[PYTHON MATRIX-SIG] Naming conventions

[Hinsen Konrad]

   whole issue of printing matrices needs to be addressed.  One part of this  
   issue is the desire that the basic printed representation of an object  
   should correspond to a command that could be used to recreate that object,  
   on the other hand, the well-labeled format you show from BASIS is generally  
   what a user wants to see.  I'm ambivalent on this issue.  If somebody gives  

Python has repr() and str(), so we can have both. My suggestion is
an input-like notation for repr(), and a human-readable one for str()
and therefore print. The fact is that for matrices it doesn't make
sense to use the same format for input and output. Matrix constants
will only be used for small matrices, and they must consist of
some linear arrangement. But much larger matrices will be generated
by other means, and they have to be printed in a readable way.

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Konrad Hinsen                     | E-Mail: hinsenk@ere.umontreal.ca
Departement de chimie             | Tel.: +1-514-343-6111 ext. 3953
Universite de Montreal            | Fax:  +1-514-343-7586
C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-Ville     | Deutsch/Esperanto/English/Nederlands/
Montreal (QC) H3C 3J7             | Francais (phase experimentale)
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