Dear Log,
«Example 0.10:
Let us consider some simple examples of languages over an
alphabet Σ. The empty-set Ø is a language.
The set {e} which contains only the empty string
is a language. Notice that Ø and {e} are two distinct
languages.»--from Aho & Ullman's The Theory of Parsing, Translation,
and Computing (1972)
volume 1: "Parsing"
chapter 0 [ugh]: "Mathematical Preliminaries"
page 16
Yes. Let us all turn our attention to the crucial difference between a language where you can't say anything, versus a language where you can say only nothing.
Oooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Not all that unusual ...
rob_au on 2003-09-20T04:37:22
use Storable qw( freeze );
$a = undef;
$b = [];
( freeze($a) ne freeze($b) ) and
print "Naturally :-)\n";
I'm sure it's not too hard to argue the merit and usefulness of empty and undefined sets when viewed in the context of code development.
I am inspired.
brev on 2003-09-20T08:09:17
Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu were discussing the virtues of the men of old.
Lao Tzu began, "The men of old had a language of pure Tao, in which the only word was silence."
Chuang Tzu responded, "But how did they express the absence of silence?"
At this, Lao Tzu was enlightened.
Chuang Tzu continued, "If you want TCL 7.X, you know where to get it."
At this, Lao Tzu realized that Chuang Tzu needed to get out more.
nothingness
gav on 2003-09-21T02:16:06
Pai-chang wished to send a monk to open a new monastery. He told his pupils that whoever answered a question most ably would be appointed. Placing a water jug on the ground, he asked, "Who can say what this is without calling its name?" The head Monk said, "No one can call it a wooden sandal." Kuei-shan, the cooking monk, tipped over the jug with his foot and went out. Pai-chang laughed and said: "The head monk loses." And Kuei-shan became the head Master of the new monastery.
