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This sounds nice — but is it really necessary to treat our good friend, the decimal point, so badly? Calling today 44.7 means that we're effectively using base
by q7xvh97o2pDhNrh 3y ago
This sounds nice — but is it really necessary to treat our good friend, the decimal point, so badly?
Calling today 44.7 means that we're effectively using base 7 after the decimal point (but it's 1 through 7 instead of the usual 0 through 6, for extra fun), while using base 10 before it.
Why not just something nice and easy-to-parse without all the mathematical confusion, like "44d7"?
- fsckboy 3y ago> Why not just something nice and easy-to-parse without all the mathematical confusion, like "44d7"? how about 5Nov44d7, much easier to parse. go with 5Nov43d6 and I'm on board even quicker because I prefer 0 indexing.
- KineticLensman 3y agoWhich century is that?
- mongol 3y agoIf you prefer zeo indexing, you would want 4Nov43d6
- fsckboy 3y agoi also have a competing preference to maintain communication with other people
- em500 3y agoAs sibling mentioned, ISO already defines a standard notation (2023-W44-7), precisely so that different people don't have to go invent their own. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_week_date https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_week_date
- kmarc 3y agoFun fact: it's a dot, not a "decimal point". That dot has many interpretations; in dates, sometimes it separates the month from year, or the day from a month. In version numbers, it separates major from minor, etc. It's so much not a "decimal point", that in some languages (Hungarian and German, for instance) it is a thousands separator, whereas for decimal fractions a comma is used (10,000.00 in English is 10.000,00 in Hungarian, making Excel flip) It is really just a dot. Our interpretation is what makes it a certain kind of separator. Or not a separator at all, like at the end of this sentence.
- koonsolo 3y agoI don't agree. I'm from Belgium and I also use a comma, but that doesn't mean I would put hours and minutes as 8.35 or 8,35. No, it's 8:35. Numbers with a dot or comma means it's decimal. Your date reference makes no sence because either / or - is used in those cases, not dots or comma's. Basically, having a dot or comma adds to the confusion when working with non decimal numbers.
- taway1237 3y ago>Your date reference makes no sence because either / or - is used in those cases, not dots or comma's. In my (european) country a dot is used - for example 5.11.2023.
- burnerburnito 3y agoGood point, the system would work just as well if it was something like: w36:2 But it wouldn't cause nearly as much confusion or decimal place issues relating to improper automation.
- kmarc 3y ago> Numbers with a dot or comma means it's decimal. But... It doesn't in IP addresses, version numbers, dates, with different locales, and possibly many other uses. These examples clearly show that "numbers with a dot" doesn't always mean decimal. A dot is a dot. Mainly with the _role_ of a separator. When you interpret it, it might mean a _decimal_ separator for you, but as well might mean a thousand-separator for MS excel with the German locale.
- pezezin 3y agoThat depends on the country. For example, in Japan it is very common to write dates with either a dot, or with the full kanjis for year, month and day.
- ncruces 3y agoThe ISO formatting for today is 2023-W44-7.
- WithinReason 3y ago44d7 would be confusing for DnD users
- ndsipa_pomu 3y agoIt's just a ruse by Big Dice to get us to buy more d7s which traditionally has had very poor sales
- Someone 3y ago> but is it really necessary to treat our good friend, the decimal point, so badly? You’re not playing cricket, I guess. There, an over is six throws, and 4.3 overs is four and an half over.