Re: Why do programmers start counting from 0?

On Wed, 08 Dec 2004 19:07:20 -0800, timothychung wrote:
> One day, I started wondering why we start counting from 0

We don't always. As this question is posted in a database group, it's worth noting that in SQL, numbering generally starts a 1 (an example: the SUBSTRING-function). And in literature on algorithms, numbering normally starts at 1 (which can be very disturbing for people who study algorithmics after programming).

A question like yours is good, but dangerous. I've seen endless discussion threads between mathematically thinking and programing minded people; such threads can get _very_ long :-)

So I'll just quit by dumping a link to a "discussion" at C2: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WhyNumberingShouldStartAtZero

-- 
Greetings from Troels Arvin, Copenhagen, Denmark