Referring to http://trac.sagemath.org/sage_trac/ticket/6094 ...
I hope this isn't too much bikeshedding [1]... Suppose a function has several ways to do its calculation, and wants to provide the user with a way to select between the different ways. What is the standard option name to select between the different ways? (a) my_function(algorithm='some way') (b) my_function(method='some way') (c) another option (d) there is no standard; different functions use different option names. If (a) or (d) is the answer, might I suggest that using 'method' instead of 'algorithm' is better because: (1) it is easier to spell (which unfortunately makes a big difference to some of our undergraduates!) (2) it is easier to say (3) it is shorter (4) because of 1-3, it is easier to remember Of course, if using 'algorithm' is the long-set standard, then its inertia may make this suggestion impractical. Thanks, Jason [1] http://www.bikeshed.com/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_of_the_bikeshed -- Jason Grout --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sage-devel URLs: http://www.sagemath.org -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
