Re: [boost] [Review:Algorithms] - Review by Neil Groves

Subject: Re: [boost] [Review:Algorithms] - Review by Neil Groves
From: Stewart, Robert (Robert.Stewart_at_[hidden])
Date: 2011-10-18 13:59:02

Christopher Jefferson wrote:
> On 18 Oct 2011, at 18:02, Stewart, Robert wrote:
> > Marshall Clow wrote:
> >> On Oct 18, 2011, at 5:30 AM, Stewart, Robert wrote:
> >>> Marshall Clow wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> * `all_of` and `all_of_equal` both return true for empty
> >>>> ranges, no matter what is passed to test against. When
> >>>> there are no items in the sequence to test, they all
> >>>> satisfy the condition to be tested against.
> >>>
> >>> [heading Empty Ranges]
> >>>
> >>> All variants of `all_of` and `all_of_equal` always return
> >>> true for empty ranges.
> >>
> >> This is a case where a bit of rationale adds to the
> >> explanation, I think.
> >
> > No matter how you try to rationalize the result, the other
> > could be justified equally.  That is, since there are no
> > elements, none satisfied the criteria, so return false.
> > Returning true or false for empty ranges is determined by
> > fiat.
>
> No, I agree with the justification. Almost all of mathematics
> relies on a basis which requires "forall i in S. p(i)" is true
> when S is empty, and "exists i in S. p(i)" is false when S is
> empty.
>
> There are lots of conditions people expect to hold like:
>
> If T is a subset of S, then "forall i in S.p(i)" implies
> "forall i in T.p(i)".
>
> Which would be violated with forall wasn't always true for an
> empty set (or in our case, empty range).

Marshall's rationale wasn't based upon mathematics.  Your statements may well be sufficient to justify the choice, which removes it from the realm of fiat, but what Marshall wrote added no clarity.  I didn't argue for returning false; I just noted that the rationale didn't justify the choice.  I'm not convinced that any rationale is needed.

_____
Rob Stewart                           robert.stewart_at_[hidden]
Software Engineer                     using std::disclaimer;
Dev Tools & Components
Susquehanna International Group, LLP  http://www.sig.com

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