main #2

vistuleB commented 2025年12月27日 07:17:04 +01:00

I fixed some English-as-a-second language problems in the README & added 'norm' as an alias for 'length' in vec2i/vec2f/vec3i/vec3f/vec4i/vec4f.

I fixed some English-as-a-second language problems in the README & added 'norm' as an alias for 'length' in vec2i/vec2f/vec3i/vec3f/vec4i/vec4f.

NNB commented 2025年12月27日 14:42:59 +01:00

Hi, thank you for the PR <3.

I will merge the "fixed some English-as-a-second language problems in the README".

But I have some question about the norm alias for length. I have never seen norm as a value/function to get vector's length, And I have checked Godot, Bevy, Phazer and Kaplay but none of them have norm as a way to get its length.

The name seem like an acronym of some word. I want to avoid acronym, seem like Gleam standard is to avoid acronym (even abs is int.absolute_value in Gleam).

Also, the name might get confuse with normalize functions (Normalize the vector).

Oh, and another thing, I think we should avoid alias as much as possible, to keep the API simple and avoid "too many ways to do the same thing".

But maybe there is something that I don't yet know or understand here. If anything, let me know ^^.

Hi, thank you for the PR <3. I will merge the "fixed some English-as-a-second language problems in the README". But I have some question about the `norm` alias for `length`. I have never seen `norm` as a value/function to get vector's length, And I have checked Godot, Bevy, Phazer and Kaplay but none of them have `norm` as a way to get its length. The name seem like an acronym of some word. I want to avoid acronym, seem like Gleam standard is to avoid acronym (even `abs` is `int.absolute_value` in Gleam). Also, the name might get confuse with [`normalize` functions (Normalize the vector)](https://hexdocs.pm/vec/vec/vec2f.html#normalize). Oh, and another thing, I think we should avoid alias as much as possible, to keep the API simple and avoid "too many ways to do the same thing". But maybe there is something that I don't yet know or understand here. If anything, let me know ^^.

vistuleB commented 2025年12月28日 05:32:18 +01:00

Just google "what is the norm of a vector" ;)

More seriously this a question of academic terminology versus game dev terminology. Some game dev engines try to keep words as "baby" as possible in order not to scare people away. But in a physics or math textbook the term "norm" is used.

Another example is the numpy library that uses the term "norm".
https://numpy.org/devdocs/reference/generated/numpy.linalg.vector_norm.html

Anyway "norm" is not an acronym, it's an ordinary word of the English language which is the math/physics term for "length of a vector".

Just google "what is the norm of a vector" ;) More seriously this a question of academic terminology versus game dev terminology. Some game dev engines try to keep words as "baby" as possible in order not to scare people away. But in a physics or math textbook the term "norm" is used. Another example is the numpy library that uses the term "norm". https://numpy.org/devdocs/reference/generated/numpy.linalg.vector_norm.html Anyway "norm" is not an acronym, it's an ordinary word of the English language which is the math/physics term for "length of a vector".

NNB commented 2025年12月29日 14:12:18 +01:00

Oh okay. I understand but these two point are still remain:

Also, the name might get confuse with normalize functions (Normalize the vector).

I think we should avoid alias as much as possible, to keep the API simple and avoid "too many ways to do the same thing".

So... sorry, I cant merge this PR yet. I think this PR should only be about fixing the README.md, then we can open a new issue to discuss this further.

Thanks!

Oh okay. I understand but these two point are still remain: > Also, the name might get confuse with [`normalize` functions (Normalize the vector)](https://hexdocs.pm/vec/vec/vec2f.html#normalize). > I think we should avoid alias as much as possible, to keep the API simple and avoid "too many ways to do the same thing". So... sorry, I cant merge this PR yet. I think this PR should only be about fixing the README.md, then we can open a new issue to discuss this further. Thanks!

vistuleB commented 2025年12月30日 09:10:10 +01:00

Hi thanks.

I understand the second point about keeping the API minimal and not wanting different names for different things. This is a valid aesthetic point.

Just FYI, for the "normalize" thing, "normalize" is a verb whereas "norm" is a noun. For a native English-speaking person (let alone someone with background in math&phys) there is no danger of confusion there. (Also norm has a different return type than normalize, thankfully.)

I will try to use your library without the norm, and get used to length :) I hope to build a 4x4 matrix library on top of it, at some point. (In separate package.)

Hi thanks. I understand the second point about keeping the API minimal and not wanting different names for different things. This is a valid aesthetic point. Just FYI, for the "normalize" thing, "normalize" is a verb whereas "norm" is a noun. For a native English-speaking person (let alone someone with background in math&phys) there is no danger of confusion there. (Also `norm` has a different return type than `normalize`, thankfully.) I will try to use your library without the `norm`, and get used to `length` :) I hope to build a 4x4 matrix library on top of it, at some point. (In separate package.)

NNB commented 2025年12月30日 16:32:34 +01:00

Okay, I love to see the matrix library in future!

Okay, I love to see the matrix library in future!