Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!munnari!munmurra!djk
From: djk@munmurra.mu.oz (David James Keegel)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Subject: Negative or minus? (was Number Talk Source)
Message-ID: <728@munmurra.mu.oz>
Date: 4 Nov 88 09:29:25 GMT
References: <13420@dhw68k.cts.com>
Organization: Comp Sci, Melbourne Uni, Australia
Lines: 24

In article <13420@dhw68k.cts.com>, tedj@hpcilzb.HP.COM (Ted Johnson) says:
] 
] This is a program called Number Talk.  If you type in a number
] (e.g., "-234.35"), Number Talk will spell it ("Negative Two
] Hundred Thirty-Four Point Three Five")
...
] X    			if (n < 0) {
] X    				say("negative", FALSE);
] X    			}

As far as I am concerned, "negative" as a property of numbers, NOT an
operator. To me "negative one" is a meaningless contradiction, like 
"red lemon". Since negative means less than zero, one is not negative.

The fix for this is to put:
X                             say("minus", FALSE);
instead. "Minus" is an operator (both binary and unary). My rule of thumb
is that the symbol "-" translates to "minus". The phrase "negative x"
is interpreted as x < 0, rather than -x.

Are there any mathematicians out there who disagree? 
I know, I know, mathematicians don't read source groups. :-(

			David Keegel	(djk@munnari.oz.au)