0-Based Indexes Are the Best
Posted4 months agoActive4 months ago
blog.velocifyer.comTechstory
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ProgrammingIndexingConventions
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Programming
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Conventions
Discussion about the merits of 0-based indexing in programming.
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Light discussionFirst comment
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- 01Story posted
Sep 12, 2025 at 9:29 AM EDT
4 months ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Sep 12, 2025 at 9:44 AM EDT
15m after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
5 comments in 0-1h
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Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Sep 12, 2025 at 3:42 PM EDT
4 months ago
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ID: 45221920Type: storyLast synced: 11/17/2025, 6:16:09 PM
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I read that as satire or trying to bait people (tabs vs spaces etc).
If they intended it to be a serious argument for 0-based indexes, they should not have admitted to being less intelligent than most 5-year-olds.
I'd say you never actually tried. Your argument was unserious.
It was simply: "1-based indexing confuses me". Even if people try to treat it as an actual argument, it's weak. Spanish confuses me, should Spanish speakers switch to English on my behalf? No. I should learn Spanish, get an interpreter, or use tools to help me converse with them. And 1-based indexing is much simpler than Spanish. If it actually confuses you then something else is going on. Every 5-year-old I know understands it, that's a low bar to beat for an adult.
Go see Dijkstra's argument for 0-based indexing, that's an actual argument. Yours was not.