[seqfan] Re: Searching for 'factori[sz]e' (was: Re: seqfan at list.seqfan.eu)

[franktaw at netscape.net]

In fact, the standard spelling in the OEIS is the US spelling.  Neil 
has a list
of non-standard (including English) spellings he periodically searches 
for
and corrects.  I don't know if factorise is on his list, but I'm sure 
it will be.

When you see discrepancies in spelling, it is best to send the notice 
just
to Neil, not to the whole list.

The OEIS search will match both singular and plural (for regular 
plurals
and a few irregular ones) (and also third person singular of verbs).  
So
factorization and factorizations should get the same matches.  I don't
believe that it deals with any other suffixes.

Note, by the way, that you don't have to do a separate search for
each variant of the word.  You can search for:
factor|factored|factoring|factorize|factorise|factorization
and it will find anything matching any of these.

Having the OEIS automatically correct non-standard spellings in
searches is an interesting idea, but it isn't as easy as you might
think.  Besides setting up the translation dictionary, you have
to ensure that the non-standard spelling is not in the database
(or you can modify the program setting up the search to make
the translation there).

Franklin T. Adams-Watters

-----Original Message-----
From: hv at crypt.org

hv at crypt.org wrote:
:A search for 'factorise' yields 9 results; a search for 'factorize' 
yields
:25 (different) results.
:
:I suggest that where there are alternate spellings in different 
variants
:of English, the OEIS should a) standardise on one variant (probably,
:regretfully, the US spelling) and b) treat a search on the other 
spelling
:as a search on the standard spelling.

Sigh, would help if I could get the cc in the cc field instead of the 
subject.

Further on this - the search problem is worse, because there are 
references
to factorize, factorized, factorizing, factorization (favourite),
factorizations, and doubtless more I haven't found.

I was looking for A001055 (because of it's recent mention on-list), and
eventually I gave up searching by words and just calculated the first 
dozen
values.

Maybe the search variant problem can't be solved by OEIS - I accept it 
is
a Hard Problem - but I think standard spellings would at least 
ameliorate
it a little.