Re: Integral types and own type definitions (was Re: Suggested method for returning a string from a C program?)

On 25.03.2025 16:33, David Brown wrote:

On 25/03/2025 13:02, Tim Rentsch wrote:

Michael S <already5chosen@yahoo.com> writes:

>
Wouldn't the term 'whole numbers' be preferred in everyday English?

>
"Whole numbers" are all non-negative.
>
"Integers" include values less than zero.

 
"Everyday English" does not cover negative numbers at all - in "everyday
English", "integer" and "whole number" are basically synonymous and mean
1, 2, 3, etc.
 
But in standard mathematical usage, "whole numbers" are non-negative,
while "integers" include negative numbers.  (There is no solid agreement
about whether 0 is a "whole number" or not.)  [...]

This all is interesting. - As a non-native English speaker that's not
obvious. - Where I live we have learned

ℕ (called "natural numbers"): 1, 2, ...

ℕ with an index 0 (positive/non-negative whole numbers): 0, 1, 2, ...

ℤ (integer numbers, called "whole numbers"): ..., -1, 0, 1, 2, ...


Janis