in reply to Re^2: I prefer my indexes to start at:
in thread I prefer my indexes to start at:

Apparently, the totalOrder predicate from IEEE 754-2008 specifies that -NaN < -Inf < negative finite numbers < -0 < +0 < positive finite numbers < +Inf < +NaN.
So if floating point values are allowed, then I think that "-Nan" would be the obvious starting point ... coz you can't not get no lower than that ;-)

(Hopefully, indexes have to be real integer values.)

Cheers,
Rob

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Re^4: I prefer my indexes to start at:
by GrandFather (Saint) on Sep 06, 2022 at 23:30 UTC
    "Hopefully, indexes have to be real integer values."

    I don't see that they have to be "integer" values, but it gets tricky for current hardware if they aren't limited precision rational numbers. In fact even "integer values" is a deal breaker if they aren't limited precision.

    Optimising for fewest key strokes only makes sense transmitting to Pluto or beyond
      "Integer value" is a rather abstract concept. It has nothing to do with precision or how we represent it (even on paper).
      Bill