Path: csiph.com!feeder.erje.net!2.eu.feeder.erje.net!newsfeed.fsmpi.rwth-aachen.de!newsfeed.straub-nv.de!news-1.dfn.de!news.dfn.de!news.informatik.hu-berlin.de!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: Bob Eager Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: CS instead of math? Date: 2 Jun 2016 12:08:14 GMT Lines: 58 Message-ID: References: <573fb25c.33979790@nntp2.rawbw.com> <574dc948.9600174@nntp2.rawbw.com> <20160601071739.5d9b5c4ab1de55f8b25bac32@eircom.net> <3veukbhh8jmmstu0286ek84m82ct0q84kt@4ax.com> <976535801.486509118.985755.peter_flass-yahoo.com@news.eternal-september.org> <20160602075054.9b81ac13e13d213a2a02ce1c@eircom.net> <20160602123319.c377fb930bdcc803a54fb494@eircom.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: individual.net qhtOWOoPRw5WGLjQozLcMwAdOWeT09875xmZbKznWx8GcagxAd Cancel-Lock: sha1:XGMfGEo0gXIkjnm1nCqoMOQD8F4= User-Agent: Pan/0.139 (Sexual Chocolate; GIT bf56508 git://git.gnome.org/pan2) Xref: csiph.com alt.folklore.computers:164308 On Thu, 02 Jun 2016 12:33:19 +0100, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote: > On 2 Jun 2016 10:37:38 GMT Bob Eager wrote: > >> On Thu, 02 Jun 2016 07:50:54 +0100, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote: >> >> > On Wed, 1 Jun 2016 17:34:03 -0400 Peter Flass >> > wrote: >> > >> >> Gene Wirchenko wrote: >> >> > On Wed, 1 Jun 2016 07:17:39 +0100, Ahem A Rivet's Shot >> >> > wrote: >> >> > >> >> > [snip] >> >> > >> >> >> Edge cases are another matter, sometimes there's more code for >> >> >> the edge cases than there is for the main flow. >> >> > >> >> > Sometimes? I would say it is at least usually. >> >> > >> >> > >> >> This is often a big shock to new college graduates starting their >> >> first real job. Most assignments the prof just wants to see >> >> something that runs using the data provided, and there is limited >> >> time to get it done, >> >> so usually no attention is paid to detecting and handling errors. >> > >> > I am so glad (I wasn't at the time) that one of our early >> > assignments was an integer expression evaluator, and we were expected >> > to handle invalid input and run time errors (overflows, divide by >> > zero). The year before it had been free choice of language, so one >> > bright spark chose LISP and saved himself the trouble of worrying >> > about overflows, my year we had to use (IIRC) AlgolW and get it >> > right. >> >> I'd use REXX: >> >> NUMERIC DIGITS 5000 > > If you didn't handle the overflow that would have cost marks. OK: SIGNAL ON LOSTDIGITS . . LOSTDIGITS: !! :) -- Using UNIX since v6 (1975)... Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org