R help - Aug 2006 - Summary method needed?

Hi list,

I'm updating my fpc package at the moment and will add some new functions. 
I learned that there should be print and summary methods for the key
functions.
The purpose of the summary methods seems to be to reduce the 
possibly incredibly complex information in the function's output and the 
print method (print.summary.foo) should print an overview of the result.

But in some cases the print method will make use of more or less all the 
output information of the function. Is there any reason to implement a 
summary method in these cases?

Best,
Christian

*** --- ***
Christian Hennig
University College London, Department of Statistical Science
Gower St., London WC1E 6BT, phone +44 207 679 1698
chrish at stats.ucl.ac.uk, www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~ucakche

On Wed, 2 Aug 2006, Christian Hennig wrote:
> Hi list,
> 
> I'm updating my fpc package at the moment and will add some new
functions.
> I learned that there should be print and summary methods for the key
> functions.
for 'classes', I think.
> The purpose of the summary methods seems to be to reduce the 
> possibly incredibly complex information in the function's output and
the
> print method (print.summary.foo) should print an overview of the result.
Normally, summary() gives more information than print() would give
for a non-data object, often by manipulations on the object.

Now, the White Book said that summary produces `a synopsis of an object', 
but that does not seem to be the practice for model-fitting classes even 
in the White Book (but it is for data objects).
> But in some cases the print method will make use of more or less all the 
> output information of the function. Is there any reason to implement a 
> summary method in these cases?
Would a more concise print() method be useful?  If so the existing print() 
could become summary().

-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley at stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595