Path: csiph.com!v102.xanadu-bbs.net!xanadu-bbs.net!feeder.erje.net!eu.feeder.erje.net!feeds.phibee-telecom.net!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed4.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.005 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.99; '*S*': 0.00; 'explicitly': 0.05; 'differently': 0.07; 'explanation': 0.09; 'received:80.91': 0.09; 'received:80.91.229': 0.09; 'received:gmane.org': 0.09; 'received:list': 0.09; 'bug': 0.12; 'behave': 0.16; 'finney': 0.16; 'know;': 0.16; 'received:80.91.229.3': 0.16; 'received:plane.gmane.org': 0.16; 'sleep;': 0.16; 'so.': 0.16; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.23; 'documented': 0.24; 'least': 0.26; 'header:X-Complaints-To:1': 0.27; 'record': 0.27; 'correct': 0.29; "i'm": 0.30; 'went': 0.31; 'decimal': 0.31; 'subject:numbers': 0.31; 'subject:other': 0.31; 'wright': 0.31; 'writes:': 0.31; 'file': 0.32; 'skip:d 20': 0.34; "i'd": 0.34; 'could': 0.34; 'but': 0.35; 'bought': 0.36; 'next': 0.36; 'should': 0.36; 'ben': 0.38; 'to:addr:python-list': 0.38; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.39; 'received:org': 0.40; 'first': 0.61; 'decided': 0.64; 'invalid': 0.68; 'day': 0.76; 'received:125': 0.84; 'spanish.': 0.84 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ To: python-list@python.org From: Ben Finney Subject: Re: Decimals and other numbers Date: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 13:43:04 +1100 References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: jigong.madmonks.org X-Public-Key-ID: 0xAC128405 X-Public-Key-Fingerprint: 517C F14B B2F3 98B0 CB35 4855 B8B2 4C06 AC12 8405 X-Public-Key-URL: http://www.benfinney.id.au/contact/bfinney-pubkey.asc X-Post-From: Ben Finney User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.4 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:VO8ijhTBC//W68SE+Bk5TX/RWbg= X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.15 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Message-ID: Lines: 22 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1420771428 news.xs4all.nl 2911 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:42937 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:83394 Devin Jeanpierre writes: > decimal.InvalidOperation: 0 ** 0 > > I'd file a bug report but I'm anticipating some rational (heh) > explanation. Any ideas? First note that it's explicitly documented as an invalid operation . So someone has at least thought about it and deliberately decided it should be so. Why that should be, I don't know; I think the correct behaviour is for ‘0 ** 0 == 1’. But perhaps someone else has a better explanation for why Decimal should behave differently from ‘int’ and ‘float’ here. -- \ “I bought a self learning record to learn Spanish. I turned it | `\ on and went to sleep; the record got stuck. The next day I | _o__) could only stutter in Spanish.” —Steven Wright | Ben Finney