Re: in-between values

On Feb 2, 2011, at 3:04 AM, Øyvind Stenhaug wrote:

> On Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:02:27 +0100, Brad Kemper <brad.kemper@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> On Feb 1, 2011, at 10:25 AM, Simon Fraser <smfr@me.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> On Feb 1, 2011, at 8:36 AM, Brad Kemper wrote:
> 
>>>> A midpoint yes, but not necessarily a halfway point. The number between 0 and 1 would indicate the position of the midpoint, with smaller numbers (0 – 0.5) being closer to the first value, and larger numbers (0.5 – 1) being closer to the second value.
>>> 
>>> I think mid() implies the half-way point too strongly.
>> 
>> Maybe.
> 
> As a non-native speaker, I found the notation strange. Certainly, in geometry, midpoint means halfway point.
> 
> mid-
> denoting the middle of
> in the middle; medium; half
> (<http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0518170>)
> 
> middle
> at an equal distance from the extremities of something; central
> (<http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0518260>)

It is often used to mean "somewhere in the middle" (as in, "somewhere between the two ends"), not necessarily "exactly half way". So, for instance, if someone interrupts my speech somewhere "mid-sentence", it doesn't have to be precisely at the point at which I have have spoken exactly half a sentence.

As another person pointed out, it is sometimes used in other computer languages (vbscript is one) to select a range of text within a string, and the numbers determine the position and length of that range. It can be anywhere within the string, even the ends. I am using it similarly to pick a precise location within the interpolation range.