Ken Iverson: Difference between revisions

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Carl Friedrich Gauss introduced the square bracket notation <math>[x]</math> in his third proof of quadratic reciprocity (1808).
Carl Friedrich Gauss introduced the square bracket notation <math>[x]</math> in his third proof of quadratic reciprocity (1808).
This remained the standard in mathematics until Iverson introduced the names "floor" and "ceiling" and the corresponding notations <math>\lfloor x\rfloor </math>  and <math>\lceil x \rceil </math> in his 1962 book ''A Programming Language''. This notation has gained widespread use in mathematics.
This remained the standard in mathematics until Iverson introduced the names "floor" and "ceiling" and the corresponding notations <math>\lfloor x\rfloor </math>  and <math>\lceil x \rceil </math> in his 1962 book ''A Programming Language''. The names and notations have gained widespread use in mathematics.


=== Iverson bracket ===
=== Iverson bracket ===