What does fencepost error mean?
Definitions for fencepost error
fen·ce·post er·ror
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word fencepost error.
Wikipedia
fencepost error
An off-by-one error or off-by-one bug (known by acronyms OBOE, OBO, OB1 and OBOB) is a logic error involving the discrete equivalent of a boundary condition. It often occurs in computer programming when an iterative loop iterates one time too many or too few. This problem could arise when a programmer makes mistakes such as using "is less than or equal to" where "is less than" should have been used in a comparison, or fails to take into account that a sequence starts at zero rather than one (as with array indices in many languages). This can also occur in a mathematical context.
The New Hacker's Dictionary
fencepost error
1. [common] A problem with the discrete equivalent of a boundary condition, often exhibited in programs by iterative loops. From the following problem: “If you build a fence 100 feet long with posts 10 feet apart, how many posts do you need?” (Either 9 or 11 is a better answer than the obvious 10.) For example, suppose you have a long list or array of items, and want to process items m through n; how many items are there? The obvious answer is n - m, but that is off by one; the right answer is n - m + 1. A program that used the ‘obvious’ formula would have a fencepost error in it. See also zeroth and off-by-one error, and note that not all off-by-one errors are fencepost errors. The game of Musical Chairs involves a catastrophic off-by-one error where N people try to sit in N - 1 chairs, but it's not a fencepost error. Fencepost errors come from counting things rather than the spaces between them, or vice versa, or by neglecting to consider whether one should count one or both ends of a row. 2. [rare] An error induced by unexpected regularities in input values, which can (for instance) completely thwart a theoretically efficient binary tree or hash table implementation. (The error here involves the difference between expected and worst case behaviors of an algorithm.)
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of fencepost error in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of fencepost error in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
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"fencepost error." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/fencepost+error>.
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