Re: [Maxima-discuss] index properties and define/funmake

[Majzoub, E. <eri...@um...>]

Thank you for all your replies. My initial implementation was ad hoc. I think I can do what I want more cleanly without defining functions the way I was. I’ll work it out…

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On Jan 8, 2026, at 4:19 PM, Stavros Macrakis <mac...@gm...> wrote:


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On Thu, Jan 8, 2026 at 2:01 PM Robert Dodier <rob...@gm...<mailto:rob...@gm...>> wrote:
...
Looks like the larger issue here is that Maxima functions can't have
subscripted variables as formal arguments (only simple symbols are
allowed). Whether there are display properties doesn't change that.

I think I have experimented with allowing subscripted variables as
formal arguments, and if I recall correctly, it is not too complicated
to make it happen. (Or maybe it is -- I don't have a clear memory
about it.) But then there are problems with interpreting variations
such as: function foo is declared as foo(A[k]) := ..., what if I say
A[j] or A[1] or A[k + 1] in the function body? What if I then say k:
100, what happens to the formal argument? Or foo(A[1]) := ..., does
A[2] have any special meaning? Etc.

As Fateman points out, no common programming languages support subscripted formal variables, for all the good reasons you give.
If it's just the name that is wanted, users can use other conventions if their variables have conventional names, e.g., phi_x, phi_y, phi_z.

If there is some interesting semantics attached to the subscripted formal variable, I'd like to know what it is.


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