--- "O'brien, Tim" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On Tue, 2003-06-10 at 16:26, Mark R. Diggory wrote:
> > [-1]
> >
> > Um, I'm not too clear on this one, how is calling
> > MathUtils.isPositive(d) clearer than (d >= 0)?
>
> [+0], Mark, if I follow the discussion correctly, the concept isn't
> trying to ascertain if a given number is greater than or equal to zero.
> I believe that the discussion revolved around the mathematical concept
> of "Positive". Is a given number "positive" is a different question
> from is a given number greater than or equal to zero - depending on your
> specific definition and needs.
>
> An application that needs to test for a Non-negative numbers, would
> benefit from a isNonNegative method. Even though, the function simply
> contains d >= 0. MathUtils.isNonNegative( 3 ) is conceptually different
> from 3 >= 0. Personally, I would choose, "3 >= 0", but if a programmer
> wished to invoke that operation via MathUtils.isNonNegative to attain a
> sort of conceptual "purity", I don't think this is our decision to make.
>
> > I included Al's functions because they were a little more complex than
> > that, they provided different return type when dealing with different
> > evaluations. Of course these could be captured inline quite easily as
> > well with examples like:
> >
> > d >= 0 ? 1d : -1d
> > d > 0 ? 1d : -1d
>
> I'm not sure why that function would not return a boolean primitive,
> anyone have any good reasons not to?
I needed a function that returned a number so I could multiply by it.
> > definitely reinvents the wheel in a very big way. I think in general its
> > best to keep static functions in MathUtil's that simplify complex
> > calculations like factorials.
>
> Again, I can see someone wanting these functions if one wants to be
> absolutely sure that they are complying with strict conceptual
> definitions in a very large system. I don't personally have a need for
> isPositive, but that isn't to say that Al hasn't found a good reason to
> use them in the past.
>
> Al? what was the motivation here?
Wasn't my idea in the first place, I think it was Brent's.
Al
=====
Albert Davidson Chou
Get answers to Mac questions at http://www.Mac-Mgrs.org/ .
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