Hi,

I would like to propose that AverageValueInstrumentSample (in the
instrument.manager package) be renamed to MeanValueInstrumentSample
before a release is done. This would also involve changing the 
InstrumentSampleFactory to accept the type value "mean" rather 
than "average".

Why? Because the AverageValueInstrumentSample is actually calculating
a mean. "Average" is a vague term which includes mean, but also includes
other measures such as mode and median [1]. While it is true that people
ususally mean "mean" when they say average, I think we should strive
to be as precise as possible. This will also allow the creation of other
ValueInstrumentSamples which measure other averages such as median and
mode, without naming conflicts.

Of course even "MeanValueInstrumentSample" may not be precise enough,
as there are differents types of means [2]. I haven't looked yet at what
type of mean it is calculating...we may want to call it 
ArithmeticMeanValueInstrumentSample if it is simply calculating the 
arithmetic mean.

Ryan

[1] http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/dictionary/a.html#average
[2] http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Mean.html

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