Xref: utzoo comp.lang.modula2:714 comp.lang.misc:1285
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!uwvax!dogie!uwmcsd1!leah!itsgw!batcomputer!pyramid!prls!mips!uday
From: uday@mips.COM (Robert Redford)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.modula2,comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: 0-based/1-based arrays
Message-ID: <1915@mips.mips.COM>
Date: 22 Mar 88 08:36:48 GMT
References: <7161@sol.ARPA> <2740@mmintl.UUCP> <4343@june.cs.washington.edu> <6276@ames.arpa>
Lines: 27

In article <6276@ames.arpa>, eugene@pioneer.arpa (Eugene N. Miya) writes:
> In article <1886@gumby.mips.COM> uday@mips.COM (Uday Kurkure) writes:
> >   In Mathematics, zero means nothing, void. In computer science, zero
> >   has a meaning depending on the the context. There exists a memory location
> >   at zero address. As long as there are addresses starting from zero, 0-based/
> >   1-based arrays would be a matter of taste.
> 
> Sorry, nope.  Zero is a place holder, the additive identity, it does not
> mean void, etc.  This is why the null set, $phi$, and {} were created
> by Cantor(?).  Zero based starts are excellent for initial conditions,
> and negative subscripts are useful on occasion.


      Sorry for using the terms nothing, void rather loosely. 

      My statement was based on the very common, day to day interpretation 
      given to zero. ( i.e. cardinality of a null set )

      When someone  has zero apples, it means that he has no
      apples. If there are three apples on the table, one would start 
      refering to them as first apple, second apple, third apple.
      If there are 3 memory cells in the computer, one starts refering 
      to them as zeroth memory cell, first memory cell and second memory 
      cell. 
      


                                             ..Uday