[Babase] Re: Enhancements to Ranker
Jun Yang
junyang at gmail.com
Tue Jan 8 13:24:34 EST 2008
On Jan 8, 2008 11:43 AM, kfenn <kfenn at princeton.edu> wrote:
> I don't forsee a time when we would use the alphabetical listing for
> ranks. However, if the program can run the extra step quickly, in
> theory, I don't have a problem with the initial alphabetical listing
> because 1) it's a good reminder that we need to think about/specify the
> rank order that seeds that matrix 2) there may be a time when its
> useful to run the matrix in alphabetical order for sname proofing purposes.
>From the programming standpoint, it's fairly easy to add the functionality
that initializes the ranking with an existing one in the database (either for
the exact same month or for the latest preceding month). However, I
personally I like the explicit step of "load/incorporate" because:
1) There is a good amount of logic working behind the scene if we initialize
implicitly. I think it's rather dangerous if the user is unaware of
the exact logic.
For example, did the ranking come from the same or an earlier month? If
the ranked population is different, how are the difference handled? With the
explicit "load/incorporate" step, all these intricacies are exposed,
and the user
has a chance of examining them before deciding to accept or abort. (This is
the same point as Tabby's first point above.)
2) Load/incorporate is pretty fast anyway; the user doesn't need to type
anything except click a few times.
--- Jun Y.
More information about the Babase
mailing list