Re: On capitalization
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg42178] Re: On capitalization
- From: "Will Self" <wself at msubillings.edu>
- Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 20:56:58 -0400 (EDT)
- References: <bcrrqa$hpv$1@smc.vnet.net>
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
"Selwyn Hollis" <selwynh at earthlink.net> wrote in message news:bcrrqa$hpv$1 at smc.vnet.net... > On Wednesday, June 18, 2003, at 02:11 AM, Will Self wrote: > > > ... > > > Notice I've changed your caps to smalls. You are courting trouble > > to use capital letters, or capitalized symbols, in Mathematica. In > > fact, look at this: > > > > DSolve[C'[t] == C[t], C[t], t] ----> {{C[t] -> E^t*C[1]}} > > > > which is just plain wrong. Maybe you can track down why. Hint, it > > has to do with using capital letters. > > > > Wrong? If apply the rule, you get the same thing you'd get if you > didn't use C[t]. > > Maybe it's just my lifelong penchant for questioning authority and my > distaste for sweeping arbitrary rules when simple specific rules will > do, or maybe I just feel like starting a good argument, but it seems to > me that this whole never-use-caps thing is way overblown. > > First, there are only a few single-letter symbols that are problematic: > C, D, E, I, K, N, and O, (Okay maybe that's more than a few...) and > once you've used Mathematica for a few hours, you'll rarely, if ever, > feel the urge to use those. Second, they are protected symbols anyway, > so you can't make assignments to them even if you try, unless you go to > the trouble to use Unprotect. The same goes for (essentially?) all > built-in symbols. > > That's not to say that avoiding caps is not a *good idea* for the > beginner. I highly recommend it. My point is that it's *just* a good > idea and not worth being pedantic about. > > That's just my opinion; I could be wrong. > > ----- > Selwyn Hollis > http://www.math.armstrong.edu/faculty/hollis > Yes, we could all be wrong. Where is the authority here that you're questioning? There is nothing authoritarian about what I said. The avoid-caps rule is sweeping, but not in the least arbitrary. If my message sounded pedantic, sorry. I can't always control how my ascii is going to sound to you. With all due respect, I will hazard the guess that bringing one's lifelong penchants and one's various distastes into discussions in this group may be perhaps less than appropriate. The solution C[t] = E^t*C[1] to the equation C'[t] == C[t] is in fact wrong. The correct solution is C[t] = E^t*C[0]. I've been using Mathematica since 1991 and I feel it has been a great energy/worry/time-saver to refrain from capitalizing symbols. The best thing about this practice is that it communicates immediately to the reader that this is your own symbol, not one built in to Mathematica. Of course I could be wrong.