Zeroth

3 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  zeroth
       adj : preceding even the first

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  zeroth /zee'rohth/ adj. First. Among software designers, comes from C's


     and LISP's 0-based indexing of arrays. Hardware people also tend to
     start counting at 0 instead of 1; this is natural since, e.g., the 256
     states of 8 bits correspond to the binary numbers 0, 1, ..., 255 and the
     digital devices known as `counters' count in this way.
  
     Hackers and computer scientists often like to call the first chapter
     of a publication `Chapter 0', especially if it is of an introductory
     nature (one of the classic instances was in the First Edition of {K&R}).
     In recent years this trait has also been observed among many pure
     mathematicians (who have an independent tradition of numbering from 0).
     Zero-based numbering tends to reduce {fencepost error}s, though it
     cannot eliminate them entirely.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  zeroth
       
           First.
       
          Since zero is the lowest value of an {unsigned} {binary}
          {integer}, which is one of the most fundamental types in
          programming and {hardware} design, it is often natural to
          count from zero rather than one, especially when the integer
          is actually an {index}, as in hardware addressing or {C} and
          {Lisp}'s 0-based indexing of {arrays}.
       
          Hackers and computer scientists often like to call the first
          chapter of a publication "Chapter 0", especially if it is of
          an introductory nature (one of the classic instances was in
          the First Edition of {K&R}).  In recent years this trait has
          also been observed among many pure mathematicians (who have an
          independent tradition of numbering from 0).
       
          Zero-based numbering tends to reduce {fencepost errors},
          though it cannot eliminate them entirely.
       
          Logically, the next item after the zeroth should be the
          "oneth" but this is never used.
       
          [{Jargon File}]
       
          (1997-12-07)