In message <mailman.1606.1286889135.29448.python-l...@python.org>, D'Arcy
J.M. Cain wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Oct 2010 23:34 +1300
> Lawrence D'Oliveiro <l...@geek-central.gen.new_zealand> wrote:
>
>>> Symmetry is always a tricky balance in programming languages.
>>
>> Is that what we used to call “orthogonality”?
>
> No, orthogonality is something else. "Orthogonal" means "perpendicular
> to."
The appropriate meaning is ‘being able to combine independently” (as in the
orthogonal decomposition of a Fourier transform). An example of contemporary
usage, from the “Revised Report on the Algorithmic Language ALGOL 68” (1974,
I think):
0.1.2 Orthogonal design
The number of independent primitive concepts has been minimized in
order that the language be easy to describe, to learn, and to implement.
On the other hand, these concepts have been applied “orthogonally” in
order to maximize the expressive power of the language while trying to
avoid deleterious superfluities.
So “orthogonality” has to do with use of minimum number of primitive
components (operators, object types) in a maximum number of meaningful
combinations.
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