Matlab vs Python (was RE: Discussion: Introducing new operators for matrix computation)

[Bjorn Pettersen]

Huaiyu Zhu wrote:

[snip]
 
> As to the claim that additional operators for linear algebra is somehow
> comparable to the special syntaxes/quirks of various programming languages,
> no real argument has been presented so far.  It's more like: If I don't care
> and don't use such things, they must belong to a special domain and be
> somehow comparable to some other things that I do know and dislike.

On the contrary. The argument is something like the following:

 - Python is a general purpose language, and as such it can't
   support special case syntax for Matrix/cgi/xml/db programming.
   (special syntax has previously been requested for both cgi and
   db programming).
 - The proposal is to add a handful of operators that would only
   have meaning in this one domain.
   - the criteria for addition to the core is something that is
     generally useful for a large segment of the community.
     (and it's your job to convince us of it, not ours to 
     convince you that it isn't -- many more people would like
     to see Stackless in the core, but that's not going to happen
     anytime soon either...)
   - that many problems can be reduced to matrix operations is
     a non-argument, since the same is true of functional/
     procedural/oo/predicate programming.
 - There are allready ways of performing the required tasks in 
   Python, so there is no absolute need to add this to the core.
 - Other straight forward solutions has been proposed including
   list comprehensions and Moshe Zadka's elementwise class
   approach.

> On the other hand, alternative arguments based on analysis of functionality,
> overall design, history of evolution and possible future extension, etc,
> would carry some real persuasive weight.

If you really want to convince people, I would like to see examples of
how adding these operators would make working in other domains easier
(directly, not through translation through linear algebra).

-- bjorn