Re: Integer arithmetic in Java

[M Lang / S Railsback]

Tim Howe wrote:
> 
> Steve,
> 
> The behavior you described can be deduced, more or less, from two basic
> principles.
> 
> One principle is that languages can be much simpler if they're context-free.
> One of the ways in which Java is context-free is that expressions are
> evaluated (and values are promoted) without regard to the context in which
> the expressions are found.
> 
> Another principle is that conversion is automatic and silent if no
> information is lost in the conversion.

OK! I was hoping this would just fade away...

My original posting was a mis-representation of the bug we found, which
was not as simple as my posting implied. We had an expression in which
multiple truncations were taking place within an equation, but it did
finally dawn on us that it was because we were using integers
throughout.

So the lessons are:

a. Don't post stuff until you understand it adequately (let me know if
you disagree, Marcus!)

b. As Einstein figured out, sometimes things are counterintuitive in a
world where everything's discrete instead of continuous

A thousand pardons,

Steve
-- 
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Lang, Railsback & Assoc.
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707-822-0453; Fax 822-1868

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