Operator symbol for "nb_intdivide"

[Marcin 'Qrczak' Kowalczyk]

Thu, 26 Jul 2001 18:08:34 GMT, Peter Dobcsanyi <petrus at pobox.com> pisze:

> But, I don't like the "//" operator symbol what we are supposed to
> use for implementing "a // b == floor(a/b)".

Me too.

> I would like to suggest to use a clearly distinguishable
> one-character symbol for the "nb_intdivide".

Here I disagree. I would preferably use div (and mod) as operators.
The only problem with them is that someone could have used them as
identifiers.

I still think that it's a minor problem, more easily fixed than
finding / which need to be changed at all. I still prefer it.
Perhaps because I used to use Pascal a lot. It's readable and is
already used in Python for other operators.

Other proposals:

- div (and mod) as functions, i.e. div(a, b). Ugly but the meaning
  is clear.

- A general mechanism of turning functions into binary operators,
  probably $div like in Miranda. This doesn't steal a keyword but
  is inconsistent with spelling of existing operators (I don't know
  about Miranda, but in Haskell there are no operators consisting
  of letters).

- Some language uses \ (I don't remember which, probably a kind of
  Basic or JavaScript). It is overloaded in Python, but not in the
  middle of a line. Drawback: can't be used at the end of a line, i.e.
      x = (2 \
           3)
  doesn't mean what you might think - this would be legal for + for
  example because it's in parens.

And BTW, I still think that 1/3 is a rational.

-- 
 __("<  Marcin Kowalczyk * qrczak at knm.org.pl http://qrczak.ids.net.pl/
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