<
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)