diff --git a/base/abstractarray.jl b/base/abstractarray.jl
index cdfa0abe14e6c..c319fe223d9a0 100644
--- a/base/abstractarray.jl
+++ b/base/abstractarray.jl
@@ -6,6 +6,45 @@ typealias AbstractVecOrMat{T} Union(AbstractVector{T}, AbstractMatrix{T})
 
 ## Basic functions ##
 
+vect() = Array(None, 0)
+vect{T}(X::T...) = T[ X[i] for i=1:length(X) ]
+
+const _oldstyle_array_vcat_ = true
+
+if _oldstyle_array_vcat_
+    function oldstyle_vcat_warning(n::Int)
+        if n == 1
+            before = "a"
+            after  = "a;"
+        elseif n == 2
+            before = "a,b"
+            after  = "a;b"
+        else
+            before = "a,b,..."
+            after  = "a;b;..."
+        end
+        warn_once("[$before] concatenation is deprecated; use [$after] instead")
+    end
+    function vect(A::AbstractArray...)
+        oldstyle_vcat_warning(length(A))
+        vcat(A...)
+    end
+    function vect(X...)
+        for a in X
+            if typeof(a) <: AbstractArray
+                oldstyle_vcat_warning(length(X))
+                break
+            end
+        end
+        vcat(X...)
+    end
+else
+    function vect(X...)
+        T = promote_type(map(typeof, X)...)
+        T[ X[i] for i=1:length(X) ]
+    end
+end
+
 size{T,n}(t::AbstractArray{T,n}, d) = (d>n ? 1 : size(t)[d])
 eltype(x) = Any
 eltype{T,n}(::AbstractArray{T,n}) = T
@@ -429,7 +468,7 @@ function circshift{T,N}(a::AbstractArray{T,N}, shiftamts)
     for i=1:N
         s = size(a,i)
         d = i<=length(shiftamts) ? shiftamts[i] : 0
-        I = tuple(I..., d==0 ? [1:s] : mod([-d:s-1-d], s).+1)
+        I = tuple(I..., d==0 ? [1:s;] : mod([-d:s-1-d;], s).+1)
     end
     a[(I::NTuple{N,Vector{Int}})...]
 end
@@ -602,6 +641,11 @@ end
 ## cat: general case
 
 function cat(catdim::Integer, X...)
+    T = promote_type(map(x->isa(x,AbstractArray) ? eltype(x) : typeof(x), X)...)
+    cat_t(catdim, T, X...)
+end
+
+function cat_t(catdim::Integer, typeC::Type, X...)
     nargs = length(X)
     dimsX = map((a->isa(a,AbstractArray) ? size(a) : (1,)), X)
     ndimsX = map((a->isa(a,AbstractArray) ? ndims(a) : 1), X)
@@ -645,7 +689,6 @@ function cat(catdim::Integer, X...)
 
     ndimsC = max(catdim, d_max)
     dimsC = ntuple(ndimsC, compute_dims)::(Int...)
-    typeC = promote_type(map(x->isa(x,AbstractArray) ? eltype(x) : typeof(x), X)...)
     C = similar(isa(X[1],AbstractArray) ? full(X[1]) : [X[1]], typeC, dimsC)
 
     range = 1
@@ -661,12 +704,15 @@ end
 vcat(X...) = cat(1, X...)
 hcat(X...) = cat(2, X...)
 
+typed_vcat(T::Type, X...) = cat_t(1, T, X...)
+typed_hcat(T::Type, X...) = cat_t(2, T, X...)
+
 cat{T}(catdim::Integer, A::AbstractArray{T}...) = cat_t(catdim, T, A...)
 
 cat(catdim::Integer, A::AbstractArray...) =
     cat_t(catdim, promote_eltype(A...), A...)
 
-function cat_t(catdim::Integer, typeC, A::AbstractArray...)
+function cat_t(catdim::Integer, typeC::Type, A::AbstractArray...)
     # ndims of all input arrays should be in [d-1, d]
 
     nargs = length(A)
@@ -727,6 +773,9 @@ end
 vcat(A::AbstractArray...) = cat(1, A...)
 hcat(A::AbstractArray...) = cat(2, A...)
 
+typed_vcat(T::Type, A::AbstractArray...) = cat_t(1, T, A...)
+typed_hcat(T::Type, A::AbstractArray...) = cat_t(2, T, A...)
+
 # 2d horizontal and vertical concatenation
 
 function hvcat(nbc::Integer, as...)
@@ -817,25 +866,28 @@ function hvcat_fill(a, xs)
     a
 end
 
-function hvcat(rows::(Int...), xs::Number...)
+function typed_hvcat(T::Type, rows::(Int...), xs...)
     nr = length(rows)
     nc = rows[1]
-    #error check
     for i = 2:nr
         if nc != rows[i]
             error("row ", i, " has mismatched number of columns")
         end
     end
-    T = typeof(xs[1])
-    for i=2:length(xs)
-        T = promote_type(T,typeof(xs[i]))
-    end
     if nr*nc != length(xs)
         error("argument count does not match specified shape")
     end
     hvcat_fill(Array(T, nr, nc), xs)
 end
 
+function hvcat(rows::(Int...), xs::Number...)
+    T = typeof(xs[1])
+    for i = 2:length(xs)
+        T = promote_type(T,typeof(xs[i]))
+    end
+    typed_hvcat(T, rows, xs...)
+end
+
 ## Reductions and scans ##
 
 function isequal(A::AbstractArray, B::AbstractArray)
@@ -1216,7 +1268,7 @@ function mapslices(f::Function, A::AbstractArray, dims::AbstractVector)
 
     dimsA = [size(A)...]
     ndimsA = ndims(A)
-    alldims = [1:ndimsA]
+    alldims = [1:ndimsA;]
 
     otherdims = setdiff(alldims, dims)
 
diff --git a/base/array.jl b/base/array.jl
index fcaa3009a2c9e..b614c2f108d4c 100644
--- a/base/array.jl
+++ b/base/array.jl
@@ -125,12 +125,15 @@ end
 
 getindex(T::(Type...)) = Array(T,0)
 
+if _oldstyle_array_vcat_
 # T[a:b] and T[a:s:b] also contruct typed ranges
 function getindex{T<:Number}(::Type{T}, r::Range)
+    warn_once("T[a:b] concatenation is deprecated; use T[a:b;] instead")
     copy!(Array(T,length(r)), r)
 end
 
 function getindex{T<:Number}(::Type{T}, r1::Range, rs::Range...)
+    warn_once("T[a:b,...] concatenation is deprecated; use T[a:b;...] instead")
     a = Array(T,length(r1)+sum(length,rs))
     o = 1
     copy!(a, o, r1)
@@ -141,6 +144,7 @@ function getindex{T<:Number}(::Type{T}, r1::Range, rs::Range...)
     end
     return a
 end
+end
 
 function fill!{T<:Union(Int8,Uint8)}(a::Array{T}, x::Integer)
     ccall(:memset, Ptr{Void}, (Ptr{Void}, Int32, Csize_t), a, x, length(a))
diff --git a/base/base64.jl b/base/base64.jl
index 40e1666b1b147..f87157dd0c27d 100644
--- a/base/base64.jl
+++ b/base/base64.jl
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ end
 
 # Based on code by Stefan Karpinski from https://github.com/hackerschool/WebSockets.jl (distributed under the same MIT license as Julia)
 
-const b64chars = ['A':'Z','a':'z','0':'9','+','/']
+const b64chars = ['A':'Z';'a':'z';'0':'9';'+';'/']
 
 function b64(x::Uint8, y::Uint8, z::Uint8)
     n = int(x)<<16 | int(y)<<8 | int(z)
diff --git a/base/combinatorics.jl b/base/combinatorics.jl
index 146a46c151349..356d2770553ac 100644
--- a/base/combinatorics.jl
+++ b/base/combinatorics.jl
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ function combinations(a, t::Integer)
     Combinations(a, t)
 end
 
-start(c::Combinations) = [1:c.t]
+start(c::Combinations) = [1:c.t;]
 function next(c::Combinations, s)
     comb = c.a[s]
     if c.t == 0
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ length(c::Permutations) = factorial(length(c.a))
 
 permutations(a) = Permutations(a)
 
-start(p::Permutations) = [1:length(p.a)]
+start(p::Permutations) = [1:length(p.a);]
 function next(p::Permutations, s)
     if length(p.a) == 0
         # special case to generate 1 result for len==0
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ function nextfixedpartition(n, m, bs)
     as = copy(bs)
     if isempty(as)
         # First iteration
-        as = [n-m+1, ones(Int, m-1)]
+        as = [n-m+1; ones(Int, m-1)]
     elseif as[2] < as[1]-1
         # Most common iteration
         as[1] -= 1
diff --git a/base/dsp.jl b/base/dsp.jl
index 0062bbb64b48f..e19fc53d9d175 100644
--- a/base/dsp.jl
+++ b/base/dsp.jl
@@ -105,8 +105,8 @@ function conv{T<:Base.LinAlg.BlasFloat}(u::StridedVector{T}, v::StridedVector{T}
     nv = length(v)
     n = nu + nv - 1
     np2 = n > 1024 ? nextprod([2,3,5], n) : nextpow2(n)
-    upad = [u, zeros(T, np2 - nu)]
-    vpad = [v, zeros(T, np2 - nv)]
+    upad = [u; zeros(T, np2 - nu)]
+    vpad = [v; zeros(T, np2 - nv)]
     if T <: Real
         p = plan_rfft(upad)
         y = irfft(p(upad).*p(vpad), np2)
diff --git a/base/fftw.jl b/base/fftw.jl
index 2512c5cc255c9..281bc0d212f47 100644
--- a/base/fftw.jl
+++ b/base/fftw.jl
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ function dims_howmany(X::StridedArray, Y::StridedArray,
     ist = [strides(X)...]
     ost = [strides(Y)...]
     dims = [sz[reg] ist[reg] ost[reg]]'
-    oreg = [1:ndims(X)]
+    oreg = [1:ndims(X);]
     oreg[reg] = 0
     oreg = filter(d -> d > 0, oreg)
     howmany = [sz[oreg] ist[oreg] ost[oreg]]'
diff --git a/base/inference.jl b/base/inference.jl
index 27c7a1fe1695e..d3bba309c91f4 100644
--- a/base/inference.jl
+++ b/base/inference.jl
@@ -1308,7 +1308,7 @@ function typeinf(linfo::LambdaStaticData,atypes::Tuple,sparams::Tuple, def, cop)
     la = length(args)
     assert(is(ast.head,:lambda))
     locals = (ast.args[2][1])::Array{Any,1}
-    vars = [args, locals]
+    vars = [args; locals]
     body = (ast.args[3].args)::Array{Any,1}
     n = length(body)
 
@@ -2688,7 +2688,7 @@ function inlining_pass(e::Expr, sv, ast)
                             return (e,stmts)
                         end
                     end
-                    e.args = [{e.args[2]}, newargs...]
+                    e.args = [{e.args[2]}; newargs...]
 
                     # now try to inline the simplified call
 
diff --git a/base/intfuncs.jl b/base/intfuncs.jl
index 077b363eed90b..1bcd12e7e9181 100644
--- a/base/intfuncs.jl
+++ b/base/intfuncs.jl
@@ -236,8 +236,8 @@ end
 
 num2hex(n::Integer) = hex(n, sizeof(n)*2)
 
-const base36digits = ['0':'9','a':'z']
-const base62digits = ['0':'9','A':'Z','a':'z']
+const base36digits = ['0':'9';'a':'z']
+const base62digits = ['0':'9';'A':'Z';'a':'z']
 
 function base(b::Int, x::Unsigned, pad::Int, neg::Bool)
     if !(2 <= b <= 62) error("invalid base: $b") end
diff --git a/base/io.jl b/base/io.jl
index 9d83889d0babe..85ea973413440 100644
--- a/base/io.jl
+++ b/base/io.jl
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 ## byte-order mark, ntoh & hton ##
 
-const ENDIAN_BOM = reinterpret(Uint32,uint8([1:4]))[1]
+const ENDIAN_BOM = reinterpret(Uint32,uint8([1:4;]))[1]
 
 if ENDIAN_BOM == 0x01020304
     ntoh(x) = x
diff --git a/base/linalg/factorization.jl b/base/linalg/factorization.jl
index 0147b7b1e44a3..c89b491823092 100644
--- a/base/linalg/factorization.jl
+++ b/base/linalg/factorization.jl
@@ -474,7 +474,7 @@ function \{TA,Tb}(A::Union(QR{TA},QRCompactWY{TA},QRPivoted{TA}),b::StridedVecto
     S = promote_type(TA,Tb)
     m,n = size(A)
     m == length(b) || throw(DimensionMismatch("left hand side has $m rows, but right hand side has length $(length(b))"))
-    n > m ? A_ldiv_B!(convert(Factorization{S},A),[b,zeros(S,n-m)]) : A_ldiv_B!(convert(Factorization{S},A), S == Tb ? copy(b) : convert(AbstractVector{S}, b))
+    n > m ? A_ldiv_B!(convert(Factorization{S},A),[b;zeros(S,n-m)]) : A_ldiv_B!(convert(Factorization{S},A), S == Tb ? copy(b) : convert(AbstractVector{S}, b))
 end
 function \{TA,TB}(A::Union(QR{TA},QRCompactWY{TA},QRPivoted{TA}),B::StridedMatrix{TB})
     S = promote_type(TA,TB)
diff --git a/base/linalg/generic.jl b/base/linalg/generic.jl
index 3e2412a51496c..af30ce1ac9913 100644
--- a/base/linalg/generic.jl
+++ b/base/linalg/generic.jl
@@ -43,8 +43,8 @@ function diff(A::AbstractMatrix, dim::Integer)
 end
 
 
-gradient(F::AbstractVector) = gradient(F, [1:length(F)])
-gradient(F::AbstractVector, h::Real) = gradient(F, [h*(1:length(F))])
+gradient(F::AbstractVector) = gradient(F, [1:length(F);])
+gradient(F::AbstractVector, h::Real) = gradient(F, [h*(1:length(F));])
 
 diag(A::AbstractVector) = error("use diagm instead of diag to construct a diagonal matrix")
 
diff --git a/base/linalg/lapack.jl b/base/linalg/lapack.jl
index 18d145d35485f..0870b5eb362a8 100644
--- a/base/linalg/lapack.jl
+++ b/base/linalg/lapack.jl
@@ -2244,7 +2244,7 @@ for (stev, stebz, stegr, stein, elty) in
         function stegr!(jobz::BlasChar, range::BlasChar, dv::Vector{$elty}, ev::Vector{$elty}, vl::Real, vu::Real, il::Integer, iu::Integer)
             n = length(dv)
             if length(ev) != (n-1) throw(DimensionMismatch("stebz!")) end
-            eev = [ev, zero($elty)]
+            eev = [ev; zero($elty)]
             abstol = Array($elty, 1)
             m = Array(BlasInt, 1)
             w = similar(dv, $elty, n)
diff --git a/base/linalg/lu.jl b/base/linalg/lu.jl
index d8e885023306d..eafcbe989c9bd 100644
--- a/base/linalg/lu.jl
+++ b/base/linalg/lu.jl
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ size(A::LU) = size(A.factors)
 size(A::LU,n) = size(A.factors,n)
 
 function ipiv2perm{T}(v::AbstractVector{T}, maxi::Integer)
-    p = T[1:maxi]
+    p = T[1:maxi;]
     @inbounds for i in 1:length(v)
         p[i], p[v[i]] = p[v[i]], p[i]
     end
diff --git a/base/linalg/triangular.jl b/base/linalg/triangular.jl
index 35ab1d2e8a1ae..3a5a2b1f480b1 100644
--- a/base/linalg/triangular.jl
+++ b/base/linalg/triangular.jl
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ A_ldiv_B!{T<:BlasFloat,S<:AbstractMatrix,UpLo,IsUnit}(A::Triangular{T,S,UpLo,IsU
 function \{T<:BlasFloat,S<:AbstractMatrix,UpLo,IsUnit}(A::Triangular{T,S,UpLo,IsUnit}, B::StridedVecOrMat{T})
     x = A_ldiv_B!(A, copy(B))
     errors = LAPACK.trrfs!(UpLo == :L ? 'L' : 'U', 'N', IsUnit ? 'U' : 'N', A.data, B, x)
-    all(isfinite, [errors...]) || all([errors...] .< one(T)/eps(T)) || warn("""Unreasonably large error in computed solution:
+    all(isfinite, vcat(errors...)) || all(vcat(errors...) .< one(T)/eps(T)) || warn("""Unreasonably large error in computed solution:
 forward errors:
 $(errors[1])
 backward errors:
diff --git a/base/multi.jl b/base/multi.jl
index c1e5ff5317f86..ed8f905741146 100644
--- a/base/multi.jl
+++ b/base/multi.jl
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ function rmprocs(args...; waitfor = 0.0)
     global rmprocset
     empty!(rmprocset)
     
-    for i in [args...]
+    for i in vcat(args...)
         if i == 1
             warn("rmprocs: process 1 not removed")
         else
diff --git a/base/pkg/resolve/maxsum.jl b/base/pkg/resolve/maxsum.jl
index 70336337d1d08..fd1a08d1c9311 100644
--- a/base/pkg/resolve/maxsum.jl
+++ b/base/pkg/resolve/maxsum.jl
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ type Graph
             end
         end
 
-        perm = [1:np]
+        perm = [1:np;]
 
         return new(gadj, gmsk, gdir, adjdict, spp, perm, np)
     end
diff --git a/base/random.jl b/base/random.jl
index 1f103fb7b6957..d74c5a76bb6b8 100644
--- a/base/random.jl
+++ b/base/random.jl
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ function Base.convert(::Type{UUID}, s::String)
     end
 
     u = uint128(0)
-    for i in [1:8, 10:13, 15:18, 20:23, 25:36]
+    for i in [1:8; 10:13; 15:18; 20:23; 25:36]
         u <<= 4
         d = s[i]-'0'
         u |= 0xf & (d-39*(d>9))
diff --git a/base/show.jl b/base/show.jl
index a17265f99a6d0..d71cfbd1e9f1e 100644
--- a/base/show.jl
+++ b/base/show.jl
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ const expr_infix_wide = Set([:(=), :(+=), :(-=), :(*=), :(/=), :(\=), :(&=),
 const expr_infix = Set([:(:), :(<:), :(->), :(=>), symbol("::")])
 const expr_calls  = [:call =>('(',')'), :calldecl =>('(',')'), :ref =>('[',']'), :curly =>('{','}')]
 const expr_parens = [:tuple=>('(',')'), :vcat=>('[',']'), :cell1d=>('{','}'),
-                     :hcat =>('[',']'), :row =>('[',']')]
+                     :hcat =>('[',']'), :row =>('[',']'), :vect=>('[',']')]
 
 ## AST decoding helpers ##
 
diff --git a/base/sort.jl b/base/sort.jl
index eb907255450ce..bf4e2b8e89d23 100644
--- a/base/sort.jl
+++ b/base/sort.jl
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ sort(v::AbstractVector; kws...) = sort!(copy(v); kws...)
 
 sortperm(v::AbstractVector; alg::Algorithm=DEFAULT_UNSTABLE,
     lt::Function=isless, by::Function=identity, rev::Bool=false, order::Ordering=Forward) =
-    sort!([1:length(v)], alg, Perm(ord(lt,by,rev,order),v))
+    sort!([1:length(v);], alg, Perm(ord(lt,by,rev,order),v))
 
 ## sorting multi-dimensional arrays ##
 
diff --git a/base/sparse/sparsematrix.jl b/base/sparse/sparsematrix.jl
index 3866f323409bf..5f604955756f1 100644
--- a/base/sparse/sparsematrix.jl
+++ b/base/sparse/sparsematrix.jl
@@ -414,8 +414,8 @@ eye(S::SparseMatrixCSC) = speye(S)
 
 function speye(T::Type, m::Integer, n::Integer)
     x = min(m,n)
-    rowval = [1:x]
-    colptr = [rowval, fill(int(x+1), n+1-x)]
+    rowval = [1:x;]
+    colptr = [rowval; fill(int(x+1), n+1-x)]
     nzval  = ones(T, x)
     return SparseMatrixCSC(m, n, colptr, rowval, nzval)
 end
diff --git a/base/string.jl b/base/string.jl
index b7f6811d11ab5..7b76857123bdc 100644
--- a/base/string.jl
+++ b/base/string.jl
@@ -1656,7 +1656,7 @@ rsearch(a::ByteArray, b::Union(Int8,Uint8,Char)) = rsearch(a,b,length(a))
 # return a random string (often useful for temporary filenames/dirnames)
 let
     global randstring
-    const b = uint8(['0':'9','A':'Z','a':'z'])
+    const b = uint8(['0':'9';'A':'Z';'a':'z'])
     randstring(n::Int) = ASCIIString(b[rand(1:length(b),n)])
     randstring() = randstring(8)
 end
diff --git a/src/julia-parser.scm b/src/julia-parser.scm
index 32999aacc3d91..9961ab8c867dc 100644
--- a/src/julia-parser.scm
+++ b/src/julia-parser.scm
@@ -934,14 +934,10 @@
 		       (loop (list 'typed_dict ex))
 		       (loop (list 'ref ex)))
 		   (case (car al)
+                     ((vect)  (loop (list* 'ref ex (cdr al))))
 		     ((dict)  (loop (list* 'typed_dict ex (cdr al))))
 		     ((hcat)  (loop (list* 'typed_hcat ex (cdr al))))
-		     ((vcat)
-		      (if (any (lambda (x)
-				 (and (pair? x) (eq? (car x) 'row)))
-			       (cdr al))
-			  (loop (list* 'typed_vcat ex (cdr al)))
-			  (loop (list* 'ref ex (cdr al)))))
+		     ((vcat)  (loop (list* 'typed_vcat ex (cdr al))))
 		     ((comprehension)
 		      (loop (list* 'typed_comprehension ex (cdr al))))
 		     ((dict_comprehension)
@@ -1387,21 +1383,20 @@
 		       (error (string "missing comma or " closer
 				      " in argument list"))))))))))
 
-; parse [] concatenation expressions and {} cell expressions
-(define (parse-vcat s first closer)
+(define (parse-vect s first closer)
   (let loop ((lst '())
 	     (nxt first))
     (let ((t (require-token s)))
       (if (eqv? t closer)
 	  (begin (take-token s)
-		 (cons 'vcat (reverse (cons nxt lst))))
+		 (cons 'vect (reverse (cons nxt lst))))
 	  (case t
 	    ((#\,)
 	     (take-token s)
 	     (if (eqv? (require-token s) closer)
 		 ;; allow ending with ,
 		 (begin (take-token s)
-			(cons 'vcat (reverse (cons nxt lst))))
+			(cons 'vect (reverse (cons nxt lst))))
 		 (loop (cons nxt lst) (parse-eq* s))))
 	    ((#\;)
 	     (error "unexpected semicolon in array expression"))
@@ -1411,7 +1406,7 @@
 	     (error "missing separator in array expression")))))))
 
 (define (parse-dict s first closer)
-  (let ((v (parse-vcat s first closer)))
+  (let ((v (parse-vect s first closer)))
     (if (any dict-literal? (cdr v))
         (if (every dict-literal? (cdr v))
             `(dict ,@(cdr v))
@@ -1447,7 +1442,7 @@
 		 (if (pair? outer)
 		     (fix 'vcat (update-outer vec outer))
 		     (if (or (null? vec) (null? (cdr vec)))
-			 (fix 'vcat vec)     ; [x]   => (vcat x)
+			 (fix 'vect vec)     ; [x]   => (vect x)
 			 (fix 'hcat vec))))  ; [x y] => (hcat x y)
 	  (case t
 	    ((#\; #\newline)
@@ -1488,8 +1483,8 @@
                 (else
                  (parse-dict s first closer)))
               (case (peek-token s)
-                ((#\,)
-                 (parse-vcat s first closer))
+                ((#\, closer)
+                 (parse-vect s first closer))
                 ((for)
                  (take-token s)
                  (parse-comprehension s first closer))
@@ -1764,6 +1759,7 @@
                  (if (null? vex)
                      '(cell1d)
                      (case (car vex)
+                       ((vect)  `(cell1d ,@(cdr vex)))
                        ((comprehension)
                         `(typed_comprehension (top Any) ,@(cdr vex)))
                        ((dict_comprehension)
@@ -1799,7 +1795,7 @@
 	  ((eqv? t #\[ )
 	   (take-token s)
 	   (let ((vex (parse-cat s #\])))
-             (if (null? vex) '(vcat) vex)))
+             (if (null? vex) '(vect) vex)))
 
 	  ;; string literal
 	  ((eqv? t #\")
diff --git a/src/julia-syntax.scm b/src/julia-syntax.scm
index 704309d4b32a4..5519fa58e24b2 100644
--- a/src/julia-syntax.scm
+++ b/src/julia-syntax.scm
@@ -1887,6 +1887,9 @@
 	 (error "invalid \":\" outside indexing"))
      `(call colon ,.(map expand-forms (cdr e))))
 
+   'vect
+   (lambda (e) (expand-forms `(call (top vect) ,@(cdr e))))
+
    'hcat
    (lambda (e) (expand-forms `(call hcat ,.(map expand-forms (cdr e)))))
 
@@ -1909,47 +1912,26 @@
 	    `(call vcat ,@a)))))
 
    'typed_hcat
-   (lambda (e)
-     (let ((t (cadr e))
-	   (a (cddr e)))
-       (let ((result (gensy))
-	     (ncols (length a)))
-	 `(block
-	   #;(if (call (top !) (call (top isa) ,t Type))
-	   (call (top error) "invalid array index"))
-	   (= ,result (call (top Array) ,(expand-forms t) 1 ,ncols))
-	   ,.(map (lambda (x i) `(call (top setindex!) ,result
-				       ,(expand-forms x) ,i))
-		  a (cdr (iota (+ ncols 1))))
-	   ,result))))
+   (lambda (e) `(call (top typed_hcat) ,(expand-forms (cadr e)) ,.(map expand-forms (cddr e))))
 
    'typed_vcat
    (lambda (e)
      (let ((t (cadr e))
-	   (rows (cddr e)))
-       (if (any (lambda (x) (not (and (pair? x) (eq? 'row (car x))))) rows)
-	   (error "invalid array literal")
-	   (let ((result (gensy))
-		 (nrows (length rows))
-		 (ncols (length (cdar rows))))
-	     (if (any (lambda (x) (not (= (length (cdr x)) ncols))) rows)
-		 (error "invalid array literal")
-		 `(block
-		   #;(if (call (top !) (call (top isa) ,t Type))
-		   (call (top error) "invalid array index"))
-		   (= ,result (call (top Array) ,(expand-forms t) ,nrows ,ncols))
-		   ,.(apply nconc
-			    (map
-			     (lambda (row i)
-			       (map
-				(lambda (x j)
-				  `(call (top setindex!) ,result
-					 ,(expand-forms x) ,i ,j))
-				(cdr row)
-				(cdr (iota (+ ncols 1)))))
-			     rows
-			     (cdr (iota (+ nrows 1)))))
-		   ,result))))))
+           (a (cddr e)))
+       (expand-forms
+        (if (any (lambda (x)
+             (and (pair? x) (eq? (car x) 'row)))
+           a)
+            ;; convert nested hcat inside vcat to hvcat
+            (let ((rows (map (lambda (x)
+                               (if (and (pair? x) (eq? (car x) 'row))
+                                   (cdr x)
+                                   (list x)))
+                             a)))
+              `(call (top typed_hvcat) ,t
+                     (tuple ,.(map length rows))
+                     ,.(apply nconc rows)))
+            `(call (top typed_vcat) ,t ,@a)))))
 
    '|'|  (lambda (e) `(call ctranspose ,(expand-forms (cadr e))))
    '|.'| (lambda (e) `(call  transpose ,(expand-forms (cadr e))))
diff --git a/src/uv_constants.h b/src/uv_constants.h
index f66e7798b1f55..4416ac4215f67 100644
--- a/src/uv_constants.h
+++ b/src/uv_constants.h
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ const uv_handle_types = [UV_HANDLE_TYPE_MAP(XX) :UV_FILE]
 const uv_req_types = [UV_REQ_TYPE_MAP(XX)]
 const uv_err_vals = [UV_ERRNO_MAP(YY)]
 let 
-    handles = [:UV_UNKNOWN_HANDLE, uv_handle_types, :UV_HANDLE_TYPE_MAX, :UV_RAW_FD, :UV_RAW_HANDLE]
-    reqs = [:UV_UNKNOWN_REQ, uv_req_types, :UV_REQ_TYPE_PRIVATE,:UV_REQ_TYPE_MAX]
+    handles = [:UV_UNKNOWN_HANDLE; uv_handle_types; :UV_HANDLE_TYPE_MAX; :UV_RAW_FD; :UV_RAW_HANDLE]
+    reqs = [:UV_UNKNOWN_REQ; uv_req_types; :UV_REQ_TYPE_PRIVATE; :UV_REQ_TYPE_MAX]
     for i=0:(length(handles)-1)
     @eval const $(handles[i+1]) = $i
     end
diff --git a/test/arrayops.jl b/test/arrayops.jl
index b6b564fc4f152..5236424a09c1d 100644
--- a/test/arrayops.jl
+++ b/test/arrayops.jl
@@ -53,7 +53,8 @@ a = reshape(b, (2, 2, 2, 2, 2))
 
 sz = (5,8,7)
 A = reshape(1:prod(sz),sz...)
-@test A[2:6] == [2:6]
+tmp = A[2:6]
+@test tmp == [2:6;]
 tmp = A[1:3,2,2:4]
 @test tmp == cat(3,46:48,86:88,126:128)
 @test A[:,7:-3:1,5] == [191 176 161; 192 177 162; 193 178 163; 194 179 164; 195 180 165]
@@ -99,10 +100,10 @@ A = reshape(1:120, 3, 5, 8)
 sA = sub(A, 2, 1:5, :)
 @test parent(sA) == A
 @test parentindexes(sA) == (2:2, 1:5, 1:8)
-@test Base.parentdims(sA) == [1:3]
+@test Base.parentdims(sA) == [1:3;]
 @test size(sA) == (1, 5, 8)
 @test_throws BoundsError sA[2, 1:8]
-@test sA[1, 2, 1:8][:] == [5:15:120]
+@test sA[1, 2, 1:8][:] == [5:15:120;]
 sA[2:5:end] = -1
 @test all(sA[2:5:end] .== -1)
 @test all(A[5:15:120] .== -1)
@@ -110,24 +111,24 @@ sA[2:5:end] = -1
 @test stride(sA,3) == 15
 @test stride(sA,4) == 120
 sA = sub(A, 1:3, 1:5, 5)
-@test Base.parentdims(sA) == [1:2]
+@test Base.parentdims(sA) == [1:2;]
 sA[1:3,1:5] = -2
 @test all(A[:,:,5] .== -2)
 sA[:] = -3
 @test all(A[:,:,5] .== -3)
 @test strides(sA) == (1,3)
 sA = sub(A, 1:3, 3, 2:5)
-@test Base.parentdims(sA) == [1:3]
+@test Base.parentdims(sA) == [1:3;]
 @test size(sA) == (3,1,4)
 @test sA == A[1:3,3,2:5]
 @test sA[:] == A[1:3,3,2:5][:]
 sA = sub(A, 1:2:3, 1:3:5, 1:2:8)
-@test Base.parentdims(sA) == [1:3]
+@test Base.parentdims(sA) == [1:3;]
 @test strides(sA) == (2,9,30)
 @test sA[:] == A[1:2:3, 1:3:5, 1:2:8][:]
 
 # sub logical indexing #4763
-A = sub([1:10], 5:8)
+A = sub(1:10, 5:8)
 @test A[A.<7] == [5, 6]
 B = reshape(1:16, 4, 4)
 sB = sub(B, 2:3, 2:3)
@@ -138,17 +139,17 @@ A = reshape(1:120, 3, 5, 8)
 sA = slice(A, 2, :, 1:8)
 @test parent(sA) == A
 @test parentindexes(sA) == (2, 1:5, 1:8)
-@test Base.parentdims(sA) == [2:3]
+@test Base.parentdims(sA) == [2:3;]
 @test size(sA) == (5, 8)
 @test strides(sA) == (3,15)
-@test sA[2, 1:8][:] == [5:15:120]
-@test sA[:,1] == [2:3:14]
-@test sA[2:5:end] == [5:15:110]
+@test sA[2, 1:8][:] == [5:15:120;]
+@test sA[:,1] == [2:3:14;]
+@test sA[2:5:end] == [5:15:110;]
 sA[2:5:end] = -1
 @test all(sA[2:5:end] .== -1)
 @test all(A[5:15:120] .== -1)
 sA = slice(A, 1:3, 1:5, 5)
-@test Base.parentdims(sA) == [1:2]
+@test Base.parentdims(sA) == [1:2;]
 @test size(sA) == (3,5)
 @test strides(sA) == (1,3)
 sA = slice(A, 1:2:3, 3, 1:2:8)
@@ -157,7 +158,7 @@ sA = slice(A, 1:2:3, 3, 1:2:8)
 @test strides(sA) == (2,30)
 @test sA[:] == A[sA.indexes...][:]
 
-a = [5:8]
+a = 5:8
 @test parent(a) == a
 @test parentindexes(a) == (1:4,)
 
@@ -205,13 +206,13 @@ let
     @test x == -12
     X = get(A, -5:5, nan(Float32))
     @test eltype(X) == Float32
-    @test isnan(X) == [trues(6),falses(5)]
-    @test X[7:11] == [1:5]
+    @test isnan(X) == [trues(6);falses(5)]
+    @test X[7:11] == [1:5;]
     X = get(A, (2:4, 9:-2:-13), 0)
     Xv = zeros(Int, 3, 12)
     Xv[1:2, 2:5] = A[2:3, 7:-2:1]
     @test X == Xv
-    X2 = get(A, Vector{Int}[[2:4], [9:-2:-13]], 0)
+    X2 = get(A, Vector{Int}[[2:4;], [9:-2:-13;]], 0)
     @test X == X2
 end
 
@@ -235,13 +236,13 @@ v = [3, 7, 6]
 for i = 1:4
     vc = copy(v)
     @test insert!(vc, i, 5) === vc
-    @test vc == [v[1:(i-1)], 5, v[i:end]]
+    @test vc == [v[1:(i-1)]; 5; v[i:end]]
 end
 @test_throws BoundsError insert!(v, 5, 5)
 
 # concatenation
 @test isequal([ones(2,2)  2*ones(2,1)], [1. 1 2; 1 1 2])
-@test isequal([ones(2,2), 2*ones(1,2)], [1. 1; 1 1; 2 2])
+@test isequal([ones(2,2); 2*ones(1,2)], [1. 1; 1 1; 2 2])
 
 # typed array literals
 X = Float64[1 2 3]
@@ -257,6 +258,18 @@ Y = [1. 2. 3.; 4. 5. 6.]
 @test size(X) == size(Y)
 for i = 1:length(X) @test X[i] === Y[i] end
 
+_array_equiv(a,b) = eltype(a) == eltype(b) && a == b
+@test _array_equiv(Uint8[1:3;4], [0x1,0x2,0x3,0x4])
+if !Base._oldstyle_array_vcat_
+    @test_throws MethodError Uint8[1:3]
+    @test_throws MethodError Uint8[1:3,]
+    @test_throws MethodError Uint8[1:3,4:6]
+    a = Array(Range1{Int},1); a[1] = 1:3
+    @test _array_equiv([1:3,], a)
+    a = Array(Range1{Int},2); a[1] = 1:3; a[2] = 4:6
+    @test _array_equiv([1:3,4:6], a)
+end
+
 # "end"
 X = [ i+2j for i=1:5, j=1:5 ]
 @test X[end,end] == 15
@@ -352,7 +365,7 @@ end
 
 # All rows and columns unique
 A = ones(10, 10)
-A[diagind(A)] = shuffle!([1:10])
+A[diagind(A)] = shuffle!([1:10;])
 @test unique(A, 1) == A
 @test unique(A, 2) == A
 
@@ -517,9 +530,9 @@ begin
                   3 3 4 4 3 3 4 4;
                   3 3 4 4 3 3 4 4]
 
-    A = reshape([1:8], 2, 2, 2)
+    A = reshape(1:8, 2, 2, 2)
     R = repeat(A, inner = [1, 1, 2], outer = [1, 1, 1])
-    T = reshape([1:4, 1:4, 5:8, 5:8], 2, 2, 4)
+    T = reshape([1:4; 1:4; 5:8; 5:8], 2, 2, 4)
     @test R == T
     A = Array(Int, 2, 2, 2)
     A[:, :, 1] = [1 2;
@@ -577,12 +590,12 @@ begin
 end
 
 @test (1:5)[[true,false,true,false,true]] == [1,3,5]
-@test [1:5][[true,false,true,false,true]] == [1,3,5]
+@test [1:5;][[true,false,true,false,true]] == [1,3,5]
 @test_throws BoundsError (1:5)[[true,false,true,false]]
 @test_throws BoundsError (1:5)[[true,false,true,false,true,false]]
-@test_throws BoundsError [1:5][[true,false,true,false]]
-@test_throws BoundsError [1:5][[true,false,true,false,true,false]]
-a = [1:5]
+@test_throws BoundsError [1:5;][[true,false,true,false]]
+@test_throws BoundsError [1:5;][[true,false,true,false,true,false]]
+a = [1:5;]
 a[[true,false,true,false,true]] = 6
 @test a == [6,2,6,4,6]
 a[[true,false,true,false,true]] = [7,8,9]
@@ -765,19 +778,19 @@ rt = Base.return_types(fill!, (Array{Int32, 3}, Uint8))
 for idx in {1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 1:0, 2:1, 1:1, 2:2, 1:2, 2:4, 9:8, 10:9, 9:9, 10:10,
             8:9, 9:10, 6:9, 7:10}
     for repl in {[], [11], [11,22], [11,22,33,44,55]}
-        a = [1:10]; acopy = copy(a)
+        a = [1:10;]; acopy = copy(a)
         @test splice!(a, idx, repl) == acopy[idx]
-        @test a == [acopy[1:(first(idx)-1)], repl, acopy[(last(idx)+1):end]]
+        @test a == [acopy[1:(first(idx)-1)]; repl; acopy[(last(idx)+1):end]]
     end
 end
 
 # deleteat!
 for idx in {1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 1:0, 2:1, 1:1, 2:2, 1:2, 2:4, 9:8, 10:9, 9:9, 10:10,
             8:9, 9:10, 6:9, 7:10}
-    a = [1:10]; acopy = copy(a)
-    @test deleteat!(a, idx) == [acopy[1:(first(idx)-1)], acopy[(last(idx)+1):end]]
+    a = [1:10;]; acopy = copy(a)
+    @test deleteat!(a, idx) == [acopy[1:(first(idx)-1)]; acopy[(last(idx)+1):end]]
 end
-a = [1:10]
+a = [1:10;]
 @test deleteat!(a, [1,3,5,7:10...]) == [2,4,6]
 
 
@@ -801,15 +814,15 @@ end
 
 # reverse
 @test reverse([2,3,1]) == [1,3,2]
-@test reverse([1:10],1,4) == [4,3,2,1,5,6,7,8,9,10]
-@test reverse([1:10],3,6) == [1,2,6,5,4,3,7,8,9,10]
-@test reverse([1:10],6,10) == [1,2,3,4,5,10,9,8,7,6]
+@test reverse([1:10;],1,4) == [4,3,2,1,5,6,7,8,9,10]
+@test reverse([1:10;],3,6) == [1,2,6,5,4,3,7,8,9,10]
+@test reverse([1:10;],6,10) == [1,2,3,4,5,10,9,8,7,6]
 @test reverse(1:10,1,4) == [4,3,2,1,5,6,7,8,9,10]
 @test reverse(1:10,3,6) == [1,2,6,5,4,3,7,8,9,10]
 @test reverse(1:10,6,10) == [1,2,3,4,5,10,9,8,7,6]
-@test reverse!([1:10],1,4) == [4,3,2,1,5,6,7,8,9,10]
-@test reverse!([1:10],3,6) == [1,2,6,5,4,3,7,8,9,10]
-@test reverse!([1:10],6,10) == [1,2,3,4,5,10,9,8,7,6]
+@test reverse!([1:10;],1,4) == [4,3,2,1,5,6,7,8,9,10]
+@test reverse!([1:10;],3,6) == [1,2,6,5,4,3,7,8,9,10]
+@test reverse!([1:10;],6,10) == [1,2,3,4,5,10,9,8,7,6]
 
 # flipdim
 @test isequal(flipdim([2,3,1], 1), [1,3,2])
diff --git a/test/bigint.jl b/test/bigint.jl
index 5dc4965324b47..21ea4f1d22237 100644
--- a/test/bigint.jl
+++ b/test/bigint.jl
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ ee = typemax(Int64)
 @test string(d) == "-246913578024691357802469135780"
 @test string(a) == "123456789012345678901234567890"
 
-for i = -10:10, j = [-10:-1,1:10]
+for i = -10:10, j = [-10:-1;1:10]
     @test div(BigInt(i), BigInt(j)) == div(i,j)
     @test fld(BigInt(i), BigInt(j)) == fld(i,j)
     @test mod(BigInt(i), BigInt(j)) == mod(i,j)
diff --git a/test/blas.jl b/test/blas.jl
index db0438ccf2d2f..2b518b6abf449 100644
--- a/test/blas.jl
+++ b/test/blas.jl
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ for elty in (Float32, Float64, Complex64, Complex128)
 
     elm1 = convert(elty, -1)    
     el2 = convert(elty, 2)
-    v14 = convert(Vector{elty}, [1:4])
-    v41 = convert(Vector{elty}, [4:-1:1])    
+    v14 = convert(Vector{elty}, [1:4;])
+    v41 = convert(Vector{elty}, [4:-1:1;])
 
     # dot
     if elty <: Real
diff --git a/test/broadcast.jl b/test/broadcast.jl
index a7ec3df67ff5c..3713dfca919e2 100644
--- a/test/broadcast.jl
+++ b/test/broadcast.jl
@@ -100,12 +100,12 @@ end
 r1 = 1:1
 r2 = 1:5
 ratio = [1,1/2,1/3,1/4,1/5]
-@test r1.*r2 == [1:5]
+@test r1.*r2 == [1:5;]
 @test r1./r2 == ratio
-m = [1:2]'
+m = [1:2;]'
 @test m.*r2 == [1:5 2:2:10]
 @test_approx_eq m./r2 [ratio 2ratio]
-@test_approx_eq m./[r2] [ratio 2ratio]
+@test_approx_eq m./[r2;] [ratio 2ratio]
 
 @test @inferred([0,1.2].+reshape([0,-2],1,1,2)) == reshape([0 -2; 1.2 -0.8],2,1,2)
 rt = Base.return_types(.+, (Array{Float64, 3}, Array{Int, 1}))
diff --git a/test/collections.jl b/test/collections.jl
index e88475b03c3b9..7a17c2d02136b 100644
--- a/test/collections.jl
+++ b/test/collections.jl
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ end
 for d in (["\n" => "\n", "1" => "\n", "\n" => "2"],
           [string(i) => i for i = 1:30],
           [reshape(1:i^2,i,i) => reshape(1:i^2,i,i) for i = 1:24],
-          [utf8(Char['α':'α'+i]) => utf8(Char['α':'α'+i]) for i = (1:10)*10],
+          [utf8(Char['α':'α'+i;]) => utf8(Char['α':'α'+i;]) for i = (1:10)*10],
           ["key" => zeros(0, 0)])
     for cols in (12, 40, 80), rows in (2, 10, 24)
         # Ensure output is limited as requested
diff --git a/test/combinatorics.jl b/test/combinatorics.jl
index 8846e8eb6c848..092e45b16e3ba 100644
--- a/test/combinatorics.jl
+++ b/test/combinatorics.jl
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 @test factorial(7) == 5040
 @test factorial(7,3) == 7*6*5*4
 @test binomial(5,3) == 10
-p = shuffle([1:1000])
+p = shuffle([1:1000;])
 @test isperm(p)
 @test all(invperm(invperm(p)) .== p)
 push!(p, 1)
 @test !isperm(p)
 a = randcycle(10)
-@test ipermute!(permute!([1:10], a),a) == [1:10]
+@test ipermute!(permute!([1:10;], a),a) == [1:10;]
 @test collect(combinations("abc",2)) == ["ab","ac","bc"]
 @test collect(permutations("abc")) == ["abc","acb","bac","bca","cab","cba"]
 @test collect(filter(x->(iseven(x[1])),permutations([1,2,3]))) == {[2,1,3],[2,3,1]}
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ a = randcycle(10)
 @test length(collect(partitions('a':'h',5))) == length(partitions('a':'h',5))
 
 for n = 0:7, k = 1:factorial(n)
-    p = nthperm!([1:n], k)
+    p = nthperm!([1:n;], k)
     @test isperm(p)
     @test nthperm(p) == k
 end
diff --git a/test/core.jl b/test/core.jl
index a04bf1443ac20..d0149bb998412 100644
--- a/test/core.jl
+++ b/test/core.jl
@@ -791,15 +791,15 @@ end
 let
     tst = 1
     m1(i) = (tst+=1;i-1)
-    x = [1:4]
+    x = [1:4;]
     x[1:end] *= 2
-    @test x == [2:2:8]
+    @test x == [2:2:8;]
     x[m1(end)] += 3
     @test x == [2,4,9,8]
     @test tst == 2
 
     # issue #1886
-    X = [1:4]
+    X = [1:4;]
     r = Array(Range1{Int},1)
     r[1] = 2:3
     X[r...] *= 2
@@ -847,7 +847,7 @@ end
 
 # issue #2098
 let
-    i2098() = (c={2.0};[1:1:c[1]])
+    i2098() = (c={2.0};[1:1:c[1];])
     @test isequal(i2098(), [1.0,2.0])
 end
 
diff --git a/test/euler.jl b/test/euler.jl
index 04fd4f3b29c9b..415d78452871c 100644
--- a/test/euler.jl
+++ b/test/euler.jl
@@ -254,7 +254,7 @@ end
 #23: 4179871
 
 #24: 2783915460
-@test nthperm!([0:9],1000000) == [2,7,8,3,9,1,5,4,6,0]
+@test nthperm!([0:9;],1000000) == [2,7,8,3,9,1,5,4,6,0]
 
 #25: 4782
 #26: 983
diff --git a/test/functional.jl b/test/functional.jl
index 0c222b45666d5..765eecd8fad56 100644
--- a/test/functional.jl
+++ b/test/functional.jl
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # tests related to functional programming functions and styles
 
 # map -- array.jl
-@test isequal(map((x)->"$x"[end:end], [9:11]), ["9", "0", "1"])
+@test isequal(map((x)->"$x"[end:end], 9:11), ["9", "0", "1"])
 # TODO: @test map!()
 # map -- ranges.jl
 @test isequal(map(i->sqrt(i), 1:5), [sqrt(i) for i in 1:5])
diff --git a/test/hashing.jl b/test/hashing.jl
index d3f68dbd8e2d1..2cf8de7c9027c 100644
--- a/test/hashing.jl
+++ b/test/hashing.jl
@@ -4,17 +4,17 @@ types = {
     Rational{Int8}, Rational{Uint8}, Rational{Int16}, Rational{Uint16},
     Rational{Int32}, Rational{Uint32}, Rational{Int64}, Rational{Uint64}
 }
-vals = [
+vals = vcat(
     typemin(Int64),
-    -int64(maxintfloat(Float64))+Int64[-4:1],
+    -int64(maxintfloat(Float64))+Int64[-4:1;],
     typemin(Int32),
     -integer(maxintfloat(Float32))+(-4:1),
     -2:2,
     integer(maxintfloat(Float32))+(-1:4),
     typemax(Int32),
-    int64(maxintfloat(Float64))+Int64[-1:4],
+    int64(maxintfloat(Float64))+Int64[-1:4;],
     typemax(Int64),
-]
+)
 
 for T=types, S=types, x=vals
     a = convert(T,x)
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ end
 vals = {[1,2,3,4], [1 3;2 4], {1,2,3,4}, [1,3,2,4],
         [1,0], [true,false], bitpack([true,false]),
         Set([1,2,3,4]),
-        Set([1:10]),                 # these lead to different key orders
+        Set([1:10;]),                 # these lead to different key orders
         Set([7,9,4,10,2,3,5,8,6,1]), #
         [42 => 101, 77 => 93], {42 => 101, 77 => 93},
         (1,2,3,4), (1.0,2.0,3.0,4.0), (1,3,2,4),
diff --git a/test/linalg2.jl b/test/linalg2.jl
index f89789ea5fecc..9e38b547fb245 100644
--- a/test/linalg2.jl
+++ b/test/linalg2.jl
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ for elty in (Float32, Float64, Complex64, Complex128, Int)
 
     # The determinant of a rotation matrix should always be 1.
     if elty != Int
-        for theta = convert(Vector{elty}, pi ./ [1:4])
+        for theta = convert(Vector{elty}, pi ./ [1:4;])
             R = [cos(theta) -sin(theta);
                  sin(theta) cos(theta)]
             @test_approx_eq convert(elty, det(R)) one(elty)
@@ -223,10 +223,10 @@ end
 # Test gradient
 for elty in (Int32, Int64, Float32, Float64, Complex64, Complex128)
     if elty <: Real
-        x = convert(Vector{elty}, [1:3])
+        x = convert(Vector{elty}, [1:3;])
         g = ones(elty, 3)
     else
-        x = convert(Vector{elty}, complex([1:3],[1:3]))
+        x = convert(Vector{elty}, complex([1:3;], [1:3;]))
         g = convert(Vector{elty}, complex(ones(3), ones(3)))
     end
     @test_approx_eq gradient(x) g
diff --git a/test/linalg4.jl b/test/linalg4.jl
index c2d8b78c60c6a..36ababd6a36a6 100644
--- a/test/linalg4.jl
+++ b/test/linalg4.jl
@@ -171,12 +171,12 @@ for relty in (Float32, Float64), elty in (relty, )#XXX Complex{relty}) doesn't w
 end
 
 #Issue #7647: test xsyevr, xheevr, xstevr drivers
-for Mi7647 in {Symmetric(diagm([1.0:3.0])), Hermitian(diagm([1.0:3.0])),
-          Hermitian(diagm(complex([1.0:3.0]))), SymTridiagonal([1.0:3.0], zeros(2))}
+for Mi7647 in {Symmetric(diagm(1.0:3.0)), Hermitian(diagm(1.0:3.0)),
+          Hermitian(diagm(complex(1.0:3.0))), SymTridiagonal([1.0:3.0;], zeros(2))}
     debug && println("Eigenvalues in interval for $(typeof(Mi7647))")
     @test eigmin(Mi7647)  == eigvals(Mi7647, 0.5, 1.5)[1] == 1.0
     @test eigmax(Mi7647)  == eigvals(Mi7647, 2.5, 3.5)[1] == 3.0
-    @test eigvals(Mi7647) == eigvals(Mi7647, 0.5, 3.5) == [1.0:3.0]
+    @test eigvals(Mi7647) == eigvals(Mi7647, 0.5, 3.5) == [1.0:3.0;]
 end
 
 debug && println("Bidiagonal matrices")
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ end
 
 
 debug && println("Test interconversion between special matrix types")
-a=[1.0:n]
+a=[1.0:n;]
 A=Diagonal(a)
 for newtype in [Diagonal, Bidiagonal, SymTridiagonal, Tridiagonal, Triangular, Matrix]
     debug && println("newtype is $(newtype)")
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ end
 
 for isupper in (true, false)
     debug && println("isupper is $(isupper)")
-    A=Bidiagonal(a, [1.0:n-1], isupper)
+    A=Bidiagonal(a, [1.0:n-1;], isupper)
     for newtype in [Bidiagonal, Tridiagonal, Triangular, Matrix]
         debug && println("newtype is $(newtype)")
         @test full(convert(newtype, A)) == full(A)
@@ -316,12 +316,12 @@ for isupper in (true, false)
     end
 end
 
-A=SymTridiagonal(a, [1.0:n-1])
+A=SymTridiagonal(a, [1.0:n-1;])
 for newtype in [Tridiagonal, Matrix]
     @test full(convert(newtype, A)) == full(A)
 end
 
-A=Tridiagonal(zeros(n-1), [1.0:n], zeros(n-1)) #morally Diagonal
+A=Tridiagonal(zeros(n-1), [1.0:n;], zeros(n-1)) #morally Diagonal
 for newtype in [Diagonal, Bidiagonal, SymTridiagonal, Matrix]
     @test full(convert(newtype, A)) == full(A)
 end
diff --git a/test/math.jl b/test/math.jl
index ef14e86eb7dc6..c6f316e92fb6b 100644
--- a/test/math.jl
+++ b/test/math.jl
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ end
 @test_approx_eq lbeta(-1/2, 3) log(16/3)
 
 # gamma, lgamma (complex argument)
-@test gamma(1:25) == gamma(Float64[1:25])
+@test gamma(1:25) == gamma(Float64[1:25;])
 @test_approx_eq gamma(1/2) sqrt(π)
 @test_approx_eq gamma(-1/2) -2sqrt(π)
 @test_approx_eq lgamma(-1/2) log(abs(gamma(-1/2)))
diff --git a/test/numbers.jl b/test/numbers.jl
index 7e4f8103a4c48..e0653eab81e6b 100644
--- a/test/numbers.jl
+++ b/test/numbers.jl
@@ -1595,7 +1595,7 @@ approx_eq(a, b) = approx_eq(a, b, 1e-6)
     9851, 9857, 9859, 9871, 9883, 9887, 9901, 9907, 9923, 9929, 9931, 9941,
     9949, 9967, 9973 ]
 
-for T in [Int,BigInt], n = [1:1000,1000000]
+for T in [Int,BigInt], n = [1:1000;1000000]
     n = convert(T,n)
     f = factor(n)
     @test n == prod(T[p^k for (p,k)=f])
@@ -1832,7 +1832,7 @@ ndigf(n) = float64(log(float32(n)))
 @test digits(24, 2, 3) == [0, 0, 0, 1, 1]
 @test digits(24, 2, 7) == [0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0]
 @test digits(100) == [0, 0, 1]
-@test digits(BigInt(2)^128, 2) == [zeros(128), 1]
+@test digits(BigInt(2)^128, 2) == [zeros(128); 1]
 let a = zeros(Int, 3)
     digits!(a, 50)
     @test a == [0, 5, 0]
diff --git a/test/parallel.jl b/test/parallel.jl
index d072a14dd0145..8aa985594aa31 100644
--- a/test/parallel.jl
+++ b/test/parallel.jl
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ end # @unix_only(SharedArray tests)
 if nprocs() < 4
     remotecall_fetch(1, () -> addprocs(4 - nprocs()))
 end
-workloads = hist(@parallel((a,b)->[a,b], for i=1:7; myid(); end), nprocs())[2]
+workloads = hist(@parallel((a,b)->[a;b], for i=1:7; myid(); end), nprocs())[2]
 @test maximum(workloads) - minimum(workloads) <= 1
 
 # @parallel reduction should work even with very short ranges
diff --git a/test/ranges.jl b/test/ranges.jl
index 898379c9974eb..4f39f61ec760b 100644
--- a/test/ranges.jl
+++ b/test/ranges.jl
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ L64 = linspace(int64(1), int64(4), 4)
 @test L32[3] == 3 && L64[3] == 3
 @test L32[4] == 4 && L64[4] == 4
 
-r = [5:-1:1]
+r = 5:-1:1
 @test r[1]==5
 @test r[2]==4
 @test r[3]==3
@@ -196,63 +196,63 @@ end
 @test (1:2:6) - 0.3 == 1-0.3:2:5-0.3
 
 # operations between ranges and arrays
-@test all(([1:5] + (5:-1:1)) .== 6)
-@test all(((5:-1:1) + [1:5]) .== 6)
-@test all(([1:5] - (1:5)) .== 0)
-@test all(((1:5) - [1:5]) .== 0)
+@test all(([1:5;] + (5:-1:1)) .== 6)
+@test all(((5:-1:1) + [1:5;]) .== 6)
+@test all(([1:5;] - (1:5)) .== 0)
+@test all(((1:5) - [1:5;]) .== 0)
 
 # tricky floating-point ranges
 
-@test [0.1:0.1:0.3]   == [1:3]./10
-@test [0.0:0.1:0.3]   == [0:3]./10
-@test [0.3:-0.1:-0.1] == [3:-1:-1]./10
-@test [0.1:-0.1:-0.3] == [1:-1:-3]./10
-@test [0.0:0.1:1.0]   == [0:10]./10
-@test [0.0:-0.1:1.0]  == []
-@test [0.0:0.1:-1.0]  == []
-@test [0.0:-0.1:-1.0] == [0:-1:-10]./10
-@test [1.0:1/49:27.0] == [49:1323]./49
-@test [0.0:0.7:2.1]   == [0:7:21]./10
-@test [0.0:1.1:3.3]   == [0:11:33]./10
-@test [0.1:1.1:3.4]   == [1:11:34]./10
-@test [0.0:1.3:3.9]   == [0:13:39]./10
-@test [0.1:1.3:4.0]   == [1:13:40]./10
-@test [1.1:1.1:3.3]   == [11:11:33]./10
-@test [0.3:0.1:1.1]   == [3:1:11]./10
-
-@test [0.0:1.0:5.5]   == [0:10:55]./10
-@test [0.0:-1.0:0.5]  == []
-@test [0.0:1.0:0.5]   == [0.0]
-
-@test [prevfloat(0.1):0.1:0.3] == [prevfloat(0.1), 0.2, 0.3]
-@test [nextfloat(0.1):0.1:0.3] == [nextfloat(0.1), 0.2]
-@test [prevfloat(0.0):0.1:0.3] == [prevfloat(0.0), 0.1, 0.2]
-@test [nextfloat(0.0):0.1:0.3] == [nextfloat(0.0), 0.1, 0.2]
-@test [0.1:0.1:prevfloat(0.3)] == [0.1, 0.2]
-@test [0.1:0.1:nextfloat(0.3)] == [0.1, 0.2, nextfloat(0.3)]
-@test [0.0:0.1:prevfloat(0.3)] == [0.0, 0.1, 0.2]
-@test [0.0:0.1:nextfloat(0.3)] == [0.0, 0.1, 0.2, nextfloat(0.3)]
-@test [0.1:prevfloat(0.1):0.3] == [0.1, 0.2, 0.3]
-@test [0.1:nextfloat(0.1):0.3] == [0.1, 0.2]
-@test [0.0:prevfloat(0.1):0.3] == [0.0, prevfloat(0.1), prevfloat(0.2), 0.3]
-@test [0.0:nextfloat(0.1):0.3] == [0.0, nextfloat(0.1), nextfloat(0.2)]
+@test [0.1:0.1:0.3;]   == [1:3;]./10
+@test [0.0:0.1:0.3;]   == [0:3;]./10
+@test [0.3:-0.1:-0.1;] == [3:-1:-1;]./10
+@test [0.1:-0.1:-0.3;] == [1:-1:-3;]./10
+@test [0.0:0.1:1.0;]   == [0:10;]./10
+@test [0.0:-0.1:1.0;]  == []
+@test [0.0:0.1:-1.0;]  == []
+@test [0.0:-0.1:-1.0;] == [0:-1:-10;]./10
+@test [1.0:1/49:27.0;] == [49:1323;]./49
+@test [0.0:0.7:2.1;]   == [0:7:21;]./10
+@test [0.0:1.1:3.3;]   == [0:11:33;]./10
+@test [0.1:1.1:3.4;]   == [1:11:34;]./10
+@test [0.0:1.3:3.9;]   == [0:13:39;]./10
+@test [0.1:1.3:4.0;]   == [1:13:40;]./10
+@test [1.1:1.1:3.3;]   == [11:11:33;]./10
+@test [0.3:0.1:1.1;]   == [3:1:11;]./10
+
+@test [0.0:1.0:5.5;]   == [0:10:55;]./10
+@test [0.0:-1.0:0.5;]  == []
+@test [0.0:1.0:0.5;]   == [0.0]
+
+@test [prevfloat(0.1):0.1:0.3;] == [prevfloat(0.1), 0.2, 0.3]
+@test [nextfloat(0.1):0.1:0.3;] == [nextfloat(0.1), 0.2]
+@test [prevfloat(0.0):0.1:0.3;] == [prevfloat(0.0), 0.1, 0.2]
+@test [nextfloat(0.0):0.1:0.3;] == [nextfloat(0.0), 0.1, 0.2]
+@test [0.1:0.1:prevfloat(0.3);] == [0.1, 0.2]
+@test [0.1:0.1:nextfloat(0.3);] == [0.1, 0.2, nextfloat(0.3)]
+@test [0.0:0.1:prevfloat(0.3);] == [0.0, 0.1, 0.2]
+@test [0.0:0.1:nextfloat(0.3);] == [0.0, 0.1, 0.2, nextfloat(0.3)]
+@test [0.1:prevfloat(0.1):0.3;] == [0.1, 0.2, 0.3]
+@test [0.1:nextfloat(0.1):0.3;] == [0.1, 0.2]
+@test [0.0:prevfloat(0.1):0.3;] == [0.0, prevfloat(0.1), prevfloat(0.2), 0.3]
+@test [0.0:nextfloat(0.1):0.3;] == [0.0, nextfloat(0.1), nextfloat(0.2)]
 
 for T = (Float32, Float64,),# BigFloat),
-    a = -5:25, s = [-5:-1;1:25], d = 1:25, n = -1:15
+    a = -5:25, s = [-5:-1;1:25;], d = 1:25, n = -1:15
     den   = convert(T,d)
     start = convert(T,a)/den
     step  = convert(T,s)/den
     stop  = convert(T,(a+(n-1)*s))/den
     r = start:step:stop
-    @test [r] == T[a:s:a+(n-1)*s]./den
+    @test [r;] == T[a:s:a+(n-1)*s;]./den
     # issue #7420
     n = length(r)
-    @test [r[1:n]] == [r]
-    @test [r[2:n]] == [r][2:end]
-    @test [r[1:3:n]] == [r][1:3:n]
-    @test [r[2:2:n]] == [r][2:2:n]
-    @test [r[n:-1:2]] == [r][n:-1:2]
-    @test [r[n:-2:1]] == [r][n:-2:1]
+    @test [r[1:n];] == [r;]
+    @test [r[2:n];] == [r;][2:end]
+    @test [r[1:3:n];] == [r;][1:3:n]
+    @test [r[2:2:n];] == [r;][2:2:n]
+    @test [r[n:-1:2];] == [r;][n:-1:2]
+    @test [r[n:-2:1];] == [r;][n:-2:1]
 end
 
 # near-equal ranges
@@ -331,16 +331,16 @@ r = linrange(0.25,0.25,1)
 @test_throws Exception linrange(0.25,0.5,1)
 
 # issue #7426
-@test [typemax(Int):1:typemax(Int)] == [typemax(Int)]
+@test [typemax(Int):1:typemax(Int);] == [typemax(Int)]
 
 #issue #7484
 r7484 = 0.1:0.1:1
-@test [reverse(r7484)] == reverse([r7484])
+@test [reverse(r7484);] == reverse([r7484;])
 
 # issue #7387
 for r in (0:1, 0.0:1.0)
-    @test r+im == [r]+im
-    @test r-im == [r]-im
-    @test r*im == [r]*im
-    @test r/im == [r]/im
+    @test r+im == [r;]+im
+    @test r-im == [r;]-im
+    @test r*im == [r;]*im
+    @test r/im == [r;]/im
 end
diff --git a/test/reduce.jl b/test/reduce.jl
index 1799cc9176d39..4cf18bd70c888 100644
--- a/test/reduce.jl
+++ b/test/reduce.jl
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@
 @test Base.mapfoldr(abs2, -, 10, 2:5) == -4
 
 # reduce & mapreduce
-@test reduce((x,y)->"($x+$y)", [9:11]) == "((9+10)+11)"
+@test reduce((x,y)->"($x+$y)", 9:11) == "((9+10)+11)"
 @test reduce(max, [8 6 7 5 3 0 9]) == 9
-@test reduce(+, 1000, [1:5]) == (1000 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5)
+@test reduce(+, 1000, 1:5) == (1000 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5)
 
 @test mapreduce(-, +, [-10 -9 -3]) == ((10 + 9) + 3)
 @test mapreduce((x)->x[1:3], (x,y)->"($x+$y)", ["abcd", "efgh", "01234"]) == "((abc+efg)+012)"
diff --git a/test/sorting.jl b/test/sorting.jl
index 2335f8025d28a..0351f617fae0f 100644
--- a/test/sorting.jl
+++ b/test/sorting.jl
@@ -6,10 +6,10 @@
 @test reverse([2,3,1]) == [1,3,2]
 @test select([3,6,30,1,9],3) == 6
 @test select([3,6,30,1,9],3:4) == [6,9]
-let a=[1:10]
+let a=[1:10;]
     for r in {2:4, 1:2, 10:10, 4:2, 2:1, 4:-1:2, 2:-1:1, 10:-1:10, 4:1:3, 1:2:8, 10:-3:1}
-        @test select(a, r) == [r]
-        @test select(a, r, rev=true) == (11 .- [r])
+        @test select(a, r) == [r;]
+        @test select(a, r, rev=true) == (11 .- [r;])
     end
 end
 @test sum(randperm(6)) == 21
@@ -21,14 +21,14 @@ end
 @test searchsorted([1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3], 4) == 7:6
 @test searchsorted([1.0, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3], 2.5) == 5:4
 
-@test searchsorted([1:10], 1, by=(x -> x >= 5)) == 1:4
-@test searchsorted([1:10], 10, by=(x -> x >= 5)) == 5:10
-@test searchsorted([1:5, 1:5, 1:5], 1, 6, 10, Base.Order.Forward) == 6:6
+@test searchsorted([1:10;], 1, by=(x -> x >= 5)) == 1:4
+@test searchsorted([1:10;], 10, by=(x -> x >= 5)) == 5:10
+@test searchsorted([1:5; 1:5; 1:5], 1, 6, 10, Base.Order.Forward) == 6:6
 @test searchsorted(ones(15), 1, 6, 10, Base.Order.Forward) == 6:10
 
 for (rg,I) in {(49:57,47:59), (1:2:17,-1:19), (-3:0.5:2,-5:.5:4)}
     rg_r = reverse(rg)
-    rgv, rgv_r = [rg], [rg_r]
+    rgv, rgv_r = [rg;], [rg_r;]
     for i = I
         @test searchsorted(rg,i) == searchsorted(rgv,i)
         @test searchsorted(rg_r,i,rev=true) == searchsorted(rgv_r,i,rev=true)
@@ -49,8 +49,8 @@ for i = 1:100
     @test searchsorted(rg_r, nextfloat(rg_r[i]), rev=true) == i:i-1
 end
 
-@test searchsorted(1:10, 1, by=(x -> x >= 5)) == searchsorted([1:10], 1, by=(x -> x >= 5))
-@test searchsorted(1:10, 10, by=(x -> x >= 5)) == searchsorted([1:10], 10, by=(x -> x >= 5))
+@test searchsorted(1:10, 1, by=(x -> x >= 5)) == searchsorted([1:10;], 1, by=(x -> x >= 5))
+@test searchsorted(1:10, 10, by=(x -> x >= 5)) == searchsorted([1:10;], 10, by=(x -> x >= 5))
 
 @test searchsorted([], 0) == 1:0
 @test searchsorted([1,2,3], 0) == 1:0
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ end
 
 srand(0xdeadbeef)
 
-for n in [0:10, 100, 101, 1000, 1001]
+for n in [0:10; 100; 101; 1000; 1001]
     r = -5:5
     v = rand(r,n)
     h = hist(v,r)
diff --git a/test/sparse.jl b/test/sparse.jl
index 1f14a54e4a5d9..ce03f75f6c6a0 100644
--- a/test/sparse.jl
+++ b/test/sparse.jl
@@ -272,10 +272,10 @@ for (aa116, ss116) in [(a116, s116), (ad116, sd116)]
     # float-range indexing is not supported
 
     # sorted vector indexing
-    @test full(ss116[i,[3:2:end-3]]) == aa116[i,[3:2:end-3]]
-    @test full(ss116[[3:2:end-3],j]) == aa116[[3:2:end-3],j]''
-    @test full(ss116[i,[end-3:-2:1]]) == aa116[i,[end-3:-2:1]]
-    @test full(ss116[[end-3:-2:1],j]) == aa116[[end-3:-2:1],j]''
+    @test full(ss116[i,[3:2:end-3;]]) == aa116[i,[3:2:end-3;]]
+    @test full(ss116[[3:2:end-3;],j]) == aa116[[3:2:end-3;],j]''
+    @test full(ss116[i,[end-3:-2:1;]]) == aa116[i,[end-3:-2:1;]]
+    @test full(ss116[[end-3:-2:1;],j]) == aa116[[end-3:-2:1;],j]''
 
     # unsorted vector indexing with repetition
     p = [4, 1, 2, 3, 2, 6]
@@ -316,9 +316,9 @@ let a = spzeros(Int, 10, 10)
     @test a[:,2] == 2*sparse(ones(Int,10,1))
 
     a[1,:] = 1:10
-    @test a[1,:] == sparse([1:10]')
+    @test a[1,:] == sparse([1:10;]')
     a[:,2] = 1:10
-    @test a[:,2] == sparse([1:10])
+    @test a[:,2] == sparse([1:10;])
 end
 
 let A = spzeros(Int, 10, 20)
@@ -355,10 +355,10 @@ let ASZ = 1000, TSZ = 800
     @test A == B
 end
 
-let A = speye(Int, 5), I=[1:10], X=reshape([trues(10), falses(15)],5,5)
+let A = speye(Int, 5), I=1:10, X=reshape([trues(10); falses(15)],5,5)
     @test A[I] == A[X] == reshape([1,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0], 10, 1)
-    A[I] = [1:10]
-    @test A[I] == A[X] == reshape([1:10], 10, 1)
+    A[I] = [1:10;]
+    @test A[I] == A[X] == reshape(1:10, 10, 1)
 end
 
 let S = sprand(50, 30, 0.5, x->int(rand(x)*100)), I = sprandbool(50, 30, 0.2)
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@ let S = sprand(50, 30, 0.5, x->int(rand(x)*100)), I = sprandbool(50, 30, 0.2)
     S[FI] = 0
     @test sum(S) == sumS2
 
-    S[FI] = [1:sum(FI)]
+    S[FI] = [1:sum(FI);]
     @test sum(S) == sumS2 + sum(1:sum(FI))
 end
 
diff --git a/test/statistics.jl b/test/statistics.jl
index 9de52a3b6e83c..84e4942e3fbae 100644
--- a/test/statistics.jl
+++ b/test/statistics.jl
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 @test middle(3) === 3.0
 @test middle(2, 3) === 2.5
 @test middle(1:8) === 4.5
-@test middle([1:8]) === 4.5
+@test middle([1:8;]) === 4.5
 
 # ensure type-correctness
 for T in [Bool,Int8,Int16,Int32,Int64,Int128,Uint8,Uint16,Uint32,Uint64,Uint128,Float16,Float32,Float64]
@@ -250,15 +250,15 @@ end
 @test hist([1])[2] == [1]
 @test hist([1,2,3],[0,2,4]) == ([0,2,4],[2,1])
 @test hist([1,2,3],0:2:4) == (0:2:4,[2,1])
-@test all(hist([1:100]/100,0.0:0.01:1.0)[2] .==1)
+@test all(hist([1:100;]/100,0.0:0.01:1.0)[2] .==1)
 @test hist([1,1,1,1,1])[2][1] == 5
 @test sum(hist2d(rand(100, 2))[3]) == 100
 @test hist([1 2 3 4;1 2 3 4]) == (0.0:2.0:4.0, [2 2 0 0; 0 0 2 2])
 
 @test midpoints(1.0:1.0:10.0) == 1.5:1.0:9.5
 @test midpoints(1:10) == 1.5:9.5
-@test midpoints(Float64[1.0:1.0:10.0]) == Float64[1.5:1.0:9.5]
+@test midpoints(Float64[1.0:1.0:10.0;]) == Float64[1.5:1.0:9.5;]
 
 @test quantile([1,2,3,4],0.5) == 2.5
 @test quantile([1., 3],[.25,.5,.75])[2] == median([1., 3])
-@test quantile([0.:100.],[.1,.2,.3,.4,.5,.6,.7,.8,.9])[1] == 10.0
+@test quantile([0.:100.;],[.1,.2,.3,.4,.5,.6,.7,.8,.9])[1] == 10.0
diff --git a/test/strings.jl b/test/strings.jl
index 77e3a2460b7c9..5c5437ab7ad83 100644
--- a/test/strings.jl
+++ b/test/strings.jl
@@ -1025,11 +1025,11 @@ end
 @test_throws BoundsError checkbounds("hello", 6)
 @test_throws BoundsError checkbounds("hello", 0:3)
 @test_throws BoundsError checkbounds("hello", 4:6)
-@test_throws BoundsError checkbounds("hello", [0:3])
-@test_throws BoundsError checkbounds("hello", [4:6])
+@test_throws BoundsError checkbounds("hello", [0:3;])
+@test_throws BoundsError checkbounds("hello", [4:6;])
 @test checkbounds("hello", 2)
 @test checkbounds("hello", 1:5)
-@test checkbounds("hello", [1:5])
+@test checkbounds("hello", [1:5;])
 
 
 # isvalid(), chr2ind() and ind2chr() for SubString{DirectIndexString}
diff --git a/test/suitesparse.jl b/test/suitesparse.jl
index 70b28d5eccc2f..840c2174f138c 100644
--- a/test/suitesparse.jl
+++ b/test/suitesparse.jl
@@ -17,13 +17,13 @@ L,U,p,q,Rs = lua[:(:)]
 
 b = [8., 45., -3., 3., 19.]
 x = lua\b
-@test_approx_eq x float([1:5])
+@test_approx_eq x float([1:5;])
 
 @test norm(A*x-b,1) < eps(1e4)
 
 b = [8., 20., 13., 6., 17.]
 x = lua'\b
-@test_approx_eq x float([1:5])
+@test_approx_eq x float([1:5;])
 
 @test norm(A'*x-b,1) < eps(1e4)