Re: [boost] [math/staticstics/design] How best to namestatisticalfunctions?

From: Deane Yang (deane_yang_at_[hidden])
Date: 2006-07-11 13:12:50

Topher Cooper wrote:
> 
> My personal preference would be to use what is probably the most 
> common abbreviations for the basic functions.  They are simple, 
> compact and standard.  Maybe a little obscure for those who only took 
> statistics in high school or some who only know cookbook statistics 
> -- but that is what documentation is for.  The ignorant are after all 
> ignorant whatever choice is made, but you can do something about it 
> by using the standard terms:
> 
> dist.pdf(x) -- Probability Density Function, this is what looks like 
> a "bell shaped curve" for a normal distribution, for example.  A.k.a. "p"
> dist.cdf(x) -- Cumulative Distribution Function.  P
> dist.ccdf(x) -- Complementary Cumulative Distribution Function; 
> ccdf(x) = 1 - cdf(x)
> dist.icdf(p) -- Inverse Cumulative Distribution Function: P'; 
> icdf(cdf(x)) = x and vice versa
> dist.iccdf(p) -- Inverse Complementary Cumulative Distribution 
> Function; iccdf(p) = icdf(1-p); iccdf(ccdf(x)) = x
> 

These would not be my first choice, but since they are relatively 
standard abbreviations and much shorter to type, I think they are 
reasonable suggestions.