From: | elein(at)varlena(dot)com (elein) |
---|---|
To: | Tom Lane <tgl(at)sss(dot)pgh(dot)pa(dot)us> |
Cc: | Michael Fuhr <mike(at)fuhr(dot)org>, Merlin Moncure <merlin(dot)moncure(at)rcsonline(dot)com>, pgsql-docs(at)postgresql(dot)org |
Subject: | Re: allballs |
Date: | 2005-01-24 21:08:54 |
Message-ID: | 20050124210853.GD15269@varlena.com |
Views: | Raw Message | Whole Thread | Download mbox | Resend email |
Thread: | |
Lists: | pgsql-docs |
On Mon, Jan 24, 2005 at 03:18:56PM -0500, Tom Lane wrote:
> Michael Fuhr <mike(at)fuhr(dot)org> writes:
> > "Allballs" is slang for "all zeros" because zeros look like balls.
> > You hear it sometimes in environments that use a 24-hour clock
> > (communications, military, etc.). Here's an example:
>
> > http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf2-3.html
>
> > I don't know that "allballs" is specified in any standard, so I
> > suspect that somebody who used the term added it to PostgreSQL
> > (or whatever it was called at the time) for convenience.
>
> I'm sure it isn't in any SQL standard ;-). Tom Lockhart is doubtless
> responsible for it being in our code; I suppose he put it in because it
> is in reasonably common use at JPL.
>
> regards, tom lane
Actually I think all of the weird psuedonyms for 000000 were in
postgres very early on. I remember seeing them in illustra
and we branched postgres in 1992. So I blame funky grad students.
--elein
From | Date | Subject | |
---|---|---|---|
Next Message | Alvaro Herrera | 2005-01-25 01:26:56 | Re: A Question |
Previous Message | Tom Lane | 2005-01-24 20:18:56 | Re: allballs |