Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!gegeweb.org!de-l.enfer-du-nord.net!feeder2.enfer-du-nord.net!feeds.phibee-telecom.net!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed4.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:50:14 +0200
From: Antoon Pardon <antoon.pardon@rece.vub.ac.be>
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; rv:10.0.12) Gecko/20130116 Icedove/10.0.12
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: python-list@python.org
Subject: Re: A few questiosn about encoding
References: <6dfa3707-80f4-407a-a109-66dbb0130513@googlegroups.com>	<mailman.2923.1370797972.3114.python-list@python.org>	<kp9drh$1o0t$1@news.ntua.gr>	<51b83e5a$0$29998$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com>	<kp9lo6$9l5$2@news.ntua.gr>	<51b90ead$0$29997$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com>	<kpbnmg$qvk$2@news.ntua.gr>	<51b9708b$0$29872$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com>	<kpbt5i$7bj$1@news.ntua.gr>	<mailman.3172.1371110288.3114.python-list@python.org>	<kpbul5$7bj$2@news.ntua.gr>	<mailman.3258.1371195459.3114.python-list@python.org>	<kpehuv$p37$6@news.ntua.gr> <mailman.3266.1371198179.3114.python-list@python.org> <kpekne$spl$1@news.ntua.gr>
In-Reply-To: <kpekne$spl$1@news.ntua.gr>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Precedence: list
Newsgroups: comp.lang.python
Message-ID: <mailman.3293.1371207017.3114.python-list@python.org>
Lines: 52
NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6
Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:48114

Op 14-06-13 10:37, Nick the Gr33k schreef:
> On 14/6/2013 11:22 πμ, Antoon Pardon wrote:
>
>>> Python prints numbers:
>> No it doesn't, numbers are abstract concepts that can be represented in
>> various notations, these notations are strings. Those notaional strings
>> end up being printed. As I said before we are so used in using the
>> decimal notation that we often use the notation and the number
>> interchangebly
>> without a problem. But when we are working with multiple notations that
>> can become confusing and we should be careful to seperate numbers
>> from their
>> representaions/notations.
>
> How do we separate a number then from its represenation-natation?
What do you mean? Internally there is no representation linked
to the number, so there is nothing to be seperated. Only when
a number needs to be printed, is a representation for that
number built and displayed.


> What is a notation anywat? is it a way of displayment? but that would
> be a represeantion then....
Yes a notation is a representation. However "represenation" is also
a bit of python jargon that has a specific meaning. So in order to
not confuse with multiple possible meanings for "representation" I
chose to use "notation"


>> There are no decimal integers. There is only a decimal notation of
>> the number.
>> Decimal, octal etc are not characteristics of the numbers themselves.
>
>
> So everything we see like:
>
> 16474
> nikos
> abc123
>
> everything is a string and nothing is a number? not even number 1?
There is a difference between "everything we see" as you
write earlier and just plain "eveything" as you write
later. Python works with numbers, but at the moment
it has to display such a number it has to produce something
that is printable. So it will build a string that can be
used as a notation for that number, a numeral. And that
is what will be displayed.

-- 
Antoon.