#17447: Clarify and complete documentation of function()
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       Reporter:         |        Owner:
  schymans               |       Status:  needs_work
           Type:         |    Milestone:  sage-6.5
  enhancement            |   Resolution:
       Priority:  major  |    Merged in:
      Component:         |    Reviewers:  Ralf Stephan
  documentation          |  Work issues:
       Keywords:         |       Commit:
        Authors:         |  4585e74063e81a8c332a500d016e837069edf8eb
  schymans               |     Stopgaps:
Report Upstream:  N/A    |
         Branch:         |
  public/17447           |
   Dependencies:         |
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Comment (by rws):

 Replying to [comment:23 nbruin]:
 > I think that's another issue. The problem there is that global namespace
 `var` and `function` return a value ''as well as'' insert something into
 the namespace. That's counter to python custom (routines that mutate state
 normally return `None`. Compare `L.sort()` and `sorted(L)`. There are
 exceptions: `L.pop()`).
 >
 > Initially it seems pedantic to enforce such rules in a computer algebra
 system as well, but the many problems it causes suggests it's not. Can we
 have `declare_var('x,y')` and `declare_function('f')` for the mutating
 stuff and just have `var('x')` and `function('f')` for the normal stuff?
 That ship has probably sailed already.
 See #17958 for `declare_var` and no, this is still a good idea.

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Ticket URL: <http://trac.sagemath.org/ticket/17447#comment:25>
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