Why MATLAB has a confusing function name such as griddata (or griddatan)?

2 views (last 30 days)
I am really confused by the function names griddata and griddatan, because these function names are prefixed by grid whereas the functions are actually doing scattered data interpolation, rather than gridded data interpolation.
In contrast, interpolant class names such as griddedInterpolant (gridded data interpolation) and scatteredInterpolant (scattered data interpolation) have no confusion at all, because these names are consistent with their functional behaviors.

Accepted Answer

Walter Roberson
Walter Roberson on 1 Feb 2017
griddata is a verb and noun. It puts the data into a grid, which is the verb "grid"
griddedInterpolant is an adjective and a noun.
  2 Comments
Peng Liu
Peng Liu on 1 Feb 2017
Edited: Peng Liu on 1 Feb 2017
I understand the name griddata puts some emphasis on the gridded query points, but this function also works for scattered query points. Why there must be some emphasis on the grid aspect? Why not emphasize both aspects or neither?
Walter Roberson
Walter Roberson on 1 Feb 2017
griddata has existed since R13 or before, and the emphasis was on querying at grids of points. The name probably seemed like a good idea at the time, which was long before the *Interpolant routines.

Sign in to comment.

More Answers (0)

Categories

Find more on Interpolation in Help Center and File Exchange

Products

Community Treasure Hunt

Find the treasures in MATLAB Central and discover how the community can help you!

Start Hunting!