documentation error

[bill]

>From 3.2 in the Reference Manual "The Standard Type Hierarchy":

"Integers
These represent elements from the mathematical set of whole
numbers."

The generally recognized definition of a 'whole number' is zero and the
positive integers. That is to say, -1 is not a whole number. The
documentation ought to replace "whole numbers" with "integers".

[tiissa]

Re: documentation error

bill wrote:[color=blue][color=green]
>>From 3.2 in the Reference Manual "The Standard Type Hierarchy":[/color]
>
> "Integers
> These represent elements from the mathematical set of whole
> numbers."
>
> The generally recognized definition of a 'whole number' is zero and the
> positive integers.[/color]

This term is ambiguous as it seems to be used for both natural numbers
and signed numbers [1].

[color=blue]
> That is to say, -1 is not a whole number. The
> documentation ought to replace "whole numbers" with "integers".[/color]

Then you get a circular definition, arguably not very useful.
Why not simply precise 'signed whole numbers'?


However, it can be noted that the first instance of such types provides
the range -2147483648, 2147483647 which cannot be mistaken for natural
numbers.


[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_numbers

[Reinhold Birkenfeld]

Re: documentation error

tiissa wrote:[color=blue]
> bill wrote:[color=green][color=darkred]
>>>From 3.2 in the Reference Manual "The Standard Type Hierarchy":[/color]
>>
>> "Integers
>> These represent elements from the mathematical set of whole
>> numbers."
>>
>> The generally recognized definition of a 'whole number' is zero and the
>> positive integers.[/color]
>
> This term is ambiguous as it seems to be used for both natural numbers
> and signed numbers [1].[/color]

I cleared this up; now it reads "... set of whole numbers (positive and negative
ones)."

Reinhold

[Bryan Olson]

Re: documentation error

Reinhold Birkenfeld wrote:[color=blue]
> tiissa wrote:
>[color=green]
>>bill wrote:
>>[color=darkred]
>>>>From 3.2 in the Reference Manual "The Standard Type Hierarchy":
>>>
>>>"Integers
>>> These represent elements from the mathematical set of whole
>>>numbers."
>>>
>>>The generally recognized definition of a 'whole number' is zero and the
>>>positive integers.[/color]
>>
>>This term is ambiguous as it seems to be used for both natural numbers
>>and signed numbers [1].[/color]
>
>
> I cleared this up; now it reads "... set of whole numbers (positive[/color]
and negative[color=blue]
> ones)."[/color]

Consider deleting the sentence in which the Python doc tries to
define mathematical integers.

Integers

[In Python] There are three types of integers:


--
--Bryan

[Bengt Richter]

Re: documentation error

On Sun, 04 Sep 2005 20:02:10 GMT, Bryan Olson <fakeaddress@no where.org> wrote:
[color=blue]
>Reinhold Birkenfeld wrote:[color=green]
> > tiissa wrote:
> >[color=darkred]
> >>bill wrote:
> >>
> >>>>From 3.2 in the Reference Manual "The Standard Type Hierarchy":
> >>>
> >>>"Integers
> >>> These represent elements from the mathematical set of whole
> >>>numbers."
> >>>
> >>>The generally recognized definition of a 'whole number' is zero and the
> >>>positive integers.
> >>
> >>This term is ambiguous as it seems to be used for both natural numbers
> >>and signed numbers [1].[/color]
> >
> >
> > I cleared this up; now it reads "... set of whole numbers (positive[/color]
>and negative[color=green]
> > ones)."[/color]
>
>Consider deleting the sentence in which the Python doc tries to
>define mathematical integers.
>
> Integers
>
> [In Python] There are three types of integers:
>[/color]
This is a nice site:

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/WholeNumber.html

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/topics/Integers.html

Regards,
Bengt Richter

[Bryan Olson]

Re: documentation error

Bengt Richter wrote:[color=blue]
> Bryan Olson wrote:[color=green]
>>Consider deleting the sentence in which the Python doc tries to
>>define mathematical integers.[/color][/color]
[color=blue]
> This is a nice site:
>
> http://mathworld.wolfram.com/WholeNumber.html
> http://mathworld.wolfram.com/topics/Integers.html[/color]

So maybe:

Integers

Pyton offers three types of
<A
HREF="http://mathworld.wolfr am.com/topics/Integers.html"> integers</A>:


Or use the Wikipedia ref.

--
--Bryan

[Terry Hancock]

Re: documentation error

On Sunday 04 September 2005 01:30 pm, Reinhold Birkenfeld wrote:[color=blue]
> tiissa wrote:[color=green]
> > bill wrote:[color=darkred]
> >>>From 3.2 in the Reference Manual "The Standard Type Hierarchy":
> >>
> >> "Integers
> >> These represent elements from the mathematical set of whole
> >> numbers."
> >>
> >> The generally recognized definition of a 'whole number' is zero and the
> >> positive integers.[/color]
> >
> > This term is ambiguous as it seems to be used for both natural numbers
> > and signed numbers [1].[/color][/color]

You realize, of course, that "natural numbers" don't include zero. ;-)

This is a pretty serious nitpick, isn't it? "Integers" is a well defined
mathematical concept, as well as a pretty well defined (but not coincident)
computer science concept. It's probably worth mentioning that Python uses
the *mathematical* definition of "integer" here -- or more precisely that
Python "long integers" do, while regular "integers" are what are known as
"long integers" in C.

Okay. I guess that *is* pretty confusing.

I think the manual is not so far off since "whole number" makes English
sense, if not mathematical. Certainly, if I were explaining this to my
kids I would say "whole" and not "integer" (I at least know they know what
"whole" means).

--
Terry Hancock ( hancock at anansispacework s.com )
Anansi Spaceworks http://www.anansispaceworks.com

[Dennis Lee Bieber]

Re: documentation error

On Wed, 7 Sep 2005 08:31:36 -0500, Terry Hancock
<hancock@anansi spaceworks.com> declaimed the following in
comp.lang.pytho n:
[color=blue]
>
> You realize, of course, that "natural numbers" don't include zero. ;-)
>[/color]
Tell that to the Ada language standard <G>

"natural" is 0..whatever, "positive" is 1..whatever.
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