3 ms·
> The most typical argument against the use of unsigned integers is that it’s more error prone Not only, most people don't know the rules even. > For me as a
by pjmlp 4mo ago
> The most typical argument against the use of unsigned integers is that it’s more error prone
Not only, most people don't know the rules even.
> For me as a language designer, which I don't really count myself as these days, what "simple" really ended up meaning was could I expect J. Random Developer to hold the spec in his head. That definition says that, for instance, Java isn't -- and in fact a lot of these languages end up with a lot of corner cases, things that nobody really understands. Quiz any C developer about unsigned, and pretty soon you discover that almost no C developers actually understand what goes on with unsigned, what unsigned arithmetic is. Things like that made C complex. The language part of Java is, I think, pretty simple. The libraries you have to look up.
Taken from http://www.gotw.ca/publications/c_family_interview.htm http://www.gotw.ca/publications/c_family_interview.htm