Editing 163: Donald Knuth
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{{w|Donald Knuth}} is a computer science Professor Emeritus at {{w|Stanford University}} who is famous for writing ''{{w|The Art of Computer Programming}}'' and developing the <span class="texhtml"><span style="font-family:cmr10, LMRoman10-Regular, Times, serif;">T<span style="text-transform:uppercase; vertical-align:-0.5ex; margin-left:-0.1667em; margin-right:-0.125em;">e</span>X</span></span> computerized typesetting system. | {{w|Donald Knuth}} is a computer science Professor Emeritus at {{w|Stanford University}} who is famous for writing ''{{w|The Art of Computer Programming}}'' and developing the <span class="texhtml"><span style="font-family:cmr10, LMRoman10-Regular, Times, serif;">T<span style="text-transform:uppercase; vertical-align:-0.5ex; margin-left:-0.1667em; margin-right:-0.125em;">e</span>X</span></span> computerized typesetting system. | ||
| − | In computer science, an array is a structure that stores multiple values in a fixed order, and the elements are accessed by their index number. In {{w|Fortran}}, for instance, one writes <tt>array(1)</tt> to access the first element in the array. Most "modern" (read: descended from {{w|C (programming language)|C}}) languages use 0 as the index for the first element in the array, but it is possible (if one is careful about it) to ignore the 0th element and use 1 as the first index. In some programming languages, such as {{w|Pascal (programming language)|Pascal}} or {{w|Ada (programming language)|Ada}}, it is possible to select an arbitrary range of indices for each array type, so the first index might not only be 0 or 1, but also −42 or 100000. [[Cueball]] is complaining that [[Black Hat]] was not consistent in his choice of where to start his arrays. This is a valid complaint, as a lack of such consistency can make coding errors both more likely and | + | In computer science, an array is a structure that stores multiple values in a fixed order, and the elements are accessed by their index number. In {{w|Fortran}}, for instance, one writes <tt>array(1)</tt> to access the first element in the array. Most "modern" (read: descended from {{w|C (programming language)|C}}) languages use 0 as the index for the first element in the array, but it is possible (if one is careful about it) to ignore the 0th element and use 1 as the first index. In some programming languages, such as {{w|Pascal (programming language)|Pascal}} or {{w|Ada (programming language)|Ada}}, it is possible to select an arbitrary range of indices for each array type, so the first index might not only be 0 or 1, but also −42 or 100000. [[Cueball]] is complaining that [[Black Hat]] was not consistent in his choice of where to start his arrays. This is a valid complaint, as a lack of such consistency can make coding errors both more likely and less easy to detect. |
| − | Black Hat cites Donald Knuth to support his rebuttal, but the quote he uses does not seem relevant. | + | Black Hat cites Donald Knuth to support his rebuttal, but the quote he uses does not seem relevant. It turns out that Black Hat had illegally entered the professor's house in order to question him on indices. Donald Knuth's words were not an intellectual response to the question, but rather an alarmed response to the presence of an intruder. It is not clear if Black Hat is aware of this. |
The title text suggests that Black Hat finds Knuth's books intimidating, due to perhaps their size or complexity, to the extent that he considers breaking into Knuth's house (a risky, difficult crime) to be the better option in finding his answer. Even for Donald Knuth's books, this is very exaggerated and illogical behavior.{{Citation needed}} | The title text suggests that Black Hat finds Knuth's books intimidating, due to perhaps their size or complexity, to the extent that he considers breaking into Knuth's house (a risky, difficult crime) to be the better option in finding his answer. Even for Donald Knuth's books, this is very exaggerated and illogical behavior.{{Citation needed}} | ||
