In the Risch Algorithm there is a function called build_extension(), which
takes in an (Expr) expression and converts it into a bunch of Polys, etc. for
use in the internal Risch Algorithm functions. Now, currently, it returns a
tuple of seven items. Up until now, I have been able to get away with passing
through two of those items through each function in the algorithm, but around
the end of the summer I discovered that I really need to be passing at least
four more of these items.
So, I decided that the smartest thing to do would be to create a simple object
to wrap around all of these. It would just be a simple C struct-like thing,
something like
class DifferentialExtension(object):
def __init__(self, f, x):
vars = build_extension(f, x)
self.attr0 = vars[0]
self.attr1 = vars[1]
etc.
So I did this, but then I got to thinking if it would be smarter to do this
slightly differently. For example, would it be better to make
build_extension() return a DifferentialExtension object (and do away with
__init__). Or, since this is the only place in the code where
build_extension() is ever called (or will ever be called), should I make it a
method of DifferentialExtension? Is this method of storing information even
the best way to do things?
Maybe this all seems superficial, but this is my fourth attempt at an API to
pass this information around, and I would really like to get it right this
time. So which one of these is the most Pythonic? Object-Oriented
programming is one of my weak points, so I really don't know how to come up
with the best design. One thing I do know is that it is very easy to design a
poor system using it, so I am ever cautious.
Aaron Meurer
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