[Octave-bug-tracker] [bug #64516] Document how optimset expands short option inputs to full option names

[Rik]

Update of bug #64516 (project octave):

                 Summary: optimset silently replace user defined "n" with
"niter_check_tolfun" => Document how optimset expands short option inputs to
full option names

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Follow-up Comment #15:

Checking how Matlab handles this is a useful second opinion on desired
behavior.

Matlab

1) emits an error if a short name is ambiguous (matches one or more
possibilities)

2) does *not* issue any message or warning if a short name is unambiguous, and
expands the short name to the full long name.

I agree with Markus that emitting a warning whenever a partial name is
expanded would be very noisy, and is probably why Matlab has chosen not to do
this.  I also agree that it is impossible within core Octave to document every
option available because a new package, or even a new user function, could add
potential options.

Currently there is no documentation about the expansion of short names to long
names.  That should be fixed.

For the original bug reporter, I believe it would better to use the full name
of options with optimset.  This makes for clearer code, and eliminates
ambiguity.  If you intend to create your own options then I would choose long,
meaningful option names in the same way that one chooses meaningful variable
names.  The name 'n', even as a variable, could mean many things.  But,
'n_user_function_evals' or some such is very clear. 


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