evaluate to call

[lindahua]

Some packages, e.g. StatsBase, rely on the evaluation of functors.

In Julia 0.3, we used evaluate internally to invoke a functor, and in latest version of Julia 0.4, it now uses call.

I wish this can be supported by this package.

[ivarne]

It might be relevant to know that JuliaLang/julia@0c631f8 is identified by

VERSION < v"0.4.0-dev+1258"

[simonster]

This doesn't seem like it can be handled by @compat with 0.4 syntax, since we can't mimic call overloading on 0.3. Maybe the best approach is just to have this package define evaluate by importing Base.evaluate on 0.3 or by as an alias to call on 0.4, and having packages use Compat.evaluate in place of Base.evaluate? Although that doesn't help if you want to be able to define a functor and pass it to a reduction in Base.

[ivarne]

We could have evaluate as an alias for call in 0.4 also. Seems like a deprecation would be in order anyway. Was evaluate ever exported?

[stevengj]

@compat call(foo, x) could turn into Base.evalute(foo, x) in 0.3 and foo(x) in 0.4.

And for defining functors, @compat function Base.call(foo, x) ... end could be transformed similarly.

If evaluate was never exported, I would just remove it and file bug reports with the affected packages rather than deprecating it.

[tkelman]

I think @functorize (#184) covers this.