stan-dev / stan-dev/docs

User does not pass real t and vector state to ode, ode solver does

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Description

https://github.com/stan-dev/docs/blob/e0afdd2d9419633ce27c89b7616352369235fda8/src/stan-users-guide/odes.Rmd#L141

While real t and vector y (the state variable) must be coded into the first two parameters of the ode function, the user does not pass these to the ode function through the ode solver. Instead, the ode solver endogenously supplies them or builds them up. The vector y will match the initial conditions the user passes to the ode solver: y0, t0, ts.

There may be a better explanation than mine above, but having this in the docs will reduce confusion in knowing what to provide to the ode-function and solver-function pair.

The same explanation should be added to the functions reference in the section:

## Ordinary differential equation (ODE) solvers {#functions-ode-solver}

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Research direction

Read the ODE explanation in src/stan-users-guide/odes.Rmd and the ODE solver section in src/functions-reference/higher-order_functions.Rmd. Clarify that the solver supplies the time and state arguments to the ODE function, while the user's initial conditions provide y0, t0, and ts. Done means both sections consistently explain what the user passes to each function.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
markdown
Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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