Description Wylie Garvin 2002-09-04 13:18:31 EDT

I created a new Class and typed the following into it:

public class FOOBY {
  Fribbit;
}

On saving this class, I get a syntax error at the ";" after Fribbit.  The 
compiler message is confusing because it does not distinguish the actual token 
it stopped at with the list of tokens it would accept instead:

  Syntax error on token ";", "=", "*=", "/=", "%=", "+=", "-
=", "<<=", ">>=", ">>>=", "&=", "^=", "|=" expected

The list of expected alternatives is comma-separated, and the actual token is 
followed by a comma.  It just looks like one big list.

Suggestion: put the 'expected' before the list:

  Syntax error on token ";", expected "=", "*=", ...

In cases like this, it would be more useful anyway if the message said:

Syntax error on token ";", expected assignment-operator

I.e. any time the list of alternatives is longer than 3, it is more distracting 
than actually useful.