5 ms·

>> Java gave me a choice that I didn't need, and I made the wrong choice What if Java gave an arguably more useful choice--whether to use a signed or unsigned

>> Java gave me a choice that I didn't need, and I made the wrong choice What if Java gave an arguably more useful choice--whether to use a signed or unsigned integer?

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
- danbruc 12y ago
  But only because asm.js works hard to make JavaScript differentiate between integers and floating point numbers.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
    - danbruc 12y ago
      This is a decision a compiler can never make in a reliable way because it entirely depends on the actual input and is not known until runtime. You may get away with dynamic recompilation when you realize that the input is not what you assumed when you compiled the code but I really doubt that this is a smart and efficient way to go about it. And asm.js is no evidence for the no side - the information is in the original source code, it does matter and asm.js works around the JavaScript limitation and makes this information available to the JavaScript compiler.
whyever 12y ago
If you use an unsigned 32 bit integer instead of a signed one then you run into problems at 4 instead 2 gigabytes.
- takeda 12y ago
  But who would have JSON files bigger than 4GB? ;)
  - onion2k 12y ago
    Not many people. But in another 12 years?
  - guard-of-terra 12y ago
    We do have a 18GB xml (daily). I guess it will turn to 10 GB json when we convert it over. Why is it even a question? Imagine a JSON of all the people on Earth.
    - jmtulloss 12y ago
      The parent is joking. "Why would you ever need X?" is a classic question that bites every software engineer at some point. Somebody always needs X.
  - AgentConundrum 12y ago
    4194304 K ought to be enough for anybody.
- vbezhenar 12y ago
  While negative numbers very often provoke exceptions like IndexOutOfBoundException, with unsigned integers error could be uncaught for much longer time. I'm all for signed integers, unless storage requirements so tight that you really need that one bit.

>> Java gave me a choice that I didn't need, and I made the wrong choice What if Java gave an arguably more useful choice--whether to use a signed or unsigned integer?

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

danbruc 12y ago
But only because asm.js works hard to make JavaScript differentiate between integers and floating point numbers.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
  - danbruc 12y ago
    This is a decision a compiler can never make in a reliable way because it entirely depends on the actual input and is not known until runtime. You may get away with dynamic recompilation when you realize that the input is not what you assumed when you compiled the code but I really doubt that this is a smart and efficient way to go about it. And asm.js is no evidence for the no side - the information is in the original source code, it does matter and asm.js works around the JavaScript limitation and makes this information available to the JavaScript compiler.

whyever 12y ago

If you use an unsigned 32 bit integer instead of a signed one then you run into problems at 4 instead 2 gigabytes.

takeda 12y ago
But who would have JSON files bigger than 4GB? ;)
- onion2k 12y ago
  Not many people. But in another 12 years?
- guard-of-terra 12y ago
  We do have a 18GB xml (daily). I guess it will turn to 10 GB json when we convert it over. Why is it even a question? Imagine a JSON of all the people on Earth.
  - jmtulloss 12y ago
    The parent is joking. "Why would you ever need X?" is a classic question that bites every software engineer at some point. Somebody always needs X.
- AgentConundrum 12y ago
  4194304 K ought to be enough for anybody.
vbezhenar 12y ago
While negative numbers very often provoke exceptions like IndexOutOfBoundException, with unsigned integers error could be uncaught for much longer time. I'm all for signed integers, unless storage requirements so tight that you really need that one bit.