Re: Opinion poll.

[Gerhard Niklasch <nikl@mathematik.tu-muenchen.de>]

> From: Karim Belabas <karim@mpim-bonn.mpg.de>
> Date: 	Tue, 2 Dec 1997 22:01:34 +0100
> Message-Id: <199712022101.WAA15807@fama>
> To: pari-dev@list.cr.yp.to, pari-users@list.cr.yp.to
> 
> Case 1: label / goto.
> [...]
> So I'd like to completely remove them.

Have done some loop scripting in gp.  Have never used label / goto.
Would have used break / next long ago if they had been there! :^)

> Case 2: '_'
>   Currently, this is a synonym for conjugation (x_ := conj(x), so
> that I_ = -I, quadgen(8) = -w, etc). It was not documented before 
> version 2.0 ...

I can't verify this easily from here at home, but I think it _was_
in the old manual, possibly in some obscure corner.

My own experience with this one has been mixed.  I don't think I've
ever used it for its stated purpose.  There have been many occasions
OTOH where I was glad that it was a no-op when applied to a free
variable or positive integer --- instances of it tend to be created
spontaneously at a high rate from the way I type! ;^)

>   I think it would be more useful to be able to use this symbol in
> identifiers (function names, variable names).

Yes.  (At least as long as gp does not know how to preserve spaces in
identifiers, good old Algol68-style... note that when writing scripts,
you [the Generic GP User] can already use spaces to your heart's content,
they just won't survive into the output.)

> I think in any case its current behaviour is rather useless, so I'd like to
> remove it from the operators and add it to the valid characters.

Any ASCII symbol not yet taken to take over the conj role in case someone
would like to have it?
---8<---
(02:44) gp > 4#
  ***   unused characters: 4#
                            ^
(02:44) gp > x#
  ***   unused characters: x#
                            ^
--->8---
(Btw is this a bug in 2.0.alpha, or in an underlying library routine?
It was 02:44 many hours ago.  Is the hour:minutes thing only updated
when (a) there has been recent interaction _and_ (b) the minute hand
has moved since?)
---8<---
(02:44) gp >
(23:09) gp >
--->8---
(ahaaaa, now it's with me again...)

Cheers, Gerhard