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I agree with your distinction. However, the paragraph from the Lua manual still shows sloppy technical writing. Terms should be defined before they are used. U
by qznc 15y ago
I agree with your distinction.
However, the paragraph from the Lua manual still shows sloppy technical writing. Terms should be defined before they are used. Using another technical term is not a good description. For example, coming from Python an "associative array" would have to be called a "dictionary". For the Java and C++ programmers it would be a Map. Better:
The table type provides storage of values under certain keys. Lua uses tables to represent ordinary arrays, sets, records, queues, and other data structures, in a uniform way. For example, a table can be used as an array, since it can store arbitrary data under index numbers as keys.
- exDM69 15y ago> However, the paragraph from the Lua manual still shows sloppy technical writing. That may be true, but we just have to live with it. We can't expect every piece of software to be documented properly (or even at all). > For example, coming from Python an "associative array" would have to be called a "dictionary". For the Java and C++ programmers it would be a Map. I think the term "associative array" is used here (as well as in PHP docs) because it's distinct from Python-style "dictionaries" or Java/C++ "maps" in that it's the only data structure used in Lua. There's no lists or sets like in Python. I think this is the intent that the manual wanted to portray.