Comments by "" (@sirtra) on "You Are WRONG About 0 Based Indexing" video.

  1. Computers are binary. If a byte has 8 bits that's 256 different combinations - if you start at 1 with an array with 256 elements how would you reference the 256th element? Would you use 0x00 for 256 or go the wasteful path of discarding 0 and use a word (16bits) rather than a byte? Programmers didn't "choose" to use 0 to make life easier for the computer, just as the military didn't "choose" to start at 0 for military time.
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  2.  @MasterHigure  if you're going to be condescending rather than exercising your cognitive abilities you have the self-awareness of a starfish Don't get me wrong, i really like starfishes, for many good reasons, but the moment you said Listen i knew you wouldn't understand. Farewell you adorable star fish! 🥰
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  3. A stop watch starts at zero for a reason.
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  4.  @MasterHigure  why not use 0x69 as the start? Conceptually there is nothing preventing that, it hypothetically could be done, but when you get down into the nitty gritty it's problematic with the way in which binary systems work and programmers think. If you skew from 0 it throws everything else off - humans didn't choose to use sizes that are powers of 2, it's a byproduct of the underlying system. Take just 4 bits, if 0001 is the first entry, 0010 is 2nd, 0100 is 4th - if as a human you then look at it in two halves, so 2bits + 2bits meaning 01 + 00 what comes naturally to you as to what that represents? Is the 01 representing 1st or 4th or 5th entry? Why did i suddenly add 5th? Well if 01 is normally the 1st entry plus there is 2 other more significant bits to the right, with each bit having 2 values, making 4 combinations.. then using typical calculation methodology 01 plus 4 would be 5! Yet it should be 4 if you count in sequence from 0001 right? It essentially creates a scenario where it becomes an unclear exception to the way of thinking elsewhere from a programatic point of view. If you then throw in signed vs unsigned bytes into the mix it gets a whooooole lot more complicated. All for what gain? How is the programmer benefitting from this? Do the pros outweigh the cons overall? Will it cause other unforeseen issues in the long run? It makes debugging much harder as you have to translate or compensate for this weird exception and always be left second guessing, ie 4th or 5th? What are the pros beyond feelings as i'm really not seeing any from a technical standpoint - conceptually sure, it may feel more comfortable or natural for certain people starting at 1 but honestly, i see it only causing more issues than it improves. All the programmers i know, myself included, don't have any difficulties throwing +1 when ever it's needed (eg output to log files) to be more human friendly. Each to their own though, if you think the nightmare of 1 based indexing is better, go right ahead! It can be done in most languages...
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  5. ​ @Thurrak with currency and science you do, significant figures are very important. Something is never priced at $1.2 or $.5
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  6.  @billeterk  measuring and pointers are actually much closer related than you think (i think). Consider this, you're in a car at the start of a very long drag strip called DDR4. You press the trip button on your odometer so its reset and now reading 0. There are little marker signs on the side of the road every 1024 meters. You drive forward and pass 4 of those signs and are now 1 meter past the 4th sign. What is the reading on the odometer for your trip so far? 4097 The same can be done for time. It's all relative and context dependent. I'm assuming i don't need to spell out how this analogy relates to memory and pointers. End of the day, anyone who is a serious programmer should be well adjusted to starting at zero and pointers etc. If you can't wrap your head around starting at 0 vs 1 and/or are relying on a high level compiler to do basic stuff for you, imo you won't make it as a programmer or developer long term. I view it in a similar way to the OS wars, if you're incapable of using windows, mac and linux and have a strong aversion to one of them - like to the point where you refuse to use one or feel the need to waste time whining about how X or Y is better and you'll never use Z you won't make it in the tech world. I prefer to use the best tool for the job. Sometimes it's about efficiency, sometimes it's about speed and sometimes it's about functionality etc. Each to their own though, there are many ways to skin a cat... but some people ONLY like hairy cats.. i'm fine with all kitties 😉
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