"arithmetic if":: Re: Feature for the next C version

[John Mackin]

In article <14181 at haddock.ima.isc.com> karl at haddock.ima.isc.com (Karl Heuer) writes:

> In article <1429 at crdgw1.crd.ge.com> davidsen at crdos1 (bill davidsen) writes:
> >Obviously no one wants to have labels, but perhaps something like:
> >	n = (a-b $ -1 : 0 : 1);
> >where there would be a "quadratic operator."

> (PS: I think the word for 4-adic is "tetradic" or "quadary", not "quadratic".)

Don't think, find out!  I won't bother quoting dictionary definitions
as I am sure any of you who are interested in this can look them up
for yourselves; but briefly:  (1) `quadratic' is clearly incorrect;
this is not one of its senses.  (2) `tetradic' means `like a tetrad'
and a tetrad is a set of four things regarded as a unity (I'm skipping
lots of detail here), so that won't serve either.  (3) `quadary' is,
to my eyes and ears, a horrendously ugly word; futhermore I can't
find it in any dictionary I have easy access to.  Unfortunately,
though, I think it's the best we've got; in technical areas one is
sometimes forced to partake of neologisms, and I can't seem to come
up with a more pleasing one than that.  Suggestions are most welcome --
best by mail, as I think the question of what an operator of four
operands should be called is perhaps of limited interest.

John Mackin, Basser Department of Computer Science,
             University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

john at basser.oz.AU (john%basser.oz.AU at UUNET.UU.NET)
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