Xref: utzoo comp.text:2285 comp.std.internat:377
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!enea!kth!draken!bmc1!kuling!irf
From: irf@kuling.UUCP (Bo Thide)
Newsgroups: comp.text,comp.std.internat
Subject: Re: American vs. European numerical usage
Message-ID: <804@kuling.UUCP>
Date: 22 Aug 88 21:11:47 GMT
References: <3443@phri.UUCP>
Reply-To: irf@kuling.UUCP (Bo Thide)
Organization: Dept. of Computer Systems, Uppsala University, Sweden
Lines: 27

In article <3443@phri.UUCP> roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) writes:
>	I write numbers greater than 999 with commas between the groups of
>three digits.  I also write numbers with decimal fractional parts with a
>period between the integer and fractional parts.  My understanding of
>European usage is to use spaces (or, more properly, half-spaces) where I
>use commas and a comma where I use a period.

Not quite, we (sometimes, not always) use space where you use comma
so that large integers NEVER contain anything but numbers.  As soon
as we see a separator (be it comma or, in scintific contexts, a period)
we know that the number is in a decimal fraction form.  Hence we always
assume 22,166 = 22.166 (a little more than 23) with the choice of the
type of decimal "point" (, or .) not being terribly important.

The US style number 21,166 is in Europe written 21666 or (in books etc)
21 666.

>	What do Europeans do with things like "SunOS-3.2"?  Convert it to
>"SunOS-3,2" or leave it the way it is?

We never touch it ... :-)

-Bo


-- 
>>> Bo Thide', Swedish Institute of Space Physics, S-755 90 Uppsala, Sweden <<<  Phone (+46) 18-300020.  Telex: 76036 (IRFUPP S).  UUCP: ..enea!kuling!irfu!bt