this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2024
1471 points (98.6% liked)
Programmer Humor
32562 readers
376 users here now
Post funny things about programming here! (Or just rant about your favourite programming language.)
Rules:
- Posts must be relevant to programming, programmers, or computer science.
- No NSFW content.
- Jokes must be in good taste. No hate speech, bigotry, etc.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
That's because you use English, a language where ordinals traditionally begin at one.
So, based on
You're saying I can't be a programmer because I speak English?
No, what I said is true if you use zero-based numbering. But when communicating with others in English, the label "first" refers to the element with the smallest index. In zero-based numbering, the label "zeroth" refers to the element with the lowest index. It's just not the default in English, but you can definitely use zero-based numbering in English if you're willing to edit the configuration files.
Calling index zero the first is correct, but risks misunderstandings such as in the op comic
That is why many call index zero the zeroth index