Why update method both modifies data and returns it?

[petar-donchev]

Wouldn't it be better if there are two methods in public API, one that modifies its argument and returns nothing, and one that does not modify it and returns a modified copy? Or just have one of these.

[michaelmior]

Having the method work like this means you can do some easier chaining in some cases. Both of the use cases you present are still possible. However, if you have a concrete proposal for improving the API, feel free to submit a pull request.