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What is an integer? (was: Re: XML Quiz)

• From: Roger L Costello <costello@mitre.org>
• To: "xml-dev@lists.xml.org" <xml-dev@lists.xml.org>
• Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2023 17:53:29 +0000

Michael Sperberg-McQueen wrote:

> nothing in our machines ever contains an integer
> (or for that matter a string of characters), since
> integers are abstract objects and machines are
> physical objects.  Our machines only ever contain
> and operate on representations of things like integers.
> It is convenient to exploit metonymy and allow ourselves
> to speak of a particular field of bits as "being" an integer
> rather than "representing" an integer, but that is
> just a manner of speaking, not a coherent account of
> programming-language semantics.

Oh, that is wicked cool!

Awesome post Michael. Thank you!

For my benefit:

[Definition] Metonymy: the substitution of the name of an attribute for that of the thing meant.

• Follow-Ups:
  • Philosophy of XML datatypes (was: What is an integer? (was: Re: XML Quiz))
    • From: Roger L Costello <costello@mitre.org>

• References:
  • XML Quiz
    • From: Roger L Costello <costello@mitre.org>