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Joe English scripsit:
> Not necessarily: the infix operator "-" can easily be
> defined as an operation on strings. Parse the left and
> right operands as numbers (raising an error if they're not
> syntactically valid), subtract one from the other, then
> format the result as a string.
Indeed, you can go further, using the REXX approach, where arithmetic
is defined *directly* on (suitably) restricted strings, with no concept
of conversion (except conversion between individual *digits* and
numbers, which can be done by a table). The same algorithms are used
that we learned in primary school.
--
Knowledge studies others / Wisdom is self-known; John Cowan
Muscle masters brothers / Self-mastery is bone; jcowan@reutershealth.com
Content need never borrow / Ambition wanders blind; www.ccil.org/~cowan
Vitality cleaves to the marrow / Leaving death behind. --Tao 33 (Bynner)
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