Before I start, I should mention that I do not have any references to offer,
only speculation.
I tend to agree that reading mixing bases could necessitate a cognitive switch,
if the numbers represent the same type of data. This would mean that we have
to "parse" the numbers differently to bring them to a normalized form (for
instance, convert the hexadecimal values into decimal).
However, I also tend to believe that the cost of this switch will be reduced
over time as one grows accustomed to the mixing bases.
Consider the pronounciation of numbers in German. In English the number 123 is
pronounced "one hundred and twenty three", that is strictly left-to-right.
However, in German the number is pronounced "Ein Hundert und Drei und Zwanzig"
("one hundred and three and twenty"). For germans this swapping of the last two
digits is so ingrained in them, that pronouncing the number in English, which
should be straight-forward, requires a cognitive switch (this is solely based
on personal experience -- swapping digits is also done in my native language,
and I often pronounce number incorrectly in English, e.g. I may pronounce 89
as "ninety eight").
We can easily agree that the base mixing in the cited examples (especially the
"lazy programmer" example) are inconsistant, and can make the list harder to
read. However, there are examples where such mixing is difficult to avoid. One
such example is the use of octal numbers (or numbers with another radix) for
non-printable characters in ASCII dumps.
- Automatic footer for [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] unsubscribe discuss
To join the announcements list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe announce
To receive a help file, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] help
This list is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40ppig.org/
If you have any problems or questions, please mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
