Re: [Gretl-users] comma as decimal separator: clarification

On Thu, 5 Jan 2006, Allin Cottrell wrote: Sorry everyone to be a spoilsport, but I am rather against the new setup. If we allow locale-dependent decimal separators in scripts, then a syntax like genr y = 0,5*x becomes legal. Now imagine the previous line is buried in a 200-line script. Then, anyone using the script in a "decimal point" locale sees the script not working. Chances are, they conclude gretl is broken. For now it's totally hypothetic to assume that anyone would want to run a gretl script without checking it beforehand, but hopefully he possibility of setting up a repository of gretl recipes based on scripts is not unrealistic for the future. In this situation, we CANNOT ask casual users to scan scripts file in the hunt for commas. Spreadsheets can OUTPUT figures according to locale, and you can write formulas according to locale (in fact you have to), but the internal reprsentation of the formula is unique, so the same, say, xls file automagically displays commas in Italy and points in the UK. But this works because the user doesn't have access to the internal representation of the data. In the case of script, I see no easy way out of this. The simplest thing that comes to my mind now is some sort of filter that examines the script before running it, automatic replacing "decimal commas" (but not "separator commas") with points. Such a scheme would introduce great complication and great potential for ambiguity. OTOH, what do we gain by allowing locale-dependent decimal separators? If you ask me, very little, too little. But this is open source, right? So, I'm all for democracy (except whatever Allin decides is OK -- 1st Marxist sovereign in history). What do others think? Riccardo `Jack' Lucchetti Dipartimento di Economia Università Politecnica delle Marche jack(a)dea.unian.it http://www.econ.univpm.it/lucchetti