Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!me!eastick
Newsgroups: comp.lang.perl
From: eastick@me.utoronto.ca (Doug Eastick)
Subject: Re: Does it have to be like this?
Message-ID: <90Oct12.181413edt.21973@me.utoronto.ca>
Keywords: octal
Organization: University of Toronto, Department of Mechanical Engineering
References: <1990Oct12.060936.7501@athena.mit.edu> <9951@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV>
Date: 12 Oct 90 22:14:25 GMT

lwall@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (Larry Wall) writes:
>: $x = 010.;
>: is a syntax error.
>: 
>: PS:  To explain for the the confused: a leading 0 on an integer
>: indicates that the number is in octal, e.g. '077'.  When perl 3.0/28
>: sees '010', it's taken to be 8 so (010 < 10).  Ok, so far so bad.  But
>: (correct me if I'm wrong, Larry) 010.0 is parsed as the numbers 8 and
>: 0, with the '.'  indicating a string concatenation, so 010.0 is 80 and
>: (010.0 > 10).

>Right.  I suppose I should point out that you're the first person to point
>this out.  Obviously not a major malfunction...

Hey, other perl users:  do you sometimes shake your head REAL fast
after reading stuff like this?  But I guess thats why perl is so damn
interesting.

>Larry

I've meant to say this for a long time.  Larry, you're warped.  But
it's a good kind of warped, if you know what I mean.  Keep up the
confusing work and one-line answers (I especially liked the one-liner
to the XXencode subject).

...now if I could only get 3.0/28 to work on IRIX 3.3.0.