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Comment by revorad | Hacker News Reader

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revorad·

I'd take the easy route:

printf("Directories scanned: %g", $directory_count);

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printf("Directories scanned: %g", $directory_count);

That's precisely the problem the article addresses :) You could just about get away with it in English where the only number that won't work is 1, but what about Polish where "Directories" will take a different form if the number ends in a 2, 3 or a 4 but isn't 12, 13 or 14?

The whole point of that workaround is that I'm making it obviously computer-lingo. "Directories scanned: 0" and "Directories scanned: 1" are not grammatically correct, but they sound OK and get the point across without sounding broken like "I found 1 directories".

The whole point of that workaround is that I'm making it obviously computer-lingo

Thanks for the clarification. My point was that a workaround in English may not be a workaround in every other language in the world.

This is the interesting question isn't it? Do other languages not have similar 'neutral' formulations? How far could such a ploy be generalised?

For the most part, it would work in essentially ANY language. The "noun, colon, number" notation completely sidesteps the issue of grammar by dumping the verb, which is usually the instigator of the worst problems (Russian, I am looking at you!). For example, the easy way out in Russian is simply "каталоги: 5", which is the nice and easy plural "directories", free from abusive endings imposed by accusative case verbs.