documentation error

[tiissa]

bill wrote:
>>From 3.2 in the Reference Manual "The Standard Type Hierarchy":
> 
> "Integers
>     These represent elements from the mathematical set of whole
> numbers."
> 
> The generally recognized definition of a 'whole number' is zero and the
> positive integers.

This term is ambiguous as it seems to be used for both natural numbers 
and signed numbers [1].


> That is to say, -1 is not a whole number.  The
> documentation ought to replace "whole numbers" with "integers".

Then you get a circular definition, arguably not very useful.
Why not simply precise 'signed whole numbers'?


However, it can be noted that the first instance of such types provides 
the range -2147483648, 2147483647 which cannot be mistaken for natural 
numbers.


[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_numbers