Expressing intervals
• 126 words • 1 min • updated
What does [1, 4] mean?
If you’re thinking in Mathematics terms: it’s a closed interval from 1 to 4 (=both inclusive).
If you’re thinking in Programming terms (Python): it’s a list containing two elements: 1 and 4.
This is ambiguous, eh?
In prose I propose to use
{1, 4} to represent the list (or set),
and 1..4 to represent the closed interval.
Refer to it as “for 1..4” instead of “from 1..4”. If you want to use “from”, then state “from 1 to 4” fully.
Or, alternatively, make it explicit which convention you’re using, perhaps by making the context prominent.
Likewise beware of (1, 4): it could be an open interval from 1 to 4 (=both
exclusive) or a tuple containing the elements 1 and 4.