> How would x^2 being callable help? Can you give a use case for showing
> that x^2 being callable is much easier/simpler than without it being
> callable?
>
> I'm not saying it shouldn't be callable; I'm just asking for your opinion.
Sorry, it is probably my ignorance showing here. It sounded like the
thread was suggesting that perhaps if f=x^2 then f(2) should be 2x^2,
not 4, and my understanding was that this was what it meant to not be
callable. Also it sounded like then plot(x^2,0,1) would have to be
plot(x^2,x,0,1) in that case. If I am mistaken, that's fine.
I feel like by letting f=x^2 be available instead of f(x)=x^2, we are
lowering the bar to use of Sage; the more conventions like this to
remember, the harder it is to use - not because people can't use it,
but because the frustration quotient (especially in a big class) is
high enough to drop it, since there are better things to do with one's
time than have to explain this sort of thing again and again. It
doesn't mean I personally would stop using Sage, just that I might not
use it as often as I would like in a class. However, I am glad it's
being discussed - it is interesting to learn about the different
reasons for such things.
The real issue is that someone who has the option of getting a site
license for something else (or using an existing one) might decide to
use that instead of Sage - not because of this per se, but because
they weigh "larger user base and program I am familiar with, even if
it has minor annoyances" or whatever against "various minor
annoyances, including this one, in program I'm not very familiar with"
- even if both programs have the same behavior, which I don't know
since I don't have the opportunity to use them.
So if the goal of Sage is to compete with them, which for now (and
hopefully in the future too!) may mean needing to be even better than
them, then part of that should be to allow things like this. It is a
minor annoyance to somebody either way, but it seems like this is a
case where it's a minor annoyance (as opposed to the major annoyance
of all letters being predefined as variables) for some, where the
other way would be a slightly more major annoyance for others. At
least, that's how I view it, both in my research and teaching. So
far, I think Sage has done a pretty good job balancing these things,
as someone else said earlier in the thread.
- kcrisman
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