Talk:binary operator

Deletion discussion

The following information passed a request for deletion.

This discussion is no longer live and is left here as an archive. Please do not modify this conversation, but feel free to discuss its conclusions.

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binary operator

This is straightforwardly sense 5 of binary plus operator. —CodeCat 23:22, 27 November 2014 (UTC)

I would be inclined to keep it. It is an operator across two operands, it is not an operator which only works in base 2 (the far more common meaning of binary these days), and is thus a term of art. I would add links between it and unary operator and ternary operator as well. --Catsidhe ^{(verba, facta)} 23:34, 27 November 2014 (UTC)

This is really something that CFI doesn't clarify. Some things are idiomatic not because they can't be understood as the combination of the parts, but because it's not obvious how each part should be understood in the context of the whole. Or to say that another way, the combination has less possible interpretations than the parts allow for. —CodeCat 00:26, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

Delete. Any programmer would understand this, just as with polymorphic constructor, derived class, integer variable, etc. We are not going to solve the "lack of expertise" problem by including obvious SoP combinations as entries. WHY IS THIS STILL AN ISSUE. Equinox ◑ 02:50, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

Keep. Not being a programmer, I would not understand this, or polymorphic constructor, derived class, integer variable, etc. If I wanted to know what they mean, I would have to look them up, and I would not know which definitions of binary or operator to choose. The correct definition might not even be present at binary or operator; I would have no way of knowing that, since I don’t know what [:binary operator]] means. —Stephen ^(Talk) 06:23, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

The idea that you wouldn't understand integer variable is not to your case, since "integer" in this case can be replaced by any type, and the Java core libraries alone come with over 4,000 types. String variables and Date variables and complex variables and double variables and real variables and fixed-point variables and JarFile variables and array variables and Option[Vector[String]] variables are all things in some language.--Prosfilaes (talk) 11:50, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

Not being a biologist, I don't understand multi-word biological terms; not being a chemist, I don't understand multi-word chemical terms. Not speaking Spanish, I don't understand any multi-word Spanish phrase. Don't you see why your counterargument is inane? Equinox ◑ 17:15, 29 November 2014 (UTC)

Delete. This is not a set phrase: the adjective can be used predicatively (“the sum operator is binary”) and with other nouns (“binary operation”, “binary equation”, “binary gate”, “binary sum”, etc.). — Ungoliant ^(falai) 20:22, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

• Keep, since this is unobvious and easily confusing because of the use of the word "binary" in computing to refer to binary digits and binary representation of numbers and other things. "binary operator" is one that takes two operands, althought one might think it is an operator that operates on bits AKA binary digits. Thus, bit complement operator is a unary, not binary, operator. "binary equation" uses a different sense of "binary" than "binary operator" does. --Dan Polansky (talk) 23:30, 28 November 2014 (UTC)
• Keep: This is still an issue, Equinox. Most people aren't programmers. They aren't going to understand what this is. "Binary" is ambiguous, as Dan notes. Purplebackpack89 23:44, 28 November 2014 (UTC)
  • You stated that "Any programmer would understand this," apparently as an argument to delete. My counterargument is not inane, it demonstrates how silly your original argument is. As for your argument "Not being a biologist, I don't understand multi-word biological terms," that is a very common problem for everyone who has an interest in a discipline such as biology, or who wants to understand a biology text. The best solution, for those who can afford it, is a dictionary that explains these terms. Such dictionaries (dictionaries that address multi-word terms) are high-end and usually pricey. Most English-speaking people do not ever need to look up book in a dictionary, since we all know what it means, but anyone who encounters the programming term binary operator for the first time will need to find a definition somewhere (and looking up [[:binary] and operator separately will not be helpful). To learn the meaning of such terms, it is necessary to have an explanation of the term binary operator. —Stephen ^(Talk) 13:32, 30 November 2014 (UTC)

• "Leaf" is ambiguous but (i) we don't have an entry for "brown leaf" and (ii) we actually use "brown leaf" as the exemplar for what should not be kept. So what. Equinox ◑ 23:56, 29 November 2014 (UTC)

• Furthermore: the non-programmer who doesn't understand what "binary operator" is will also not understand the meaning of "overloaded binary operator" or "bitwise binary operator". So do we need entries for those? How about "overloaded bitwise binary operator"? There comes a point where people must learn how to combine words. Equinox ◑ 23:58, 29 November 2014 (UTC)

  I am concerned with the programmer who does not remember what "binary operator" is intended to mean. A specification that would use the term "binary operator" would do well to define the term, IMHO, since otherwise it would fail the standard of unambiguity, which in a specification is important.--Dan Polansky (talk) 11:07, 30 November 2014 (UTC)

  leaf is a term that every English-speaking person understands. Dictionaries only include words such as leaf to be complete, or to show the etymology. "Brown leaf", as far as I know, is not a term; neither is "dead leaf", "crinkled leaf", "rotting leaf", or "dry leaf". But leaf spring is a term, as are leaf bud, leaf gold, leaf fat, leaf brass, and leaf lard. And binary operator is a term. —Stephen ^(Talk) 13:45, 30 November 2014 (UTC)

• Delete. "Bitwise binary operator" and "binary bitwise operator" are interchangeable, showing that neither "bitwise operator" nor "binary operator" is a set term. --WikiTiki89 01:43, 30 November 2014 (UTC)
• Delete per Equinox. DCDuring TALK 16:42, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
• Keep. Non-programmers will certainly have a confusion between the two distinct senses of binary in binary operator and binary digit. — TAKASUGI Shinji (talk) 01:16, 3 December 2014 (UTC)

Kept. bd2412 T 14:24, 19 December 2014 (UTC)