Integer division
John Hofbauer
hofbauer at utcsri.UUCP
Mon Feb 10 10:21:24 AEST 1986
> This % vs. Mod debate is rather silly. C's % operator is
> NOT repeat NOT intended to be a modulo operator, although
> people often use it that way for positive operands. All
> reasonable mathematicians agree on what the definition of
> a mod b
> is for positive b and negative a. That should not be
> confused with what the result of
> a % b
> should be under similar circumstances. C intentionally
> hedges a bit on the meaning of %
To paraphrase Alice In Wonderland loosely, an operator means
whatever you want it to mean, nothing more, nothing less.
The remainder of a machine integer division is defined as
being whatever the engineer's found convenient to implement.
Any resemblance to mathematics is purely coincidental.
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