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=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,c42dbf68f5320193 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-05-09 16:22:05 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.gtei.net!nntp.abs.net!uunet!dca.uu.net!prodigy.com!newsmst01.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.com!postmaster.news.prodigy.com!newssvr14.news.prodigy.com.POSTED!3bae8248!not-for-mail From: tmoran@acm.org Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Generation of permutations References: <3CDAE30B.CFFB6F29@san.rr.com> X-Newsreader: Tom's custom newsreader Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: 67.112.202.37 X-Complaints-To: abuse@prodigy.net X-Trace: newssvr14.news.prodigy.com 1020986518 ST000 67.112.202.37 (Thu, 09 May 2002 19:21:58 EDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 09 May 2002 19:21:58 EDT Organization: Prodigy Internet http://www.prodigy.com X-UserInfo1: [[PAPDCA[S@[SPTX\JKXOFXBWR\HPCTL@XT^OBPLAH[\RZ]CDVW[AKK[J\]^HVKHG^EWZHBLO^[\NH_AZFWGN^\DHNVMX_DHHX[FSQKBOTS@@BP^]C@RHS_AGDDC[AJM_T[GZNRNZAY]GNCPBDYKOLK^_CZFWPGHZIXW@C[AFKBBQS@E@DAZ]VDFUNTQQ]FN Date: Thu, 09 May 2002 23:21:58 GMT Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:23806 Date: 2002-05-09T23:21:58+00:00 List-Id: > It's impossible to [always] reliably determine if a given set of instructions > (i.e., one given to you, not one chosen by you) does indeed sort an > arbitrary list of numbers. With the word "always" that's true. Without that word it's false. There do exist sets of instructions that can be reliably determined to sort an/any arbitrary *finite* list of numbers. (I suspect, but haven't proved, that the aforementioned output of Gnat is one such set of instructions.) (I don't know what it might mean to "sort an infinite list".)