IMuliStreamSource to be a class

[Zruty0]

I want to be able to call textReader.Read("file.txt"), instead of having to explicitly create a MultiFileSource.

I think this can be achieved by turning the IMultiStreamSource into a base class.

[Ivanidzo4ka]

#1041

Can we just change Read method and accept string or list of string and wrap them in MultiStreamSource internally?

[TomFinley]

Can we just change Read method and accept string or list of string and wrap them in MultiStreamSource internally?

Let me see if I understand the proposal. There would be an informal convention that IDataReaderEstimator<IMultiStreamSource, TReader> and IDataReader<IMultiStreamSource> would also implement IDataReaderEstimator<string, TReader> and IDataReader<string>. Inside each we would be responsible for a uniform implementation. I'm not sure I like that very much, since it seems to invite considerable complexity and code duplication in ways that seem somewhat pointless, at least at first glance.

What I might prefer is that we have extension methods to IDataReader<MSS> and IDataReaderEstimator<MSS,...> to also have Read(string) and Fit(string).

I think this can be achieved by turning the IMultiStreamSource into a base class.

@Zruty0 , I believe you think this because you can't have implicit casts into an interface, but can into a class? This is true, but in order for a user to exploit this, they would have to somehow figure out or stumble upon the knowledge that string can be implicitly cast to an IMultiStreamSource, which will not be obvious. An extension method on top of IDataReader<IMultiStreamSource> and IDataReaderEstimator<IMultiStreamSource, ...> would be explicitly visible to a user... they hit . on a reader, they see a method Read, and one of the overloads (though an extension) accepts a `string, which is fairly obvious.

However, I do agree that IMultiStreamSource should probably be something based on an abstract class as opposed to an interface, though for different reasons.

[Zruty0]

Ok, so I am much more concerned with the Read methods than I am with interface design.
Extension methods are fine with me for that purpose.

[shauheen]

@markusweimer is asking: "Also, can we make it accept a list of file names as well?"

[sfilipi]

resolved through PR #1281