TimelyDataflow / TimelyDataflow/differential-dataflow
Clarify how Variables work
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- Rust
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Description
In the documentation for Variable::set, (https://docs.rs/differential-dataflow/0.11.0/differential_dataflow/operators/iterate/struct.Variable.html#method.set) it says "Adds a new source of data to the Variable." but doesn't anywhere clarify what it means for a Variable to have a source or for that matter what happens when you add one. Is it concatenating or overwriting?
Also I'm confused about what exactly "iterative" does. In the example in the book (https://timelydataflow.github.io/differential-dataflow/chapter_2/chapter_2_7.html) it show how to construct the "iterate" function using just a "Variable" and "set". It seems like "iterative" isn't called anywhere. So where is the recursion coming from? Does "Variable::set" do the thing repeatedly or just once?
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
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- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the Variable::set documentation and the linked chapter 2.7 book example. Determine how a Variable's sources combine, whether set acts once or repeatedly, and where the recursion in iterate comes from. Done means the documentation answers these questions clearly.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- rust
- Domain
- documentation
- Issue type
- Documentation
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100