On Fri, 20 May 2011 21:17:29 +0100, MRAB wrote: > On 20/05/2011 20:01, Christian Heimes wrote: >> Am 20.05.2011 17:50, schrieb MRAB: >>> Is this strictly true? I thought that the hash value, an integer, is >>> moduloed (Is that how you spell it? Looks weird!) ... >> >> I don't think 'moduloed' is an existing word but your description is >> mostly correct. ... >> > A brief search on the web found a use of the word in 1982.
All that means is that two people, three decades apart, used the same non- word :) I think you are treating "modulo" as a verb, equivalent to division, hence: a/b => a is divided by b a%b => a is "moduloed" by b But modulo is not a verb. It is a preposition, a modifier word. Just as you might say "the cat sat on the mat" (cat on mat) or "the Princess found a pea underneath her mattress" (pea underneath mattress) so mathematicians will say "a is taken modulo b" (a modulo b). English verbs nouns at the drop of a hat, but I've never heard of it verbing propositions: "The princess underneathed the pea." No, I don't think so. English does use "remainder" as a verb, although not in the mathematical sense; I think that: a%b => a is remaindered by b is at least grammatical, although still ugly and awkward. I'm afraid that in English, the best way to say what you are trying to say is moderately verbose: "the hash value, an integer, is taken modulo ..." -- Steven -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list