PEP 450 Adding a statistics module to Python

[Stefan Behnel]

Ben Finney, 10.08.2013 07:05:
> Skip Montanaro writes:
>> Given that installing numpy or scipy is generally no more difficult
>> that executing "pip install (scipy|numpy)" I'm not really feeling the
>> need for a battery here...
> 
> See the Rationale of PEP 450 for more reasons why “install NumPy” is not
> a feasible solution for many use cases, and why having ‘statistics’ as a
> pure-Python, standard-library package is desirable.

The rationale suggests that the module is meant as a simple toolset for
non-NumPy users. Are the APIs (class model, function names, etc.) similar
enough to make it easy to switch, preferably in both directions?

It would be good if a stdlib statistics module could be used as a SciPy
fallback for the "simple" things, and if users of the stdlib module could
easily switch their code to SciPy if they need more speed/features/whatever
at some point, without having to relearn the name of each single function.

I'm not asking for compatibility (doesn't sound reasonable without NumPy
arrays), but I think that a similarity in terms of API naming (as far as it
makes sense) should be clearly stated, e.g. in the Design Decisions section.

Stefan