On Sat, 6 Nov 2004, Olaf Matthes wrote:
But the nameclash is still there if you implement 'scale' in Pd and call it 'scale' because that's what it does and what the Max object with the same name does.... Only that the user can rename it a bit more easily being an abstraction and not part of a library.
What you call "only" are actually the advantages that make it the better solution in case of name clashes. To change the name of an external you would need to know how to program, compile and have at least three (four with irix) compilers at hand, if you want to make your patches cross platform.
Although I am not coming from the Max world I see the reasoning behind Max compatibility, which is probably the best argument in favour of a real solution of the nameclashes problem. Unfortately it is not one that I can lead, because for me Max is as weird as Pd is to Max'ers, so I personally don't care.
Guenter