On Wed, 21 Jun 2023 16:29:40 GMT, Roger Riggs <rri...@openjdk.org> wrote:
>> In java.time packages, clarify timeline order javadoc to mention "before" >> and "after" in the value of the `compareTo` method return values. >> Add javadoc @see tags to isBefore and isAfter methods >> >> Replace use of "negative" and positive with "less than zero" and "greater >> than zero" in javadoc @return >> The term "positive" is ambiguous, zero is considered positive and indicates >> equality. > > Roger Riggs has updated the pull request incrementally with one additional > commit since the last revision: > > Clarify return values of date time classes Most modern authors in math topics use positive to mean > 0, negative to mean < 0, and 0 is neither. In some contexts, like in the IEEE 754 standard for floating-point numbers, there are both distinguishable positive and a negative binary zeros. There's no "unsigned" or "agnostic" zero there. The natural numbers include 0 in foundational topics like set theory (where 0 is _defined_ as the empty set), and exclude it in others. BTW, [math.net](https://www.math.net/positive-numbers) contradicts itself later on the same page. In the "Is 0 positive or negative?" section it states "Positive numbers are defined as any number that is greater than zero". ------------- PR Comment: https://git.openjdk.org/jdk/pull/14479#issuecomment-1609970331
