#17958: implement declare_var, deprecate (None)var
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Reporter: rws | Owner:
Type: defect | Status: new
Priority: major | Milestone: sage-6.6
Component: symbolics | Resolution:
Keywords: | Merged in:
Authors: | Reviewers:
Report Upstream: N/A | Work issues:
Branch: | Commit:
Dependencies: | Stopgaps:
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Comment (by nbruin):
Replying to [comment:23 mmezzarobba]:
> I doubt you can use sage (and not shoot yourself in the foot on every
possible occasion) without understanding this kind of things at least a
little.
You can do some very simple examples, such as differentiating a function,
plotting one, trying to compute an antiderivative without understanding
the way python names (really, python has "names" in its namespaces.
Variables have other connotations) and SR symbols interact; sort of the
level of "wolfram alpha". We have to give people at that level at least a
way into sage, otherwise they don't even get to shoot themselves in the
foot, experience that as unpleasant and then gain the motivation to learn
how to avoid that in the future.
There's a reason why maple, mathematica, maxima went with their approach.
We can't quite do that, but we have to make the hurdle as low as possible.
I think
{{{
var('x')
}}}
or
{{{
declare_var('x')
}}}
are about the best we can do. I think it's a problem they return something
in addition to injecting a binding. If we need to produce feedback on the
action taken, I think printing something would be preferable (it's a
routine that's only meant to be used interactively anyway), so perhaps:
{{{
sage: declare_var('x,y')
Declaring x, y as symbolic variables
sage: A=declare_var('z')
Declaring z as a symbolic variable
sage: A
None
sage: declare_var('w',quiet=True)
sage:
}}}
(where the `quiet` would be the gateway to getting people to use other
ways--perhaps we shouldn't provide that)
I'd be completely OK with `declare_var` being spelled as `var` too. The
main thing is that I think it has been shown that injecting ''as well as''
returning something is harmful, so I hope we can change that.
--
Ticket URL: <http://trac.sagemath.org/ticket/17958#comment:24>
Sage <http://www.sagemath.org>
Sage: Creating a Viable Open Source Alternative to Magma, Maple, Mathematica,
and MATLAB
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