Re: gnuplot cvs source bug

[Ethan M. <merritt@u.washington.edu>]

On Friday 23 September 2005 07:19 am, Robert Hart wrote:
> 
> Yes, but we are talking about a situation where floats *do* apply.
> Surely it is more logical to treat numbers as floats *unless* they are
> used in a context where only integers apply. For any ambiguous case
> (division and exponentiation), anybody who wants the integer math
> *knows* they want it and can use int()

I happen to disagree.  Integer arithmetic is quite useful in many
contexts, and it is a standard part of programming languages and
natural languages.  Adding peculiar arithmetic operators to indicate
that a number is an integer strikes me as being an obfuscation, not
a clarification.  Sure, sometimes even an experienced user will 
forget, and mistype  (n/2) where it should have been (n/2.0).
But also people type "if (a = b)" where it should have been
"if (a == b)" or "if (a eq b)". Hiding this useful distinction
in a choice of operators is not likely to reduce the number of
mistakes.


-- 
Ethan A Merritt       merritt@u.washington.edu
Biomolecular Structure Center
Mailstop 357742
University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195