R help - Feb 2007 - Double-banger function names: preferences and suggestions

What do you prefer/recommend for double-banger function names:

 1 scale.colour
 2 scale_colour
 3 scaleColour

1 is more R-like, but conflicts with S3.  2 is a modern version of
number 1, but not many packages use it.  Number 3 is more java-like.
(I like number 2 best)

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Hadley

hadley wickham wrote:
> What do you prefer/recommend for double-banger function names:
> 
>  1 scale.colour
>  2 scale_colour
>  3 scaleColour
> 
> 1 is more R-like, but conflicts with S3.  2 is a modern version of
> number 1, but not many packages use it.  Number 3 is more java-like.
> (I like number 2 best)
> 
> Any suggestions?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Hadley
Personal preference is for 3.  I wish I had used that throughout the 
Hmisc and Design packages for non-generics.

Frank

-- 
Frank E Harrell Jr   Professor and Chair           School of Medicine
                      Department of Biostatistics   Vanderbilt University

--- hadley wickham <h.wickham at gmail.com> wrote:
> What do you prefer/recommend for double-banger
> function names:
> 
>  1 scale.colour
>  2 scale_colour
>  3 scaleColour
> 
> 1 is more R-like, but conflicts with S3.  2 is a
> modern version of
> number 1, but not many packages use it.  Number 3 is
> more java-like.
> (I like number 2 best)
I prefer 1 but if it is in conflict with S2 then I go
with 3. I just don't like underscores. :)

There is a fourth possibility too:

4. `scale colour`

I guess my preference is #1, #2, #3 and #4 in that order with #1 best.  Even
though #1 can conflict with S3 it usually does not and its historically what R
used so I usually just stay consistent with historical precedent.  #2 is
otherwise best and has the advantage of no conflict with S3.  #3 is too hard
to read due to the lack of spacing and is probably motivated by misguided
Java programmers.   The introduction of such names into R was and continues
to be a mistake in my opinion.  #4 takes up too much screen real estate and
the backquotes look too busy.

On 2/25/07, hadley wickham <h.wickham at gmail.com>
wrote:
> What do you prefer/recommend for double-banger function names:
>
>  1 scale.colour
>  2 scale_colour
>  3 scaleColour
>
> 1 is more R-like, but conflicts with S3.  2 is a modern version of
> number 1, but not many packages use it.  Number 3 is more java-like.
> (I like number 2 best)
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Hadley
>
> ______________________________________________
> R-help at stat.math.ethz.ch mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide
http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>

hadley wickham wrote:
>
> What do you prefer/recommend for double-banger function names:
>
>  1 scale.colour
>  2 scale_colour
>  3 scaleColour
>
> 1 is more R-like, but conflicts with S3.  2 is a modern version of
> number 1, but not many packages use it.  Number 3 is more java-like.
> (I like number 2 best)
>
> Any suggestions?
>
I always prefer 2, but this would make it non-portable to S-Plus. S-Plus
has a bug, where _ is the equivalent to <- (why would they do this? I
prefer to think it's stupidity and not villainy)

I guess most (if not all) functions in the libraries use 1.

Alberto Monteiro

hadley wickham wrote:
> What do you prefer/recommend for double-banger function names:
> 
>  1 scale.colour
>  2 scale_colour
>  3 scaleColour
> 
> 1 is more R-like, but conflicts with S3.  2 is a modern version of
> number 1, but not many packages use it.  Number 3 is more java-like.
> (I like number 2 best)
  Or you can be lisp-ish and use hyphens (or many other symbols) by quoting:

  > "scale-colour"=2
  > ls()
  [1] "scale-colour"

  but that requires further perversions:

  > get("scale-colour")
  [1] 2

  I like (3), aka camelCase - aka about a dozen other names: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_case - but that's mainly because its 
widely used in Python, and Python syntax is just marvellous. The more R 
syntax tends to Python syntax the better. Let's get rid of curly 
brackets and make whitespace significant...

  But I digress. As usual.

  ANytHiNg bUt sTUdLY cApS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StudlyCaps

Barry

Thanks to every one who contributed - there definitely isn't a
consensus, but perhaps a slight preference towards number 3
(camelCase).  I'm not sure yet if this beats out my personal
preference for number 2.

Hadley

On 2/25/07, hadley wickham <h.wickham at gmail.com>
wrote:
> What do you prefer/recommend for double-banger function names:
>
>  1 scale.colour
>  2 scale_colour
>  3 scaleColour
>
> 1 is more R-like, but conflicts with S3.  2 is a modern version of
> number 1, but not many packages use it.  Number 3 is more java-like.
> (I like number 2 best)
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Hadley
>

Definitely not #2.   Prefer #1 but #3 is ok as well.

Thanks for contributing and inquiring.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "hadley wickham" <h.wickham at gmail.com>
To: <R-help at r-project.org>
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 7:44 AM
Subject: [R] Double-banger function names: preferences and suggestions

> What do you prefer/recommend for double-banger function names:
>
> 1 scale.colour
> 2 scale_colour
> 3 scaleColour
>
> 1 is more R-like, but conflicts with S3.  2 is a modern version of
> number 1, but not many packages use it.  Number 3 is more java-like.
> (I like number 2 best)
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Hadley
>
> ______________________________________________
> R-help at stat.math.ethz.ch mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide 
> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>

I agree with Jason:  !2, prefer 1, can accept 3.

Clint Bowman			INTERNET:	clint at ecy.wa.gov
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On Thu, 1 Mar 2007, Jason Barnhart wrote:
> Definitely not #2.   Prefer #1 but #3 is ok as well.
>
> Thanks for contributing and inquiring.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "hadley wickham" <h.wickham at gmail.com>
> To: <R-help at r-project.org>
> Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 7:44 AM
> Subject: [R] Double-banger function names: preferences and suggestions
>
>
> > What do you prefer/recommend for double-banger function names:
> >
> > 1 scale.colour
> > 2 scale_colour
> > 3 scaleColour
> >
> > 1 is more R-like, but conflicts with S3.  2 is a modern version of
> > number 1, but not many packages use it.  Number 3 is more java-like.
> > (I like number 2 best)
> >
> > Any suggestions?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Hadley
> >
> > ______________________________________________
> > R-help at stat.math.ethz.ch mailing list
> > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> > PLEASE do read the posting guide
> > http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> > and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
> >
>
> ______________________________________________
> R-help at stat.math.ethz.ch mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide
http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>