Dear all, it seems to me that functions like IsRat, etc are an artefact of very old GAP versions, which lacked proper typing (I guess --- I started using GAP almost 20 years ago, and I don't recall such details). Instead of calling IsRat(x), one nowadays is better served by containment predicate like x in Rationals
IMHO GAP should deprecate all these IsRat, IsInteger, etc, in favour of such containment predicates. As far as synonyms IsRational for IsRat, etc, are concerned, I cannot but point out that the design of GAP has evolved from using very long function names to shorter and shorter. It seems that the present generation of GAP developers favours shorter names. Best, Dima On 25 February 2012 02:30, Keshav Rao Kini <krk...@ntu.edu.sg> wrote: > On Sat, Feb 25, 2012 at 08:16, Attila Egri-Nagy <a.egri-n...@herts.ac.uk> > wrote: >> In a >> computer algebra context I see no possibility of misunderstanding >> 'IsRat', as opposed to a Zoo management software. > > I would point out that this does not address discoverability, i.e. new > users of GAP would not just guess that there is a function called > "IsRat". They would probably try "IsRational" first, because this is > more canonical than an abbreviation. Of course, you may respond that > they should RTFM, which is probably true :) > > -Keshav > > CONFIDENTIALITY: This email is intended solely for the person(s) named and > may be confidential and/or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, > please delete it, notify us and do not copy, use, or disclose its content. > > Towards A Sustainable Earth: Print Only When Necessary. Thank you. > > _______________________________________________ > Forum mailing list > Forum@mail.gap-system.org > http://mail.gap-system.org/mailman/listinfo/forum _______________________________________________ Forum mailing list Forum@mail.gap-system.org http://mail.gap-system.org/mailman/listinfo/forum
