[seqfan] Re: Maple strongly discouraged

[Charles Greathouse]

I agree with Hasler here, without any particular preference on how that
should eventually be implemented. Having the programming language
standardized (and thus machine readable) would allow a lot of things we'll
want to have like user language preferences and syntax highlighting.
Versions are important but slightly tricky; ideally you can give ranges.

Charles Greathouse
Analyst/Programmer
Case Western Reserve University


On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 1:31 PM, M. F. Hasler <oeis at hasler.fr> wrote:

> Even though I made that little bit sarcastic & exaggerated remark, I don't
> think that Maple should be discouraged and even less that Mathematica
> should be preferred.
> It is somehow normal that a language evolves, and maple has in general
> quite good downward compatibility, the RETURN() function is a noticable
> exception. (Did never understand how they came to think about "RETURN()"!)
> Other languages, the (younger) PARI included, have the same or worse
> issues...
> The name of the programming language should (et least optionally) include
> the version, e.g. Maple V, Maple 10, PARI 2.6, PARI 2.6.1..., as I already
> suggested earlier (and I even put (PARI 2.6.1) instead of (PARI) in some
> submissions but this was not (always(?)) approved....)
>
> Even mathematics changes definitions, e.g. for the primes...
>
> I we are to make amendments in "code" sections, I'd vote for uniformization
> and abolish the privilege of %m and %M tags for Maple and Mmca,
> and/or find 1-2 more tags for the most popular progamming languages
> (I think PARI is no more much behind %m and %M)
> and/or implement a display routine that displays %o lines starting with
> (BASIC) or (PHP) or (PARI 2.6) or the like as
> <tr><td> PARI v. 2.6<td >Axxx = n -> ...</tr>
> instead of
> <tr><td> PROGRAM<td >(PARI v. 2.6) Axxx = n -> ...</tr>
> since the latter is less easy to copy-paste.
>
> M.
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 2:07 PM, Neil Sloane <njasloane at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Dear Seq Fans, Maximilian Hasler has pointed out that
> > my Maple program in A109671 (which worked correctly in Maple 16)  no
> > longer gives correct results in Maple 17 because it used the RETURN()
> > command.
> >
> > The Maple web site says
> >
> > "use of the RETURN procedure is strongly discouraged"
> >
> > and I can see why - it produces incorrect answers (without any warning).
> Of
> > course I don't see WHY they did this.
> >
> > Now there over 1900 Maple lines in the OEIS that use the RETURN
> statement.
> >  Maybe these lines need a comment saying:
> >
> > # Warning: May give incorrect answers because Maple has changed the
> meaning
> > of RETURN. Suggest switching to Mathematica instead.
> >
> > (Not sure about the second part)
> >
> > I could (and probably will have to) do this with a global edit.
> > Is there any other solution?  It is unethical for us to include programs
> > that give wrong answers.
> >
> > Here's the Maple program that works correctly in Maple 16 but gives wrong
> > answers  in Maple 17:
> >
> > > f:=proc(n) option remember; local t1;
> >
> > > if n = 1 then RETURN(1);
> >
> > > elif n mod 2 = 0 then RETURN(f(n/2));
> >
> > > else t1:= f(n-2)-f((n-1)/2);
> >
> > > if t1 > 0 then RETURN(t1) else RETURN(f(n-2)+f((n-1)/2)); fi; fi; end;
> >
> > Neil
> > --
> > Dear Friends, I have now retired from AT&T. New coordinates:
> >
> > Neil J. A. Sloane, President, OEIS Foundation
> > 11 South Adelaide Avenue, Highland Park, NJ 08904, USA.
> > Also Visiting Scientist, Math. Dept., Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ.
> > Phone: 732 828 6098; home page: http://NeilSloane.com
> > Email: njasloane at gmail.com
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> > Seqfan Mailing list - http://list.seqfan.eu/
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Maximilian
>
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