Re: Reason for operator precedence


briggs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
In article <1142342196.542632.294210@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, matt271829-news@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:

Tony wrote:
Hi all.

Hope this isn't a silly question.

I was wondering what the reason is for having multiple levels of operator
precedence?

Phrased another way, why is it that we don't just evaluate everything from
left to right?

Having multiple levels of precedence obviously adds complexity, so I assume
there must be some payback. However, I don't see what it is.


As far as addition/subtraction vs multiplication/division is concerned,
one reason is to ensure that the distributive property of
multiplication works sensibly. For example, we want 3*(4 + 6) = 3*4 +
3*6 = 3*(6 + 4) = 3*6 + 3*4.

Remember that what we're talking about here is merely a notational
convention. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the distributive
property of multiplication over addition.

And, to elaborate a bit more, I venture to disagree and suggest that
the convention *does* have to do with this property. I suggest that the
distributive property of * over + is one of the reasons - possibly the
main reason - why it is "natural" to view multiplication as "tighter"
than addition, and to want to interpret, say, 3*4 + 3*6 as (3*4) +
(3*6) rather than as ((3 * 4) + 3) * 6 or whatever.

.

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