[Python-ideas] math.inf and math.nan constants

[Chris Barker]

On Wed, Jan 7, 2015 at 8:09 AM, Steven D'Aprano <steve at pearwood.info> wrote:

>   import math
>   process(math.inf)
>
> or
>
>   inf = float('inf')
>   process(inf)
>
> is much the same effort. At worst, we might say that it is a matter of
> personal taste which you prefer. But frankly, the difference is trivial.
>

exactly -- but the cost is trivial too. Note that numpy provides np.inf and
np.nan for a reason, and it s a nice thing to have.

> - offering a math.inf is harmless but not especially useful;
>

but nice.

- offering a single math.nan is harmful and I strongly oppose it.


defining math.nan as a singleton could be considered harmful, but I don't
see any harm at all in offering it as a pre-defined constant. We NEED to
have a way to create a NaN-valued float in any case (and do with
float('nan')) -- this would be no different.

And as nan (and inf, and -inf) can result from computation, rather than
python-level object creation, they are different than None anyway (they are
also particular values or a float, rather than a particular type).

+1

-Chris

-- 

Christopher Barker, Ph.D.
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