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Author terry.reedy
Recipients Ramchandra Apte, docs@python, ezio.melotti, gdr@garethrees.org, pitrou, r.david.murray, rhettinger, terry.reedy
Date 2014-02-04.21:26:04
SpamBayes Score -1.0
Marked as misclassified Yes
Message-id <1391549165.03.0.908869038001.issue19362@psf.upfronthosting.co.za>
In-reply-to
Content
My objection to 'container' is that it is inaccurate and leads to inaccurate mental models. A set is like a non-exclusive club or association, defined either by rule or roster, not like a box or room, which contain exclusively. I am 'in' the set Python Developers, but am not contained by it.

Some decades ago I was hindered by the notion that a set is like a box (container). A web search indicates that the top hits all have variations on 'well-defined, unordered *collection* of objects, considered as an object in itself' -- wikipedia, mathisfun, wikia, brittanica, math.ku.edu.  We do a disservice to call a set a container.

It is true that many Python collections are implemented by containing references to objects (a roster) but ranges are not (a parameterized rule). The *collections* module is properly named.
History
Date User Action Args
2014-02-04 21:26:05terry.reedysetrecipients: + terry.reedy, rhettinger, pitrou, ezio.melotti, r.david.murray, docs@python, gdr@garethrees.org, Ramchandra Apte
2014-02-04 21:26:05terry.reedysetmessageid: <1391549165.03.0.908869038001.issue19362@psf.upfronthosting.co.za>
2014-02-04 21:26:05terry.reedylinkissue19362 messages
2014-02-04 21:26:04terry.reedycreate