# Question for those who use comma as decimal separator **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 26, 2019, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-those-who-use-comma-as-decimal-separator/840843 "2019-09-26T10:40:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-those-who-use-comma-as-decimal-separator/840843/41 "2019-09-29T17:21:43Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > That’s interesting. But it still means that the traditional decimal separator in _France_, _Spain_ and _Italy_ used to be the upper comma, as other French-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries had different customs. Not the official traditional separator. Have you heard of the Academies of the Language? French has one; Spanish has 22 but they publish a single Ortografía. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-those-who-use-comma-as-decimal-separator/840843/42 "2019-09-29T20:17:14Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > So X, Y and Z perhaps for 3d. That’s what is used in the real world. I have know idea how that would work in a game or in real life in space for that matter, as you need a point of reference. I suspect I’m over thinking this. > > I guess what is confusing is that the OP’s first post only spoke to two axis. > > If you need a delimiter between values, for whatever this is, use a pipe. Very easy to bucket the different information quickly. I think it is worth at least beta-testing your idea of displaying coordinates as X 12.34 Y 56.78 (or RA/Dec or whatever the coordinates are called in the game). Instantly legible no matter how the operating system displays decimal fractions, and no extra parentheses or vertical lines cluttering up the display. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-those-who-use-comma-as-decimal-separator/840843/43 "2019-09-29T20:51:49Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I think it is worth at least beta-testing your idea of displaying coordinates as X 12.34 Y 56.78 (or RA/Dec or whatever the coordinates are called in the game). Instantly legible no matter how the operating system displays decimal fractions, and no extra parentheses or vertical lines cluttering up the display. It’s ###.# instead of ##.##, but same difference. The issue with “X 123.4 Y 567.8” is the extra horizontal space that uses up compared to “(123.4|567.8)”. It’s not a ton, but enough to matter. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-those-who-use-comma-as-decimal-separator/840843/44 "2019-09-29T20:53:05Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Not the official traditional separator. Have you heard of the Academies of the Language? French has one; Spanish has 22 but they publish a single Ortografía. Yes, I do know about language academies and other regulatory bodies. For example, [here is Quebec’s Office of the French language](http://bdl.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/bdl/gabarit_bdl.asp?id=1386) suggesting the use of a comma as decimal separator (in units of measurement, but it’s similar for numbers in general). I’m not exactly sure what you’re saying: is it that the upper comma was a commonly used decimal separator but _never officially_, or that regulatory bodies in Spain and France were (or are) in fact suggesting using the upper comma? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-those-who-use-comma-as-decimal-separator/840843/45 "2019-09-30T06:29:32Z")
That the high comma was and remains still the official sign in Spanish when possible (a lot of Spanish orthographic rules apply “when possible”, to avoid driving people nuts over something which the medium simply doesn’t allow for); other separators are now accepted where previously they would have been not, again due to limited possibilities. I don’t know whether the Académie listed that detail officially or not, but I do know it is what my older French coworkers grew up with and what older Italian people still use… when possible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-those-who-use-comma-as-decimal-separator/840843.md?page=2)