User talk:Far neil
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Hello, Far neil, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:
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I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your messages on discussion pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question on this page and then place {{helpme}} before the question. Again, welcome! —mjb (talk) 05:17, 15 May 2009 (UTC)
Modulo operation
[edit]I reverted your edits to the modulo operation article, for the following reasons:
1. −5 mod 3 has two possible results: −2, as you stated, or −8, for reasons explained near the end of the division article. Which remainder is chosen varies by implementation. This is covered later in the modulo operation article. Since it requires more explanation, I feel it's better to leave examples with negative operands out of the lead. The article used to be a little more clear about this issue, but an edit a few months ago removed some material about it and left it implicit. I've now restored that material, with some additional clarifications.
2. It may well be true that there is debate over whether to call the operation "modulo" or "remainder", and whether to differentiate between the two. In fact I think it's a good topic to address in the article. But you made the claim without citing any sources, instead relying on the phrase "It is sometimes argued" to convey a sense of authority. This kind of phrasing is discouraged by the Avoid Weasel Words guideline. Please consider leading, rather than ending, with "Some computer languages implement a modulo operator that is not a remainder function." Provide examples of specific languages and what their modulo operators do.
I hope you're not discouraged from further editing. I do want to make the modulo operation article better. It just needs to be done with greater care. —mjb (talk) 05:17, 15 May 2009 (UTC)