[SciPy-User] Isn't it a bug in scipy.integrate.odeint doc?

[David Goldsmith]

2010/5/16 Dmitrey <tmp50 at ukr.net>

>  hi all,
> I see the following lines in odeint doc/docstring
>
> http://docs.scipy.org/doc/scipy/reference/generated/scipy.integrate.odeint.html
>
> dy/dt = func(y,t0,...)*func* : callable(y, t0, ...)
>
> Computes the derivative of y at t0.
>
> *Dfun* : callable(y, t0, ...)
>
> Gradient (Jacobian) of func.
>
> shouldn't it be "t" instead of "t0" there?
> Let me also note, that some input variables are undocumented there.
> D.
>

Let me take this opportunity to note publicly: the scipy (as opposed to the
numpy) docs are not in a very advanced state (and that's putting it
politely).  Soon (hopefully tomorrow), I will be issuing a formal
announcement of the commencement of the 2010 Summer _SciPy_ Documentation
Marathon.  This will be a formal solicitation of volunteers to work on the
SciPy documentation; I'm hoping everyone concerned with the overall quality
of SciPy will help (whether or not you've participated in the past
Marathons).  But just for the record, for better or worse, we don't have a
ticketing system for reporting and tracking documentation "bugs"; rather, we
have the doc Wiki docs.scipy.org/scipy.  If you go to the docs page (click
the Docstrings link at the top of the front page) you'll see a color-coded
listing of all the objects in SciPy - light grey background = "Being
written," and white background = "Needs editing" = never been touched (since
having been imported into the Wiki database from the source code in SVN).
If you go to the status page (click on stats), you'll see that presently 97%
of SciPy's docstrings fall into one of these two categories (92% being in
the "never been touched" category).  So, while it is certainly helpful to
inform the list of deficiencies such as above, please understand that
problems like these are the overwhelming norm, not the exception, and the
_most_ helpful thing one can do in these situations is to register as an
editor (if one has not already done so; see
http://docs.scipy.org/numpy/Front%20Page/, and especially "Before you start"
on that page for instructions) and help fix the problem.  (Don't worry if
you feel you don't know enough about an object: if, in working on a
docstring, you have questions about an object, email your questions to the
list - getting these answered and then using that info to fix the docstring
oneself will almost certainly get it fixed faster than simply reporting the
problem and waiting for someone else to get around to it - that's the
motivation for asking people to help: not that others don't want to do it,
but that if everyone pitches in, it'll get done a whole lot faster.)
Thanks,

DG
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