replacement of short functions by their definitions andother code cleanups

Robert,

Thank you for raising this topic; I've certainly seen a number of recent
changes in the tensor package that I maintain, which gave me cause for
concern. Replacing simple functions like, most recently, concat, with their
definitions seriously impedes code readability without introducing any
tangible benefits that I can see.

If there are no objections, I'd respectfully revert some recent changes in
the tensor package, for the sake of continuing maintainability. This means
of course that I'd like to continue to rely on the existence of these
functions in the shared maxima code base, as the alternative, namely keeping
private copies of these functions in the tensor package, is clearly not
preferable.


Viktor

 

-----Original Message-----
From: maxima-bounces at math.utexas.edu [mailto:maxima-bounces at math.utexas.edu]
On Behalf Of Robert Dodier
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 7:01 PM
To: aeder at arcor.de
Cc: Maxima Mailing List
Subject: replacement of short functions by their definitions
andother code cleanups

Andreas,

Replacement of PT-RED and other simple functions by their
definitions is causing some anxiety among the developers and
that's very bad for the project.

I'm pretty sure I speak for other developers when I say that
we should preserve short functions which express some
nontrivial concept. (The function may be trivial but the concept
may well be something interesting.)

PT-RED has come up in discussions today. Are there some
other functions which have been similarly replaced recently?
I think at this point we need to review these cases, if any.
If you would please make a list of any such functions, we
can take a look at each one and decide whether to preserve
it or replace it.

Also, please bear in mind that nonfunctional changes, which
by nature are a matter of taste, should be made rather
conservatively. I would prefer to see a lesser number of
commits of nonfunctional changes. Again I'm pretty sure
I speak for other developers on this topic.

All the best,
Robert
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