4 ms·
Off-topic, but the bit numbering convention is deliciously confusing. Little-endian bytes (lowest byte is leftmost) and big-endian bits (bits contributing less
by Veserv 2y ago
Off-topic, but the bit numbering convention is deliciously confusing.
Little-endian bytes (lowest byte is leftmost) and big-endian bits (bits contributing less numerical value are rightmost) are normal, but the bits are referenced/numbered little-endian (first bit is leftmost even though it contributes the most numerical value). When I first read the numbering convention I thought it was going to be a breath of fresh air of someone using the much more sane, but non-standard, little-endian bits with little-endian bytes, but it was actually another layered twist. Hopefully someday English can write numbers little-endian, which is objectively superior, and do away with this whole mess.
- kstrauser 2y ago> Hopefully someday English can write numbers little-endian, which is objectively superior Upon reading this, I threw my laptop out the window.
- Veserv 2y agoIt actually is if we did not need to consider historical baggage. Especially in programming where we already use in-band encoding like 0x to denote a hex string or 0b to denote a binary string. I like using 1{s}, e.g. 1x to denote a little-endian hex string and 1b to denote a little-endian binary string, to denote little-endian encoding. But, even ignoring programming, it is still better in normal use. The Arabic language got it right writing little-endian (Arabic numbers are written the same, but Arabic is a right-to-left language so it is actually little-endian), and the European languages just stole it stupid by copying the form instead of the function.
- filmor 2y agoArabian numerals are derived from Indian scripts, which are written left to right, yet the order of digits is already the same we have today.
- pezezin 2y agoNot to mention that in most (all?) spoken languages numbers are big-endian.
- Veserv 2y agoFrom what I have seen, low numbers in Arabic are spoken/written little-endian (twenty five is five and twenty). Apparently German as well. The internet claims that historically large numbers in Arabic were also written out (as in when using number words rather than numerals) little-endian.
- School-Cotton 2y agoNumbers below 100 in German are little-endian. 85 is "fünfundachtzig" (five-and-eighty).
- kibwen 2y ago"Although generally found in text written with the Arabic abjad ("alphabet"), numbers written with these numerals also place the most-significant digit to the left, so they read from left to right (though digits are not always said in order from most to least significant[10]). The requisite changes in reading direction are found in text that mixes left-to-right writing systems with right-to-left systems." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu%E2%80%93Arabic_numeral_system#Positional_notation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu%E2%80%93Arabic_numeral_s...
- CoastalCoder 2y ago> Upon reading this, I threw my laptop out the window. And having shattered the dirty window, your room was enlightened.