Re: [boost] Re: mpl/loki

From: Gabriel Dos Reis (gdr_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-07-13 12:35:56

Howard Hinnant <hinnant_at_[hidden]> writes:

| On Sunday, July 13, 2003, at 12:17  PM, Gabriel Dos Reis wrote:
| 
| > Howard Hinnant <hinnant_at_[hidden]> writes:
| >
| > | Another possible spelling for this animal is:
| > |
| > | class nat {nat();};
| > |
| > | Inspired from nan.  In this case means Not A Type.
| >
| > Ahem, a class is a type, no matter how you name it.
| 
| Really, I didn't know that! :-)

there was a missing smiley -- sorry.  

| And a nan is still a floating point number.

No, it is not.  That is why it is called "Not a Number" :-)
It is just a continuation value, i.e. a special data which is not a
floating point number.

|  It just has a special bit
| pattern that alters the arithmetic rules a bit.
| 
| > | It is nice and
| > | short which comes in handy for when there are a lot of template
| > | parameters to default.  It is easily pronounceable, and won't be
| > | confused with any other type when discussed verbally.
| >
| > Really?  Without reading the rest of your message, I thought it was a
| > short for "natural number".  A matter of background I guess.
| 
| I'll go back to the drawing board.

I love drawings :-D

-- Gaby