[Bug]: Typo in method name: contains_branch_separately

Bug summary

There is a typo in the method name contains_branch_seperately from lib/matplotlib/transforms.py:

matplotlib/lib/matplotlib/transforms.py

Line 1421 in a3fcf0b

def contains_branch_seperately(self, other_transform):

This should be spelled contains_branch_separately (separate not seperate).

Since this is a public API method, I propose:

Rename the method to contains_branch_separately (correct spelling)
Create an alias from the old contains_branch_seperately spelling to the new method for backwards compatibility
Add a deprecation warning when the old name is used
Update any internal uses and documentation to use the correct spelling

Happy to prepare a PR for this if that makes sense!

Code for reproduction

# Copied from lib/matplotlib/transforms.py

    def contains_branch_seperately(self, other_transform):
        """
        Return whether the given branch is a sub-tree of this transform on
        each separate dimension.

        A common use for this method is to identify if a transform is a blended
        transform containing an Axes' data transform. e.g.::

            x_isdata, y_isdata = trans.contains_branch_seperately(ax.transData)

        """
        if self.output_dims != 2:
            raise ValueError('contains_branch_seperately only supports '
                             'transforms with 2 output dimensions')
        # for a non-blended transform each separate dimension is the same, so
        # just return the appropriate shape.
        return (self.contains_branch(other_transform), ) * 2

Actual outcome

Code runs as expected, but method name contains a typo.

Expected outcome

Method name should be correctly spelled as contains_branch_separately

Additional information

No response

Operating system

No response

Matplotlib Version

Current main branch, as of a3fcf0b (25 August 2025)

Matplotlib Backend

No response

Python version

No response

Jupyter version

No response

Installation

None

It has been misspelled for 13 years (it does not look like this is a US vs UK difference) without notice so I'm not sure of the practical cost of leaving it as-is.

Did you find this because you spelled it correctly and get a name error or via a tool that searches for misspellings in function names?

My current thinking is that this is technically wrong, but mostly harmless (function names are full of nonsense words and tab-complete hides a lot of sins) where as if we go through deprecation cycle there is a chance we will break someone due to a completely non-functional API change.

The most I would want to do is correct the spelling, add the the misspelling as a copy, fix internal usage, and only document the correct spelling in the docs, but leave the misspelling there without warning forever.

I found it after having PR #30286 merged, which corrected a whitespace error, so it got me hunting for other misspellings and things of that nature.

I agree that it’s not the highest priority thing in the world and also appreciate the friction that deprecations introduce. Your proposed approach sounds very reasonable:

Use contains_branch_separately (correct spelling) as the primary method
Keep contains_branch_seperately as a permanent alias without deprecation warning
Update internal usage to the correct spelling
Document only the correct spelling

Something like this?

-    def contains_branch_seperately(self, other_transform):
+    def contains_branch_separately(self, other_transform):
        """
        Return whether the given branch is a sub-tree of this transform on
        each separate dimension.

        A common use for this method is to identify if a transform is a blended
        transform containing an Axes' data transform. e.g.::

-            x_isdata, y_isdata = trans.contains_branch_seperately(ax.transData)
+            x_isdata, y_isdata = trans.contains_branch_separately(ax.transData)

        """
        if self.output_dims != 2:
-            raise ValueError('contains_branch_seperately only supports '
+            raise ValueError('contains_branch_separately only supports '
                             'transforms with 2 output dimensions')
        # for a non-blended transform each separate dimension is the same, so
        # just return the appropriate shape.
        return (self.contains_branch(other_transform), ) * 2
+
+# Permanent alias for backwards compatibility (historical typo)
+contains_branch_seperately = contains_branch_separately

(Plus relevant documentation fixes.)

Happy to prepare a PR if this sounds reasonable to you.

Yes, I would review and merge a PR that did that.

Fix spelling error in `contains_branch_seperately` method name

I've prepared a PR for your review here: #30475.

Fix spelling error in `contains_branch_seperately` method name

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[Bug]: Typo in method name: contains_branch_separately #30474

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[Bug]: Typo in method name: contains_branch_separately #30474

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Bug summary

Code for reproduction

Actual outcome

Expected outcome

Additional information

Operating system

Matplotlib Version

Matplotlib Backend

Python version

Jupyter version

Installation

Activity

tacaswell commented on Aug 26, 2025

brchristian commented on Aug 26, 2025

tacaswell commented on Aug 26, 2025

brchristian commented on Aug 26, 2025

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