Do we allow + prefix for integer property values?

[enikao]

We encode integer property values as JSON strings.

We do allow negative integers, as in "-123".
We also allow no leading sign, and assume these integers are positive, as in "99".

Shall we also allow explicit positive sign, as in "+34"?

Pro:

• Symmetric with negative sign
• Java's Integer.parseInt() allows it, so the format is used

Con:

• "+34" and "34" are semantically identical, but two different ways to write it. This introduces ambiguity.

[dslmeinte]

"0.999999999999999999999999999999999" (going off into infinity) can also be thought of as being semantically equivalent to "1" - and most actual floating point implementations would agree ;)

[enikao]

If you manage to write infinite strings, I'll add it to the spec (-:

I did actually amend the spec about length of the integer.

[dslmeinte]

Ah, the fine distinction between “arbitrary-length“ and “infinite” :)

The point I was trying to make (ineffectively, I readily admit): I don't mind multiple ways of writing the same thing, as long as we write down that it's the same thing. This might be a bit trick for negative numbers, as 0 and -0 are not the same in many (/most) floating point number systems.

[enikao]

0 is actually a good counter-example: Most integer implementations will consider -0 and 0 to be the same, so there's always ambiguity.

[enikao]

also works in JavaScript

--> Decision in meeting on 2023-05-05: We support optional + prefix