_data data = { ... }
        with_open_file_for_writing(do_stuff_with_file, data, filename);

    }

IMO, the biggest downside there being how far it typically pushes the definition of that function from the call site. Small functions - a good practice anyway - ameliorates that a bit.

[zem]

you can, but it's sufficiently clunky that it simply doesn't feel like a natural thing to do in the language. good language design is a lot more about the things it makes easy and natural than the things it makes possible.

[dllthomas]

"you can, but it's sufficiently clunky that it simply doesn't feel like a natural thing to do in the language."

It does to me, but I've done enough functional programming that I easily reach for concepts from that space.

"good language design is a lot more about the things it makes easy and natural than the things it makes possible."

Of course. I don't know where you got the idea I was saying closures aren't a good thing to have language support for. I said precisely the opposite.