I don't think it's that significant. In 1=?s$2 the 1= is a no-op. It's there possibly because:
- Muscle memory. In APL, in 1-origin, the 1= is needed to convert integers to booleans. - There's a lot of cut-and-paste in making the test scripts. Could have been cut and pasted from somewhere else. - Phrase of the moon. If anyone knows, I should know (I wrote the test script), and I don't know/remember. On Tue, Feb 2, 2016 at 2:22 PM, Matthew Baulch <[email protected]> wrote: > I've been reading the tests in the J engine source. Have learned quite a > bit while doing so! Anyhow, I've become perplexed by one particular line. > > In the 'Boolean' section of the tests for 'x i. y' (test/gi.ijs), a random > table is constructed with > > a=:1=?10 5$2 > > > My question is, why is a=:?10 5$2 not sufficient. Can someone tell be if > these are equivalent, or if not, why? > > > I should note that 1=?70$3 is used in the same file, and it's clear to me > that '1=' affects the probability distribution for rolls over a domain > larger than two, so it serves a purpose. > > > Sorry if source would have been a better forum for this post. I'm not sure > if this is an error in the test, or simply a deficiency in my understanding > of J. > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
