Why do they use a comma , for a decimal place in Europe?
- Thread starter Blastman
- Start date
I thought metric time was dividing the solar day into 10 time periods, and using that as a basis.
Though, looking on the web for exactly what 'metric time' is, it appears to be a bunch of crackpots all with their own ideas.
http://zapatopi.net/metrictime.html#intro
Though, looking on the web for exactly what 'metric time' is, it appears to be a bunch of crackpots all with their own ideas.
http://zapatopi.net/metrictime.html#intro
To get back to the original topic here, point vs comma:
An urban ledgend says that a satelite (I don't remember which) once got lost due to a point instead of a comma.
The fortran code:
was accidentaly replaced with:
The first example is the start of a loop where the integer I will take the values 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively. While the second example will asign the value 1.5 to the float variable FORI. Both lines have legal syntax, and since fortran has implicit declaration of variables, it can go through the compiler unnoticed.
The debunk of that ledgend says that it's actually been in some sharp code. But the error was cought in a pre-launch simulation, so it was just a "virtual" satelite that got lost. Still a bit funny.
An urban ledgend says that a satelite (I don't remember which) once got lost due to a point instead of a comma.
The fortran code:
Code:
FOR I = 1,5
C ... more code
Code:
FOR I = 1.5
C ... more codeThe debunk of that ledgend says that it's actually been in some sharp code. But the error was cought in a pre-launch simulation, so it was just a "virtual" satelite that got lost. Still a bit funny.
And i though i was going down heavy on the Imperial system... IT DESERVES IT!!!!!!!! And metric bytes... Hold on, now, HD makers ARE actually pushing for it...RussSchultz said:
Well, not as much pushing as taking advantage of.
Metric time would have useful purposes. Not going to happen, though.
As for imperial/metric measurements, it's easier than most think. Since I bought a -70 Triumph Spitfire, I've been subjected to imperial bolts. Took only a few hours before I could actually make a wild guess which spanner would fit that rusted up bolt, and within a couple of days I actually became very good at it.
I've heard people ridiculing the metric system on the basis of that 9/16" spanner is much easier to comprehend than it's equivalent of 14.2875mm.
(!)
The real annoyance comes from PAL/NTSC difference. Every now and then some stupid software fucks up the conversion and hey presto! Micropauses everywhere.
As for indigenous measurement units, try this:
Poronkusema = the distance a reindeer runs between two ...hmm... "leaks". Literally translates to something like "reindeers pizzle". About 12km, for those who were wondering. Now You know.
Wonder where they keep the standard unit of that one...
I guess those'd be "AF" (or is it SAE). There was another standard"imperial-based bolt system called "Whitworth". A 1950s car my father restored used that system.Aivansama said:
It'll say the same measurement on the spanners but the size will be slightly different. (I think one scheme measures the size of head of the bolt while the other measures the spanner gap).
Evil_Cloud
Veteran
Blastman said:
I am from Belgium and I use a dot. I also wonder why people use a comma. :?
Evil_Cloud said:
In Italy it's definately "comma". However you can also put a dot because the separation of "thousands" are dots at the top of the number, so there is no way to confuse them for decimal commas or points. Not sure i explained that clearly enough... :|
davepermen
Regular
we have high comma for 1000-steps, and a low comma for the floating..... point
4'294'967'296,00
just had to realise i place the dot anyways shit had to correct it too much programming
for all the rest.. yeah, metrics all the way.. grmbl.
while i think, a 12er system would be best.. or binary all the way
well.. its useless.. the us could have changed by now.. but they won't.. they don't calculate longterm, so they don't estimate the additional cost they have to pay for not converting.. else, they would start immediately to change..
same for their oil-thoughts actually.. not enough? lets get more! instead of using less.. works bether
oh, i forgot. i'm from switzerland.. for the 3,1415 writing, ya know
4'294'967'296,00
just had to realise i place the dot anyways
shit had to correct it too much programmingfor all the rest.. yeah, metrics all the way.. grmbl.
while i think, a 12er system would be best.. or binary all the way
well.. its useless.. the us could have changed by now.. but they won't.. they don't calculate longterm, so they don't estimate the additional cost they have to pay for not converting.. else, they would start immediately to change..
same for their oil-thoughts actually.. not enough? lets get more!
instead of using less.. works betheroh, i forgot. i'm from switzerland.. for the 3,1415 writing, ya know
Some fascinating issues have been mentioned in this thread - keyboard layouts, decimal symbols, thousands seperators, metric, imperial and US measures, etc. etc. & so 4th - so I had to get my tuppence-ha'penny worth in (that's 1.0417 new pence worth, doesn't quite have the same ring).
If you are interested in different national keyboard layouts, point your browser at http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/reference/keyboards.aspx. It is interesting to note that these layouts were originally developed in the days of the mechanical typewriter, not to enable typists to type faster - quite the reverse: to stop typists typing so fast that the works got jammed. On computer keyboards, this is no longer the problem, and yet we stick to the slow-them-down QWERTY layout and its national derivatives, because to change to "faster" layouts (like Dvorak) would cost more time in re-learning how to type than it would save.
At http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/nlsweb/default.asp you will find a list of Windows "locales" and you can click on each one to see the preferred decimal, thousands, date and time seperators and formats for each country. Very interesting!
I work in a European organisation, but am British. We use three official languages: English (not American!), French and German. In order not to have several different keyboard layouts around the place, the IT department decided to standardise on... the Swiss-German layout. Which is OK, but there is no German ß (the Swiss use "ss" instead). But it does have a decimal point on the numpad, which suits me fine.
One thing this thread has not touched upon is the sensitive issue of the billion. One billion is 1,000,000,000,000 in Europe, but only 1,000,000,000 in the US (this amount is called a "milliard" in some European countries). In the UK, we use both: the European billion in normal life, and the US billion in the financial world (politicians use whichever one suits them at the time). The BBC World Service usually uses "a thousand million" and "a million million". But not always. This also affects the billiard, trillion, trilliard, quadrillion... all the way up to the googol, which is 1E100 on both sides of the Pond.
Talking of sides, there is a very good book by Peter (I think) Kincaid called (I think) "The Rule Of The Road" which explores the issue of which side we drive and walk on, and lists countries which drive on each side, and those that have changed. Interesting are those who have changed from right to left: a Faroe island during WWII, Okinawa in the 70's, the Falklands after recapture in 1983. A part of the USA still keeps to the left: the US Vrgin Islands.
As for the UK converting to euros: I believe that Poland will beat them to it. After all, the decimal monetry system in the UK is only 33 years old; we can't change again so soon. Ah, for the farthing, the ha'penny, the thruppenny bit, the tanner, the bob, the florin, the half-crown, the ten-bob note, the untouchable guinea... now there was a sensible system...
Enough ranting; back to work...
Dogmatix
If you are interested in different national keyboard layouts, point your browser at http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/reference/keyboards.aspx. It is interesting to note that these layouts were originally developed in the days of the mechanical typewriter, not to enable typists to type faster - quite the reverse: to stop typists typing so fast that the works got jammed. On computer keyboards, this is no longer the problem, and yet we stick to the slow-them-down QWERTY layout and its national derivatives, because to change to "faster" layouts (like Dvorak) would cost more time in re-learning how to type than it would save.
At http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/nlsweb/default.asp you will find a list of Windows "locales" and you can click on each one to see the preferred decimal, thousands, date and time seperators and formats for each country. Very interesting!
I work in a European organisation, but am British. We use three official languages: English (not American!), French and German. In order not to have several different keyboard layouts around the place, the IT department decided to standardise on... the Swiss-German layout. Which is OK, but there is no German ß (the Swiss use "ss" instead). But it does have a decimal point on the numpad, which suits me fine.
One thing this thread has not touched upon is the sensitive issue of the billion. One billion is 1,000,000,000,000 in Europe, but only 1,000,000,000 in the US (this amount is called a "milliard" in some European countries). In the UK, we use both: the European billion in normal life, and the US billion in the financial world (politicians use whichever one suits them at the time). The BBC World Service usually uses "a thousand million" and "a million million". But not always. This also affects the billiard, trillion, trilliard, quadrillion... all the way up to the googol, which is 1E100 on both sides of the Pond.
Talking of sides, there is a very good book by Peter (I think) Kincaid called (I think) "The Rule Of The Road" which explores the issue of which side we drive and walk on, and lists countries which drive on each side, and those that have changed. Interesting are those who have changed from right to left: a Faroe island during WWII, Okinawa in the 70's, the Falklands after recapture in 1983. A part of the USA still keeps to the left: the US Vrgin Islands.
As for the UK converting to euros: I believe that Poland will beat them to it. After all, the decimal monetry system in the UK is only 33 years old; we can't change again so soon. Ah, for the farthing, the ha'penny, the thruppenny bit, the tanner, the bob, the florin, the half-crown, the ten-bob note, the untouchable guinea... now there was a sensible system...
Enough ranting; back to work...
Dogmatix
And on the (original) point (sorry!) of decimal point vs. decimal comma, when I was at primary school in the late sixties, we were were taught that the decimal point should not be on the base line like a full stop, but float half-way up, thus (this may or may not show up properly in your browser, but here goes anyway): 2·5 not 2.5 (and definately not 2,5!). You can still see this uniquely British decimal point in some British newspapers and books.
This half-way-up point is in the extended ASCII set at 00B7 (hex), that's 183 decimal (you can type it by typing 0183 on the numpad whilst holding the Alt key down in Windows, or 183 in DOS; or look for it in CharMap in Windows; it's in virtually every sensible font).
Hi ho, hi ho, it's home from work I go...
Dogmatix
This half-way-up point is in the extended ASCII set at 00B7 (hex), that's 183 decimal (you can type it by typing 0183 on the numpad whilst holding the Alt key down in Windows, or 183 in DOS; or look for it in CharMap in Windows; it's in virtually every sensible font).
Hi ho, hi ho, it's home from work I go...
Dogmatix
Urban myth alert!Dogmatix said:
That's not true, and I can't understand how that myth can live on. The QWERTY layout was made so that you could type faster on a mechanical typewriter without the keys jamming. Keys that were close to each other on the layout were more prone to jamming, so by separating keys that often occur next to each other in english, you could type faster without jamming.
It's of course true that there are better optimization rules for current technology. I'm not so sure that Dvorak is the best though. When doing such a big change, it's better to get everything right.
Since we are talking keyboard layouts now:
Does anyone else feel that the german keyboard layout is horribly inconvenient for programmers?
{,[, ],} are AltGr+7/8/9/0. Both AltGr (is essentially Right Alt) and 7-0 are pressed with the right hand. It is even easier for me to use the left hand for 7-0 than to press both keys with the right hand. Whoever came up with that stupid AltGr deserves to be hung up by their *censored*!
Does anyone else feel that the german keyboard layout is horribly inconvenient for programmers?
{,[, ],} are AltGr+7/8/9/0. Both AltGr (is essentially Right Alt) and 7-0 are pressed with the right hand. It is even easier for me to use the left hand for 7-0 than to press both keys with the right hand. Whoever came up with that stupid AltGr deserves to be hung up by their *censored*!