&gt; Yes. Anointing &quot;+ 1&quot; as a thing that needs special syntax is weird.<p>Its not a special syntax for &quot;+1&quot;, its a special syntax for the combination of assignment and increment&#x2F;decrement.<p>The postfix versions (increment&#x2F;decrement variable and then return the value that was present <i>before</i> the increment&#x2F;decrement), particularly, are equivalent to:<p><pre><code>  _x = x; x += 1; _x
</code></pre>
In an environment where that pattern of operations is common, I can see the value of having a concise mechanism for expressing it.<p>OTOH, there&#x27;s a cost to it, too, and I&#x27;m mostly happier without them around.