[R] [FORGED] Re: [FORGED] Re: identical() versus sapply()

[Michael Dewey]

Short comment inline

On 12/04/2016 12:45, John Kane wrote:
>
> Thank you Rolf.  fortune(350) was the link I was trying to remember.
>
> I believe! I believe in the documentation.
>
> It can be incredibly difficult to document something and unless one has an editor to read and 'try' to interpret the results the original writer may not realise just how opaque the explanation is.
>

I do not think anyone who has written documentation would disagree.
Would one way forward here for the OP to suggest with the benefit of all 
the comments how things might be enhanced so that he would not have been 
baffled?

> John Kane
> Kingston ON Canada
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: r.turner at auckland.ac.nz
>> Sent: Tue, 12 Apr 2016 15:34:54 +1200
>> To: murdoch.duncan at gmail.com
>> Subject: Re: [R] [FORGED] Re: [FORGED] Re: identical() versus sapply()
>>
>> On 12/04/16 14:45, Duncan Murdoch wrote:
>>> On 11/04/2016 10:18 PM, Bert Gunter wrote:
>>>> "The documentation aims to be accurate, not necessarily clear."
>>>>
>>>> !!!
>>>>
>>>> I hope that is not the case! Accurate documentation that is confusing
>>>> is not very useful.
>>>
>>> I don't think it is ever intentionally confusing, but it is often
>>> concise to the point of obscurity.  Words are chosen carefully, and
>>> explanations are not repeated.  It takes an effort to read it.  It will
>>> be clear to careful readers, but not to all readers.
>>>
>>> I was thinking of the statement quoted earlier, 'as(x, "numeric") uses
>>> the existing as.numeric function'.  That is different than saying 'as(x,
>>> "numeric") is the same as as.numeric(x)'.
>>
>>
>> IMHO this is so *obviously* confusing and misleading --- even though it
>> is technically correct --- that whoever wrote it was either
>> intentionally trying to be confusing or is unbelievably obtuse and/or
>> out of touch with reality.
>>
>> It is not (again IMHO) clear even to *very* careful readers.
>>
>> To my mind this documentation fails even the fortune(350) test.
>>
>> cheers,
>>
>> Rolf
>>
>> --
>> Technical Editor ANZJS
>> Department of Statistics
>> University of Auckland
>> Phone: +64-9-373-7599 ext. 88276
>>
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>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>
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> ______________________________________________
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>

-- 
Michael
http://www.dewey.myzen.co.uk/home.html