Dealing with Inconsistencies in Java Naming

Status

ACCEPTED

Discussed by: Paul Dubs, Alex Black, raver119 on 22. November 2019

Context

There are slight inconsistencies in naming between existing op class definitions and factory methods. For example a factory method called bernoulli in the random namespace with a corresponding op class called BernoulliDistribution.

Two possible solutions where suggested:

1. Add an additional property that provides us with the correct class name
2. Rename classes in ND4J to ensure consistency and provide backwards compatibility via deprecated subclasses

Decision

For now we will introduce a javaOpClass property which in cases of inconsistency provides us with the correct class name.

Consequences

Advantages

• We can start using this property immediately
• No need to change anything of the existing ND4J / SameDiff API

Disadvantages

• Inconsistency continues to exist within the Java codebase
• We have to take extra care to add the new property where needed