From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00, REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,fd63afa4dc364b7e X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-03-28 23:42:06 PST Path: supernews.google.com!sn-xit-03!supernews.com!news-out.usenetserver.com!news-out-sjo.usenetserver.com!cyclone.bc.net!newsfeed.stanford.edu!headwall.stanford.edu!unlnews.unl.edu!newsfeed.ksu.edu!nntp.ksu.edu!news.okstate.edu!dvdeug From: dvdeug@x8b4e53cd.dhcp.okstate.edu (David Starner) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Static typing (Was Re: Better support for garbage collection) Date: 29 Mar 2001 06:13:48 GMT Organization: Oklahoma State University Message-ID: <99ujqs$aai1@news.cis.okstate.edu> References: <98m938$2iod0$1@ID-25716.news.dfncis.de><98pgs1$32up7$1@ID-25716.news.dfncis.de><98umc6$39coj$1@ID-25716.news.dfncis.de> <4mzw6.414$OQ6.73321643@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com> Reply-To: dstarner98@aasaa.ofe.org NNTP-Posting-Host: x8b4e531b.dhcp.okstate.edu User-Agent: slrn/0.9.6.3 (Linux) Xref: supernews.google.com comp.lang.ada:6189 Date: 2001-03-29T06:13:48+00:00 List-Id: On Thu, 29 Mar 2001 05:02:56 GMT, Ken Garlington wrote: >: Then in Ada, a call "Mumble(1);" will resolve to the first Mumble. But >: that's error prone. A reasonable person might accidentally think it >: refers to the other one (because, after all, the number one is a >: perfectly reasonable floating-point number). > >As noted earlier, not according to the dictionary definition of >"floating-point". I think it's a little flaky to depend on dictionary definitions. The only dictionary I have that defines this (the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing) defines it as "A number representation consisting of a mantissa, M, an exponent, E, and an (assumed) radix (or base)" which helps no one in this argument. >: I claim that this call >: should be ambiguous, and therefore illegal. Likewise, "Mumble(1.0)" >: could be mistaken to refer to the wrong one (because, after all, 1.0 is >: an integer number). > >Not according to the dictionary definition of "integer". 1.0 is either zero or an integer (in this case 0) plus or minus one. So by the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, it is an integer. WordNet, and Webster's (1913) aren't as mathematically rigerous (an integer is a number that isn't a fraction or a mixed number?). Again, I don't see how the dictionary says that 1.0 is not an integer, and even if your's does, I don't see why that's definitive. -- David Starner - dstarner98@aasaa.ofe.org Pointless website: http://dvdeug.dhis.org "I don't care if Bill personally has my name and reads my email and laughs at me. In fact, I'd be rather honored." - Joseph_Greg