Does no-one thinks it means round(f) either? That's the main confusion here (plus the fact that in C it's undefined -- or at some point was undefined).
BTW the list of functions considered here should include round() in addition to ceil(), floor(), and trunc(), even if 2-arg round() doesn't quite fit. --Guido On Jan 25, 2008 11:22 AM, Raymond Hettinger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > If the decision comes to be that int(float) should be blessed > > as a correct way to truncate a float, I'd agree with Raymond > > that trunc() is just duplication and should be eliminated. > > Yay, we've make progress! > > > > I'd,of course, rather have a spelling that says what it means. :) > > I wouldn't fret about this too much. Intrepreting int(f) as > meaning truncate has a *long* history in *many* programming > languages. It is a specious argument int(f) is ambiguous. > No one thinks it means ceil(f). > > Go ask a dozen people if they are surprised that int(3.7) returns 3. > No one will be surprised (even folks who just use Excel or VB). It > is foolhardy to be a purist and rage against the existing art: > > SQL: "The INT() function returns its numeric argument with any fractional > digits removed and truncates all digits to the right of the decimal > point." > www.basis.com/onlinedocs/documentation/b3odbc/bbjds_int_function.htm > > VB: "Both the Int and Fix functions remove the fractional part of > Number and return the resulting integer value." > http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/xh29swte.aspx > > Excel: "The Int function returns the integer portion of a number." > http://www.techonthenet.com/excel/formulas/int.php > > These docs suggest where the thinking has gone wrong. Writing int(f) > doesn't mean "arbritrary select one of round|ceil|floor|trunc as > a way of getting to an integer"; instead, it means "return the > integer portion (non-fractional component) of a number." The > latter definition seems common and is entirely unambiguous. > > > Raymond > > _______________________________________________ > Python-Dev mailing list > Python-Dev@python.org > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-dev > Unsubscribe: > http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-dev/guido%40python.org > -- --Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/) _______________________________________________ Python-Dev mailing list Python-Dev@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-dev Unsubscribe: http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com
