On Sat, 17 Sep 2011 16:06:44 +0200, Timon Gehr <[email protected]> wrote:
xyz!"a<b"([1,2,3,1,2,3]) is 1
xyz!"a>b"([1,2,3,1,2,3]) is 3
Question is what's a good name for xyz. It returns the element X of the
range such that pred(E, X) is false for all E in the range. Then we'd
defined xyzCount and xyzPos and call it a day.
[...]
That is the definition of a minimum. pred is the order relation and the
range gives the set. Ergo xyz=min. But that is were we are.
Except that min does not mean 'apply this ordering to this set, and then
do min on it' to most people. Extremum is a better choice not because it
better describes what it does, but precisely the opposite - people do not
intuitively 'understand' it, and thus look it up. That said, I agree
extremum is not a good name for xyz, but min is horrible.
What about ultimum? It means the last or the outermost.
As long as the function computes a least element, any names other than
leastElem* or min* are just confusing. 'ultimum' is not specific enough.
"Does it compute a least element or a greatest element?" The approach of
having a name that includes both max and min cannot work in a
satisfiable way for that reason.
Excepting of course the possibility that someone at some point might
read the documentation...
--
Simen
