[Python-Dev] RE: Adding decimal (aka FixedPoint) numbers to Python

[Greg Ewing]

Tim Peters <tim.one@comcast.net>:

> [Greg Ewing]
> > Worse, it would completely lose the connotation that it is a *decimal*
> > number type, which surely is the main point of it in the first place!
> 
> Only to a compsci type.  The intended audience never heard of binary
> fixed-point -- fixed-point means decimal to them as surely as New Zealand
> means anarchy to an American <wink>.

But they're going to have to learn that there's something
other than decimal in order to understand why they should
be using this fixed thingy in the first place, instead
of using floats. I don't think you'll be doing them any
favours by using terminology that obscures the difference.

There's a precedent for this in SQL, which has a type
called DECIMAL. Now, why do you think they called it that
and not something blander like NUMBER?

Greg Ewing, Computer Science Dept, +--------------------------------------+
University of Canterbury,	   | A citizen of NewZealandCorp, a	  |
Christchurch, New Zealand	   | wholly-owned subsidiary of USA Inc.  |
greg@cosc.canterbury.ac.nz	   +--------------------------------------+