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Re: Constructors motion 30 Version 2: small amendment



> Subject: Re: Constructors motion 30 Version 2: small amendment
> From: John Pryce <prycejd1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 11:35:09 +0000
> To: stds-1788 <stds-1788@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> 
> P1788
> 
> Generally I have had a fair amount of agreement with the revised Motion 30.
> I send it again with a small change suggested by Dan Zuras: the "virtual"
> constructors have "bare" inserted in their names and the others have "dec"
> removed from their names, since being decorated is the default.
> 
> Also shall num2interval(x) be abolished as Vincent suggests? Views please.
> It can be re-invented at a language level.
> 
> John Pryce
> 

	I understand there is a certain danger to things like
	num2interval(3.1).  Still, known exact constants like
	num2interval(2) are common enough & necessary.  So I
	would keep it.  Perhaps the default decoration should
	be different than nums2interval() but that is a question
	for another day.

	Which reminds me, either nums2interval() & its ilk
	should take a decoration as a parameter or there
	should be versions that do.  And, of course, the
	nature of that decoration is ambiguious at this time.

	As usual, IMHO...


				Dan


	P.S. - While num2interval() takes a floating-point
	number as input I'm sure that text2interval() can
	be made safe by defining the output to be
	[roundDown(text2num(text)),roundUp(text2num(text))].
	(Perhaps you already have it defined that way.
	I admit to not reading it closely. :-)  But even
	though I feel we need it, I cannot see a fool proof
	way of protecting num2interval().  Alas, there are
	always bigger fools.