zeroth

3 definitions found

zeroth - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  zeroth
      adj 1: preceding even the first

zeroth - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  zeroth
  
     <jargon> 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)
  

zeroth - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  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 errors,
     though it cannot eliminate them entirely.