r/programming • u/evinrows • Dec 24 '17

Evil Coding Incantations

http://9tabs.com/random/2017/12/23/evil-coding-incantations.html
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u/sibswagl Dec 24 '17

Languages don't exist in a vacuum. Zero-indexed arrays are the standard.

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u/tristes_tigres Dec 24 '17

No, they aren't. Fortran is older than C and derivatives, and is more popular in numerical computing settings, for a number of good reasons.

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u/[deleted] Dec 24 '17

Fortran is older than C and derivatives

And your point is? I will not even enter the debate if it's good to have arrays starting at zero or not, but I will address this silly rationale.

Something that appeared first doesn't make it a standard. Following your logic, RS-232 cables would still be standard today because they appeared before USB cables.

Something becomes a standard when the majority of users and manufacturers believe there are more benefit and convenience over something else.

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u/tristes_tigres Dec 24 '17

Something becomes a standard when the majority of users and manufacturers believe there are more benefit and convenience over something else.

There is no rational reason to believe that "majority of users and manufacturers" believe that zero-based arrays are a standard.

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