From: Hal Fulton <hal9000@...>
Date: 2004-05-13T04:27:41+09:00
Subject: [OT] Re: Major Addition Bug?

Lloyd Zusman wrote:

> In 1969 I took a course called Introduction to Computer Programming.  In
> one of the early chapters of the textbook, we learned about a concept
> called "floating point arithmetic".  One aspect of this topic that was
> drilled into us is the way that floating point arithmetic does not yield
> exact results.
> 
> I want to add that this concept, which is so basic to the understanding
> of programming that it was taught in an introductory course before we
> even wrote a line of code, was old information even in 1969.
> 
> This basic concept of floating point arithmetic is every bit as
> pertinent today as it was in 1969 and the years prior to that.  Did you
> actually not learn this concept before starting to program in Ruby?

I don't know Sean's situation or background, but let me point out that
many people on this list are not of an actual computer science
background. Best know example: David Alan Black, though very
knowledgeable in computing, actually comes from a humanities background
if I'm not mistaken.

Of course, overall I agree with you. I'd be disappointed if I found that
someone with a degree in computer science (or even 2-3 semesters) didn't
understand this fact.

But some people on this list are self-taught programmers. They may never
have had a single class in computer science. No discrete structures, no
digital systems, no operating systems, no analysis of algorithms.

And while I agree that this fact of floating-point life is an essential
concept for any serious programmer, it's not the sort of thing you learn
when you're self-taught. Hmm, maybe there should be a book of that stuff
for the self-taught programmer. (/me thinks and scribbles)

Anyhow, we have a wide diversity of ages and experience levels here.
Pretty cool, I think.

Some people on this list have not even finished high school yet, I
am guessing...


Cheers,
Hal