On Sat, Jun 21, 2008 at 9:28 AM, rjf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Why does anyone rewrite code that apparently already exists? > > For myself, I can say this: > Sometimes I don't understand other people's code. It is too > elaborate, too general, uses extra layers of technology, is in a > programming language I am uncomfortable with. Maybe some other > reasons. > > Recently I decided to try "skip lists" as a data structure. Using > Lisp. I found several packages. I decided not to use them and wrote > my own 2-page version. I understand my own program. It doesn't do > more than I need. > > This apparently happens with other people. > > The real problem I see with Sage rewriting is that duplicating the > imported capabilities (or a subset of them) is not progress. > That is, rewriting Maxima in python may be fun, technologically > helpful if you want everything in python, maybe making nice user > interfaces to it .... but is not progress in the sense of expanding > the horizons of what a CAS can compute. > > Worse, it is likely to be less capable than Maxima (or ...), since > there may be subtleties that will be missed. > > Even worse, in my opinion, it may adopt the same design decisions as > Maxima, including the ERRONEOUS ones, by default. > > For example, I have repeatedly pointed out the difficulties of dealing > with assumptions (in Macsyma, Mathematica, Maple). > Duplicating these systems will duplicate the difficulties. >
Dear Richard, I've been thinking about this, and I think I understand your point. The work on the rewrite of Sage's symbolic calculus code (from full reliance on Maxima) has until now been a 100% voluntary effort, and I think people 100% volunteering should get to do as they want as long as we have ways to keep bad code out. However, on Monday the people working on this rewrite will instead be working fulltime for me, and things will change. I will start by requiring them to create a specification for what they plan to do -- a "Sage Enhancement Proposal" like this old one: http://wiki.sagemath.org/CalculusSEP And we will greatly appreciate your feedback on it. -- William --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To post to this group, send email to sage-devel@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sage-devel URLs: http://www.sagemath.org -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
