Programming Tutorial for absolute beginners

[Duncan Smith]

James wrote:
> Perhaps use the phrase "whole number" there and mention that in
> programming they're called integers. Having a glossary with
> definitions for things like integer, float etc etc. would be good if
> when you talked about integers it linked to the glossary. And
> similarly use "decimals" for floats? Less sure about that one though.
> But anyway you don't need to go into the whole type thing, just
> mention that Python distinguishes between doing maths with whole
> numbers and decimals.
> 

In general they are integers, and "integer" is not a Python type, so I
don't see a problem with the term.  The problem I saw was that there was
no explanation for the returned value.  Using the term "decimal" is
probably a bad idea, given Python decimals.  But I'm not sure you need
to come up with a suitable term until you actually get round to
explaining types (at which point the problem disappears).

Duncan