Can we have some fun with this? Maybe use the unicode "identical to" symbol? ≡
:-) (only half-joking)

-Greg Vaughn

> On Jul 2, 2019, at 4:02 PM, Bruce Tate <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> I could learn to like &id/1, and also think that &ident/1 fits Elixir's style 
> of abbreviation. My vote is for either one of those. 
> 
> -bt
> 
> On Tue, Jul 2, 2019 at 4:47 PM Allen Madsen <[email protected]> wrote:
> And identity in mathematics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_function
> 
> Allen Madsen
> http://www.allenmadsen.com
> 
> 
> On Tue, Jul 2, 2019 at 4:05 PM Ryan Winchester <[email protected]> 
> wrote:
> 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
>> C++: std::identity
>> Rust: std::convert::identity
>> Clojure: identity
>> Ruby: Object#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, however)
>> Racket (and some other Lisps): identity
>> 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: 1
>> def 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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> Regards,
> Bruce Tate
> CEO
> 
> 
> 
> Groxio, LLC.
> 512.799.9366
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