And `identity` in Scala

docs:
https://www.scala-lang.org/api/current/scala/Predef$.html#identity[A](x:A):A


interesting read:
https://emilvarga.com/posts/2016/08/01/using-identity-functions

On July 2, 2019 at 1:00:53 PM, Wiebe-Marten Wijnja ([email protected]) wrote:

>  Anyway, to move the discussion forward, can someone do a more complete
survey on what this function are called in many of the other languages? I
just want to make sure we do our due diligence before adding it to the
language.

Haskell: id
<https://hackage.haskell.org/package/base-4.12.0.0/docs/Prelude.html#v:id>
C++: std::identity
<https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/utility/functional/identity>
Rust: std::convert::identity
<https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/std/convert/fn.identity.html>
Clojure: identity <https://clojuredocs.org/clojure.core/identity>
Ruby: Object#itself
<https://ruby-doc.org/core-2.6.3/Object.html#method-i-itself> (although
this is a bound method that returns the *receiver* rather than an unbound
function taking one parameter that returns it unchanged. It is the closest
thing we have built-in in Ruby <https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/6373>,
however)
Racket (and some other Lisps): identity
<https://docs.racket-lang.org/reference/procedures.html?q=identity#%28def._%28%28lib._racket%2Ffunction..rkt%29._identity%29%29>
Python: no built-in named identity function.
JS: no built-in named identity function.
PHP: no built-in named identity function.
Kotlin: no built-in named identity function.



On Tuesday, July 2, 2019 at 8:40:45 PM UTC+2, José Valim wrote:
>
> Thanks Chris, it is important that someone being counter arguments, even
> if they can be disproved. :)
>
> I definitely see how such a small function can be useful but, at the same
> time, I am not convinced about the name "identity".
>
> I found it curious that Clojure actually have an identity function because
> the definition of Identity they use when talking about values and change is
> a more complex one (and one that really stuck with me):
>
> *> By identity I mean a stable logical entity associated with a series of
> different values over time*
>
> https://clojure.org/about/state#_working_models_and_identity
>
> Of course, my interpretation above is likely uncommon and there are other
> interpretations of identity that would fit nicely.
>
> Anyway, to move the discussion forward, can someone do a more complete
> survey on what this function are called in many of the other languages? I
> just want to make sure we do our due diligence before adding it to the
> language.
>
> Thank you,
>
> *José Valim*
> www.plataformatec.com.br
> Skype: jv.ptec
> Founder and Director of R&D
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 2, 2019 at 8:25 PM Christopher Keele <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> Derp, I knew that. Good point.
>>
>> On Tue, Jul 2, 2019 at 9:55 AM Michał Muskała <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> Because Elixir is a lisp-2 language, variables and functions are in
>>> different "namespaces". This means you can have local variables with names
>>> of local functions without any issues, but it also means you need different
>>> syntax when you want to call a function contained in a variable. Or
>>> formulated differently - variables can't shadow functions. For example,
>>> consider:
>>>
>>> bar = &foo/0
>>> bar.() #=> 1
>>> bar() #=> 2
>>> def foo(), do: 1def bar(), do: 2
>>>
>>> Having a Kernel.id/1 function would not preclude you from using variables 
>>> called id.
>>>
>>>
>>> Michał.
>>> On 2 Jul 2019, 18:41 +0200, Christopher Keele <[email protected]>,
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I'd cast my vote against this. The proposal seems to be:
>>>
>>> 1. Create a function named 'id' or some such
>>> 2. Put it in the Kernel namespace (so it need not be prefixed)
>>>
>>> I've been doing a lot of python lately and they have a lot of things
>>> like this, including the same 'filter' global function mentioned in this
>>> thread.
>>>
>>> Points against:
>>>
>>> 1. It'd suck to not be able to use 'id' as a variable name, and would
>>> conflict with a lot of existing code.
>>> 2. Alternative names to 'id' or namespacing it are not shorter than
>>> '&(&1)'
>>> 3. '&(&1)' is more open to change with requirements
>>> 4. Adopting 'id' within Kernel would encourage adding more utility
>>> functions to it, exacerbating 1, like the proposed 'filter' function
>>> 5. Not adopting it within the Kernel would be hard, as there's no real
>>> appropriate place for it elsewhere in standard lib, unlike Enum's 'filter'
>>>
>>> Generally it's a nice idea, but I can't think of a great way to make it
>>> work, and it'd open the floodgates to more utility functions that I've come
>>> to find grating in day-to-day python development.
>>>
>>> Just my two cents,
>>> Chris K
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