Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
beacon1
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/31/04
#0Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 12:51pm
Rob & Craig,
Both the "Adults Smoking" and "Eddie Varley" threads are "stuck" on 32767 views though both have passed this number...
Did we blow a circuit with all this activity? Are the hamsters in the system rioting on their treadmills? Has RightSaidRick run off with you?
Curious minds would love to know!
Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?
Patrick Wilson Fans --New "UnOfficial Fan Site". Come check us out!
#1re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 12:55pm
It's The Craigster's fault. 
"I'm learning to dig deep down inside and find the truth within myself and put that out. I think what we identify with in popular music more than anything else is when someone just shares a truth that we can relate to. That's what I'm searching for in my music." - Ron Bohmer
"I broke the boundaries. It wasn't cool to be in plays- especially if you were in sports & I was in both." - Ashton Kutcher
Updated On: 8/24/04 at 12:55 PM
"I broke the boundaries. It wasn't cool to be in plays- especially if you were in sports & I was in both." - Ashton Kutcher
#2re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 12:56pm
Everyone back, the site's gonna blow
and the first person who turns that commment into a sexual innuendo joke gets it deleted!
"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men" - Willy Wonka
#3re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 12:57pm
Yep... That was the maximum number for the data type I was using to track the views. We've graduated now from "SmallInt" to "MediumInt" for those keeping technical track.
We live in exciting times.
#4re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 12:57pm
Ok.. the next person who turns this into geekspeak also gets it deleted kidding Rob!
"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men" - Willy Wonka
beacon1
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/31/04
#5re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 12:58pm
Rob,
And in Earth terms this means...
Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?
Patrick Wilson Fans --New "UnOfficial Fan Site". Come check us out!
#6re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 12:59pmSay ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
"I'm learning to dig deep down inside and find the truth within myself and put that out. I think what we identify with in popular music more than anything else is when someone just shares a truth that we can relate to. That's what I'm searching for in my music." - Ron Bohmer
"I broke the boundaries. It wasn't cool to be in plays- especially if you were in sports & I was in both." - Ashton Kutcher
"I broke the boundaries. It wasn't cool to be in plays- especially if you were in sports & I was in both." - Ashton Kutcher
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#7re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 1:11pm
I actually understood that. *sob*
To put it simply, it means computers can't really count forever, beacon.
To make it a little more complicated, when you program a computer, a number isn't just a number. It's a type of number- a data type. Different types of numbers take up different amounts of space and are handled differently by the computer. I guess the limit of "smallints" that the computer could handle was 32767. By changing the data type to "medint," Rob made the computer able to count higher.
Feel free to tell me I'm an idiot if I put that incorrectly, Rob. My programming experience is minimal at best. :)
#8re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 1:12pmThe sad thing is, I actually do know the significance of 32767 and what a small_int is. Damn Computer Science.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner
HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
Updated On: 8/24/04 at 01:12 PM
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#9re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 1:23pm
I only learned C, but I think I have the general idea. *twitch* Not that *twitch* Comp Sci *twitch* scarred me for life or anything.
*twitch*
*twitch*
Zola Q. LaPlaya
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/25/04
#10re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 1:54pmBut the question remains: "will you return the 32,767 posts to the South Korean who finished third?"
Stop worrying about what I'm doing -- focus instead on what you're eating.
Matt_G
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/1/04
#11re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 1:56pmZoles, you must change that icon. I'm at work and it's very dangerous for me to be looking at that.
"Noah, someday we'll talk again. But there's things we'll never say. That sorrow deep inside you. It inside me, too. And it never go away. You be okay. You'll learn how to lose things..."
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#12re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 1:58pmHave you seen your own icon, Matt? Talk about dangerous......
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
Zola Q. LaPlaya
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/25/04
#13re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 1:58pmsame right back at you.
Stop worrying about what I'm doing -- focus instead on what you're eating.
newyorkuniq
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/1/03
#14re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 8:09pm
It could be the new motto:
32,767, measure you're life in posts :P
#15re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 8:27pm
Oh God I am scared!! I actually understood all the geek speak!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
"All I ask of you is one thing: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism -- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."
Conan O'Brien
insomniak
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/7/04
#17re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 9:08pmSo why 32767? Seems kinda random.
beacon1
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/31/04
#18re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 9:13pm
Rob and Craig,
Mominator's right...what is the next magic number?
We can set it as a goal on the "Adults Smoking" thread. LOL!
Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?
Patrick Wilson Fans --New "UnOfficial Fan Site". Come check us out!
NYadgal
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/04
#19re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 9:14pm
We've broken through...there are now more 'hits' on the adult thread....
What's our new limit??
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
#20re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 9:18pmWoo Hoo!! A new goal! Unless they give us something beyon Legend.
"All I ask of you is one thing: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism -- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."
Conan O'Brien
#21re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 9:24pm
So why 32767? Seems kinda random.
It's a Computer Science thing. It's how numbers (and information in general) is stored in your computer.
Forgive me if some of this is wrong (it's been awhile since I studied this):
Basic integers (or ints) are stored as a 16-digit binary number in your computer, a.k.a 16 bits. For example:
0000000000000010 = the decimal number 2
0000000000001010 = the decimal number 10
0100000000000000 = the decimal number 16384
The first digit in the 16-digit string signifies if the number is positive (0) or negative (1).
So, if you're only dealing with positive numbers (such as a count of number of reads, which we're doing here), you only have 15 binary digits to play with: 0 101010101010101 (one 0 followed by 15 binary digits), where the first digit (the separate 0) means the entire number is positive.
So 2^15 = 32768
ie. 32768 possibilities of making a 15-digit number of 1's and 0's.
Another way of seeing it is: you have 16 binary digits. So you can make:
2^16 = 65536 different numbers
But you have to divide in half, because half your numbers are positive, and half are negative:
65536 / 2 = 32768 positive numbers
Finally, you have to minus 1, because the number 0111111111111111 represents positive infinity (this is the iffy part I don't remember - is this true? Someone correct me if it's not).
So really, you only have 32768 - 1 = 32767 positive numbers that can be made from 16 binary digits.
I'm guessing this is now fixed because, instead of using int (basic integers), he can use a "long" (larger integers) or something. Thus the count can now be much, much higher if need be.
Any questions?
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner
HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
Updated On: 8/24/04 at 09:24 PM
LadyGuenevere
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/28/03
#22re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 9:25pmMy head hurts.
NYadgal
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/04
#23re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 9:26pm
owww, mine too.
thanks, though.
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
BwayTheatre11
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/03
#24re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 9:27pm?
CCM '10!
#25re: Rob & Craig: Is there something magic about the number 32767
Posted: 8/24/04 at 9:43pmMy head now hurts as well... It's a 'mediumint' now which should get us up to 16,777,215, since we're using unsigned (all positive) values.
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