• From: Dimitre Novatchev <dnovatchev@g...>
• To: "Costello, Roger L." <costello@m...>
• Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2013 10:35:42 -0800

In a field (math) both the "zero" and "one" elements are of equal importance.

Of course, division by zero is prohibited :)

Cheers,
Dimitre.



On Sat, Dec 7, 2013 at 5:34 AM, Costello, Roger L. <costello@m...> wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> When was the last time you went to the store to purchase zero oranges?
>
> When was the last time you created an XML document to have zero elements?
>
> Those are strange concepts, aren't they?
>
> Zero is a strange concept.
>
> Roughly 1500 years after the introduction of zero as a number by mathematicians in India, the concept is still not well accepted in computer science:
>
>         - Many programming languages do not
>           support records with zero fields
>
>         - Many programming languages do not
>           support arrays with zero elements
>
>         - Many programming languages do not
>           support variable definitions with zero
>           variables
>
>         - In some programming languages the
>           syntax for calling a routine with zero
>           parameters differs from that for a
>           routine with one or more parameters
>
>         - XML has a special syntax for empty
>           elements
>
>         - Many compilers refuse to compile a
>           module that defines zero names
>
>         - No parser generator can produce a
>           parser for the empty language (the
>           language with zero strings)
>
> This preoccupation with empty strings, sets, languages, etc. is not frivolous, since it is well-known that the ease with which a system handles empty cases is a measure of its cleanliness and robustness.
>
> Most (not all) of the above is from the book: "Parsing Techniques" by Grune and Jacobs.
>
> /Roger
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
>
> XML-DEV is a publicly archived, unmoderated list hosted by OASIS
> to support XML implementation and development. To minimize
> spam in the archives, you must subscribe before posting.
>
> [Un]Subscribe/change address: http://www.oasis-open.org/mlmanage/
> Or unsubscribe: xml-dev-unsubscribe@l...
> subscribe: xml-dev-subscribe@l...
> List archive: http://lists.xml.org/archives/xml-dev/
> List Guidelines: http://www.oasis-open.org/maillists/guidelines.php



-- 
Cheers,
Dimitre Novatchev
---------------------------------------
Truly great madness cannot be achieved without significant intelligence.
---------------------------------------
To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk
-------------------------------------
Never fight an inanimate object
-------------------------------------
To avoid situations in which you might make mistakes may be the
biggest mistake of all
------------------------------------
Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.
-------------------------------------
You've achieved success in your field when you don't know whether what
you're doing is work or play
-------------------------------------
To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep.
-------------------------------------
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
-------------------------------------
Typing monkeys will write all Shakespeare's works in 200yrs.Will they
write all patents, too? :)
-------------------------------------
I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it.

• References:
  • Preoccupation with zero, empty strings, empty elements, emptyeverything
    • From: "Costello, Roger L." <costello@m...>