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POWhy does java/javascript/python force the use of () after a method name, even if it takes no arguments?
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copied!<p>One of my most common bugs is that I can never remember whether something is a method or a property, so I'm constantly adding or removing parentheses.</p> <p>So I was wondering if there was good logic behind making the difference between calling on an object's properties and methods explicit.</p> <p>Obviously, it allows you to have properties and methods that share the same name, but I don't think that comes up much.</p> <p>The only big benefit I can come up with is readability. Sometimes you might want to know whether something is a method or a property while you're looking at code, but I'm having trouble coming up with specific examples when that would be really helpful. But I am a n00b, so I probably just haven't encountered such a situation yet. I'd appreciate examples of such a situation.</p> <p>Also, are there other languages where the difference isn't explicit? </p> <p>Anyways, if you could answer, it will help me be less annoyed every time I make this mistake ^-^.</p> <p>UPDATE: Thanks everyone for the awesome answers so far! I only have about a week's worth of js, and 1 day of python, so I had no idea you could reference functions without calling them. That's awesome. I have a little more experience with java, so that's where I was mostly coming from... can anyone come up with an equally compelling argument for that to be the case in java, where you can't reference functions? Aside from it being a very explicit language, with all the benefits that entails :). </p>

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