Re: [Gnuplot-info] integer vs. floating point division

[Tait <gnu...@t4...>]

> >> as described in gnuplot help, gnuplot does integer divison if the
> >> dividend and the divisors are integers.
> >> As a normal user, you don't expect this
> >
> > [shrug]  integer division is "normal" for most programming and
> > scripting languages.
> 
> Octave: 0.50000
> Guile: 1/2
> awk: 0.5
> Perl: 0.5
> Lua: 0.5
> Python: 0
> bc: 0
> Bash: 0
> Pascal: 0.5
> Fortran: 0
> 
> Now I'll grant you Fortran and Python.  The rest either gives 0.5 or is
> not intended for floating point calculations anyway.
> 
> Arguably Octave is the most relevantly similar in scope.

It's worth mentioning that Python has changed this behavior. In
Python2, division defaults to integer-division and 1/2 is 0.
Starting with Python3 (which in my experience is used everywhere
except niche applications by now) "true" division applies,
meaning types are auto-promoted such that 1/2 is 0.5.

I'd say integer division is gradually becoming an anachronism,
and the new trend seems to be not just fixed floating-point but
full rational-number support or arbitrary- (even infinite-)
precision calculations, to avoid frustrating behaviors like
ceil(900e-7/12e-7) => 76.