[swift-users] If and Only If

[Erica Sadun]

I don't think Andrew's point was ridiculous. If you feel strongly about changing this, consider filing an enhancement request at bugs.swift.org.

-- E

> On Feb 9, 2016, at 9:15 AM, Don Wills via swift-users <swift-users at swift.org> wrote:
> 
> "Iff" may be clearer to you, but it is likely a complete unknown to many beginning programmers and to non-English speakers as the previous comment shows.  Many would likely just think it's a typo.  I really don't see the harm in spelling it out.
> 
> And to posit that the equivalent four words is somehow less obvious is ridiculous.
> 
> Don Wills
> 
> 
>> On Feb 9, 2016, at 9:04 AM, Andrew Clissold <andrewclissold at gmail.com <mailto:andrewclissold at gmail.com>> wrote:
>> 
>> I would argue that "iff" is actually clearer and less brief, even though it's fewer letters, because it forces you to stop and think "oh, they mean it in the rigorous, mathematical sense of the phrase." And if you haven't encountered it in math, you're far more likely to Google it. They technically mean the same thing, but "if and only if" is much easier to gloss over!
>> 
>> Andrew
>> 
>> On Mon, Feb 8, 2016 at 8:45 PM Don Wills via swift-users <swift-users at swift.org <mailto:swift-users at swift.org>> wrote:
>> IMO, clarity is more important than brevity, particularly when novices and non-English speakers might not "get it".
>> 
>> What's the harm in using "if and only if" instead of "iff"?  IMO, none.  I suggest using words, not a TLA.
>> 
>> Don Wills
>> 
>> 
>>> On Feb 8, 2016, at 7:35 PM, zhaoxin肇鑫 via swift-users <swift-users at swift.org <mailto:swift-users at swift.org>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I, as a none-native-English-speaker, do think iff as a type error at first for a long time. And I doubt it as I see it everywhere. But I have never look it up.
>>> 
>>> I just use iff as if and do not think there is a much difference. I thank to Brian for he finally letting me know the real meaning. I think if itself means iff, but I am not computer major, so I can only represent as a layman.
>>> 
>>> zhaoxin
>>> 
>>> On Tue, Feb 9, 2016 at 2:18 AM, Erica Sadun via swift-users <swift-users at swift.org <mailto:swift-users at swift.org>> wrote:
>>> I personally wouldn't change it.
>>> 
>>> A few thoughts:
>>> 
>>> * It's a well known term of art among developers
>>> * If you see "iff" more than once, you're going to be curious
>>> * Hopefully you'll type "what does iff mean" into Google at that point and Google will respond like this: http://imgur.com/1a7b3rp <http://imgur.com/1a7b3rp>
>>> * see also: http://ericasadun.com/2015/09/30/dear-erica-whats-iff/ <http://ericasadun.com/2015/09/30/dear-erica-whats-iff/>
>>> 
>>> -- E
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On Feb 7, 2016, at 9:16 PM, Brian Bauer via swift-users <swift-users at swift.org <mailto:swift-users at swift.org>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> I apologize in advance if this subject has already been discussed and decided (as far as I can tell, the mailing list archives go back only about 60 days)…
>>>> 
>>>> When running through the Swift Tour portion of the Swift eBook, on page 10 there is a code snippet showing an example of the switch statement.  While typing that into an Xcode playground, I get a code completion popup on the “hasSuffix” method and the documentation says “Returns true iff self ends with suffix.”  This looks like a typo.  I know that it means “If and Only If” but to a less experienced developer this is likely to be misunderstood, especially as I can find no explanation for “iff” anywhere in the documentation.
>>>> 
>>>> The source of this documentation nugget is a comment in /stdlib/public/core/StringLegacy.swift, so I think discussion of the topic is relevant here.
>>>> 
>>>> Swift is touted as being friendly to new programmers and I don’t think it is reasonable to expect new programmers to understand “iff” and I also don’t think it is reasonable to spend a paragraph explaining “iff” at the beginning of an introduction to Swift, thus I suggest removing “iff” from all code comments that are likely to become user-facing documentation (the triple slash).  Or at the very least, user-facing documentation that is likely to be read by beginners.
>>>> 
>>>> A quick grep of the source gives me somewhere in the neighborhood of 130 instances of “iff” in a triple-slash comment, and I am more than happy to make all of the changes and submit pull requests.  Before taking on that work, however, I would like to know if such a change would be welcome or if anyone has a better idea, etc.
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> Brian
>>>> 
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>>> 
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