Arrow Syntax is Dumb
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg30660] Arrow Syntax is Dumb
- From: aes <siegman at stanford.edu>
- Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2001 20:32:35 -0400 (EDT)
- Organization: Stanford University
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
Sorry for inflammatory Subject: [mg30660] line . . but I'd suggest that having
the syntax
Line[ {{x1, y1}, {x2, y2}} ]
but
Arrow[ {x1, y1}, {x2, y2} ]
is, shall we say, a "considerably less than optimum" design choice from
the user's viewpoint.
I see the point, that an arrow (at this time anyway) has only two
points, while a line may have multiple points,
Nonetheless, it seems common sense that an arrow *is* nothing more than
a two-point line, and therefore it would be a whole lot more consistent
to use the same syntax.
A user might for example have some Lines in a graphic pointing from text
labels to data points, and then learn for the first time about Arrow.
It would seem obvious to just change those "Lines" to "Arrows" in the
notebook.
And, there could be lots of future uses for "broken arrows" -- i.e.,
multiple-segment arrows, which zig-zag around some obstacle in a graphic
before reaching their target -- in which case consistency with the Line
syntax would be even more useful.