[Octave-bug-tracker] [bug #59023] changed class name: "inline" instead of "function_handle" (or "inline function")

[Hartmut]

URL:
  <https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?59023>

                 Summary: changed class name: "inline" instead of
"function_handle"  (or "inline function")
                 Project: GNU Octave
            Submitted by: hardy
            Submitted on: Thu 27 Aug 2020 09:36:41 PM UTC
                Category: Octave Function
                Severity: 3 - Normal
                Priority: 5 - Normal
              Item Group: None
                  Status: None
             Assigned to: None
         Originator Name: 
        Originator Email: 
             Open/Closed: Open
                 Release: 6.0.90
         Discussion Lock: Any
        Operating System: Any

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Details:

Here is how to reproduce this behavior. In the Octave 6.0.90 release candidate
I see this:


>> f=inline("sum(x)", "x")
warning: inline is obsolete; use anonymous functions instead
f =

  <class inline>

>> class(f)
ans = inline


Where as in Octave 5.2.0 I see:


>>  f=inline("sum(x)", "x")
f = f(x) = sum(x)
>> class(f)
ans = function_handle


In some earlier Octave version the name of this class seems to also have been
"inline function". (At least our quite old blockproc.m in the image package
checks for this class name. See bug #59022, where this first popped up for
me.)

I think that Octave's inline function now turned obsolete with Octave 6 (even
though I could not find a mention of this in the NEWS file of Octave 6.0.90),
but it seems to be still "alive" in Octave 6. 

Questions: 
* Is this (backwards incompatible) change of the class name intentional? Or
could we also stick with the old name (to make life easier for Octave packages
that want to stay compatible to older Octave releases)?
* Shouldn't we mention the obsolete'ness of inline.m in the NEWS file of
Octave 6?




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