From: shevegen@... Date: 2020-04-26T16:55:00+00:00 Subject: [ruby-core:98068] [Ruby master Feature#16818] Rename `Range#%` to `Range#/` Issue #16818 has been updated by shevegen (Robert A. Heiler). I somewhat agree with sawa's comment that % on Range may confuse some ruby folks; I think % is more typically the modulo operator? I can not say how strong this confusion may be, perhaps small, perhaps not, but I concur with his original comment in regards to %. However had, I also happily admit that I really have no particularly strong opinion either way. I am also indifferent (or, more accurately, a bit clueless) about /. Since it is quite unlikely for me to use % or / on Range anyway (I tend to stick to oldschool matz-ruby whenever possible ;)), I let those folks who make use of the range operation, or those who proposed it, to comment on that either way since I am not really attached to that operation to begin with. It should be pointed out that this has follow-up effects - see zverok's example of extending it towards Arithmetic* (and there I also don't have a big opinion either way, just wanted to point out it that whatever way is chosen, it may be good to decide on it before ruby 3.0 release I think). ---------------------------------------- Feature #16818: Rename `Range#%` to `Range#/` https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/16818#change-85295 * Author: sawa (Tsuyoshi Sawada) * Status: Open * Priority: Normal ---------------------------------------- `Range#%` was introduced as an alias of `Range#step` by 14697, but it is counter-intuitive and confusing. Iteration in the following: ```ruby ((5..14) % 3).each{|i| p i} #>> 5 #>> 8 #>> 11 #>> 14 ``` is not based on `x % y` in any sense. In fact, actually applying `% 3` to the selected elements returns a unique value `2`, and it is not obvious how this is related to the iteration. ```ruby [5, 8, 11, 14].map{|i| i % 3} # => [2, 2, 2, 2] ``` Rather, the concept seems to be based on `/`. Applying `/ 3` to the relevant elements returns a sequence `1, 2, 3, 4`. ```ruby [5, 8, 11, 14].map{|i| i / 3} # => [1, 2, 3, 4] ``` Hence, `(5..14).step(3)` can be interpreted like this: Iterate over the [equivalence class](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equivalence_class) (quotient set) of range `5..14` yielded by `/ 3`. Notice that the number of elements in `[5, 8, 11, 14]` is 4, which is `(14 - 5 + 1) / 3.0).ceil`, but is not related to `%`. So I propose that the alias of `Range#step` should be `Range#/`, and `Range#%` should be deprecated as soon as possible before its use accumulates: ```ruby ((5..14) / 3).each{|i| p i} #>> 5 #>> 8 #>> 11 #>> 14 ``` --- P.S. And if `Range#%` were to be introduced at all, I would rather expect it to behave like the following: ```ruby ((5..14) % 3).each{|i| p i} #>> 5 #>> 6 #>> 7 ``` which is why I claimed above that the current `Range#%` is confusing. -- https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/ Unsubscribe: