Re: [ANN] Lua 5.3.1 (rc1) now available

[Coda Highland <chighland@...>]

On Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 11:59 AM, Nagaev Boris <bnagaev@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 2:53 PM, Coda Highland <chighland@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 6:51 AM, Roberto Ierusalimschy
>> <roberto@inf.puc-rio.br> wrote:
>>>> There seems to have been a general search-and-replace of "numeric"
>>>> by "numerical" except in "alphanumeric" and os.setlocale.
>>>>
>>>> Personally I preferred it as it was.  The two words are nowadays completely
>>>> synonymous.
>>>
>>> Anyone else has strong preferences about that?
>>>
>>> -- Roberto
>>>
>>
>> *raises hand* I think "numeric" is definitely the preferred form here.
>> While the two words may be near-synonymous by a dictionary definition,
>> the common usage is different.
>>
>> The term "numeric" is most frequently used to describe things that
>> CONSIST of numbers, while the term "numerical" is most frequently used
>> to describe things that USE numbers. For example, a "numeric value" is
>> the result of an arithmetic expression, and a "numeric field" can
>> contain a number, but a "numerical method" employs a series of
>> computed number values to approximate a result that is difficult to
>> evaluate directly and "numerical reasoning" describes one's ability to
>> derive meaning from a set of numbers.
>>
>> /s/ Adam
>>
>
> Thank you for the explanation!
>
> There are same 2 words in Russian:
> 1) числовой - numeric
> состоит из чисел -  consists of numbers
> Example: числовая переменная - numeric variable
> 2) численный - numerical
> работает с числами - uses numbers
> Example: численные методы - numerical methods
>
> What about word "numeral"?
>
>
> --
>
>
> Best regards,
> Boris Nagaev
>

What ABOUT "numeral"? It means a symbol representing a digit or number
as a noun, and it means pertaining to denoting a number as an
adjective. In both cases it's about how a number is written, rather
than how it's handled.

/s/ Adam