[chuck-users] negative duration syntax and bug

Kassen signal.automatique at gmail.com
Thu Nov 13 13:16:03 EST 2008


Les,


> In a startling discovery made earlier today by musician and self-described
> ChucKist "Kassen", it was revealed that negative time actually exists.



I don't think it does.. but you can have negative durations and LiSa may end
up with a negative duration indicating her .playPos(), which was what I was
investigating. There isn't the slightest problem with negative durations.
You can add them, you can subtract them, you just can't advance now by them
but they may be useful in other contexts, for example to indicate a timing
offset that may be in either direction. Shuffle might be expressed as such a
offset.

"Five hours ago we met" and "The movie will start in three minutes" are both
fine sentences yet they refer to durations (as offsets to "now") in
different directions, so I'd say we are fine with negative durations in
natural language as well; "She was five minutes late" may be a even more
clear example, with "late" expressing the sign.

Sorry to be so factual at your (great) humorous post but I'm really tired
right now, that would also explain why I haven't yet gotten back to you on
your personal mails. Rest asured I'll be doing something with that material.

Regular silliness will resume tomorrow.

Yours,
Kas.

P.S: aren't bees and dragonfly's bugs that can fly backwards?
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