Subject: Re: [xsl] except (was: Keys with duplicates should be simple) From: Wolfgang Laun <wolfgang.laun@xxxxxxxxx> Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2014 11:59:08 +0100 |
Nobody says "five difference three". I'd have thought that "minus" would be a "natural". @Ihe: Very likely the word "difference" could make some worry whether it means the symmetric set difference. @Michael Your concern about non-programmers is very nice. But if they are non-programmers they could at least learn or should have learned the simple mathematical concepts. No reason to avoid mathematical concepts, is there? ;-) Cheers Wolfgang On 03/02/2014, Ihe Onwuka <ihe.onwuka@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On Mon, Feb 3, 2014 at 8:16 AM, Michael Kay <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> >> On 3 Feb 2014, at 07:18, Ihe Onwuka <ihe.onwuka@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> >>> If indeed except is equivalent to the set-theoretic difference >>> operator would it be beyond the pale to admit difference into the >>> syntax as a synonym for except. >>> >> >> You haven't answered my post in which I attempted to show that the XPath >> usage of "except" was consistent with the natural language use of the >> term. >> > > To me the natural language interpretation of except has the RHS of the > except interpreted within the context of the LHS. If you are talking > natural language - natural language interpretations don't allow for > XPath abbreviations and if I read you rightly you are saying this > would be natural if you allow for the effect of XPath abbreviations. > >> I think that using "difference" would confuse an awful lot of people who >> would assume, without reading the spec, that it meant magnitude difference >> (e.g. subtract, or date difference). >> > > Well thats a problem of applying a mathematical construct outside of a > mathematical domain, hence why I suggested the difference as > alternative syntax to keep both sides happy (if indeed they are the > same thing). > > I worked at an investment bank before going to university and never > did A levels so I walked into my first Calculus class thinking that a > derivative was a financial instrument and a slope was something you > skied on. It is not feasible or desirable to go through life clinging > on to > these non-mathematical interpretations.
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