88888 is a number written (in this case) using the decimal system ie in
base 10. It is therefore a decimal number, and has zero decimal places.
You are, of course, free to dispute that 88888 is written in base 10 for
the purposes of this thread, and that zero is a valid number of decimal
places for a decimal number to have.
I suppose "88888" would be valid in any number system beyond base-8;
but this is a perl newsgroup, not one for number theory. For the most
part the people here are dealing with real-world problems, in which
the chance of "88888" being anything other than decimal - unless we're
told otherwise - is effectively zero.
Hmm. Must look at how this newsreader does kill files. I feel the
need of a new entry in the "P" section.
Henry Law <>< Manchester, England
