[MATRIX-SIG] integer division -- what a concept!

[Rupert Mazzucco]

Q: What is n/(n+1)?
A: 0

This is of course wrong for most practical purposes,
but it is the result Python will give.
I'm aware that I should have written n/(n+1.0), or
typcast, or been more careful in the first place,
and that there are historical reasons;
nevertheless I think the above behaviour is
most unfortunate for the following reasons:

* Bugs can creep into the code in no time.
  Just leave out a .0 ... And the
  chance is not bad, especially when copying
  algorithms from textbooks.

* These errors are extremely hard to find, because
  calculations will yield valid, albeit wrong, values.
  And how can you ever be sure you have found all of them?

* Explicit typecasts and .0's all over the place make
  algorithms hard to read and comparison with textbooks
  difficult.

So, is there any way to change this behaviour?

Thank you,
Rupert Mazzucco

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