Roman numerals are so close to being in alphabetical order: (i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii, viii, ___, x, xi, xii, xiii, xiv, xvi, xvii, xviii, ___, xx)...

EXCEPT for those darn inversions where you have to write "ix" which screws it up.

I have Word documents named "i. ___", "ii. ____", "iii. ____", etc. and file #9 gets missorted into the wrong spot in the folder because "ix" looks lower than "v".

So, I invented "WIX" to stand in for the Roman numeral 9. My files stay sorted perfectly now!

Using WIX as 9, YXL as 40, ZL as 50, ZXC as 90, and ZYC as 100, you can make the first 400 Romans stay perfectly ordered. To interpret the number, simply ignore all the W's, Y's, and Z's. For example, "ZXC" = [ignore the Z] XC = 90.

Count with me below!

i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
vii
viii
wix
x
xi
xii
xiii
xiv
xv
xvi
xvii
xviii
xwix
xx
xxi 21
xxxwix 39
yxl 40
yxli 41
yxlii 42
yxliii 43
yxliv 44
yxlv 45
yxlvi 46
yxlvii 47
yxlviii 48
yxlwix 49
zl 50
zli 51
zlviii 58
zlwix 59
zlx
zlxxxviii 88
zlxxxwix 89
zxc 90
zxcviii 98
zxcwix 99
zyc 100

-- phundug, Jun 20 2005

Well thought out but the problem with using normal numbers is...?
-- fridge duck, Jun 20 2005


I think if it's a choice between asking the world to revise a 2000 (??) year-old system of counting, and asking Mr. Gates to add one more feature to his fat software, then we ought to be calling Bill right now.
-- Basepair, Jun 20 2005


IIRC, the Romans wrote their number 9 as viiii. This effete ix business is a much more recent variation.
-- baconbrain, Jun 20 2005


So the problem is really
a) Windows, for not recognizing Roman numerals, or
b) you, for using Roman numerals on a computer

Of course, using Arabic numbers, you still have problems once you get to 10, but I'm not going to help you there.
-- DrCurry, Jun 20 2005


//using Arabic numbers, you still have problems once you get to 10// MacOs understands numeric filenames, and will put "2file" before "10file" in a directory listing. Likewise "file2" appears before "file10" etc.
-- Basepair, Jun 20 2005


I, also, have endured the pain of file renaming from:
File1.abc
File2.abc
and so on, until I got to
File10.abc

Then renamed them all to be
File01.abc
File02.abc
until I got to
File100.abc

Then renamed them all to be
File001.abc
File002.abc

Of course, after this, one tends to name files as File00000001.abc, just to make sure.
-- Ling, Jun 21 2005


Just number your documents with binary numbers. Then you'll be alright. 00000000, 00000001, 00000010, 00000011, 00000100, etc.
-- hippo, Jun 21 2005


There's also unary, which will have the benefit of elegantly indenting the newest files:
1 file
11 file
111 file
1111 file
...
-- phundug, Jun 21 2005


I'm stunned by the simplicity of this, and can't wait to enter it into the running for my #1 idiosyncracy. So ... is the long division working for you?
-- reensure, Jun 21 2005


great.
-- po, Jun 21 2005


adopted as of --- now.

Also: no need to stop at 100. Although someone should check my work to make sure I didn't make a mistake. (I used alternating smalls and caps to make it easier on my eyes.)

zyCzyCzyC 300

zyCzyD 400

zyD 500

zyDzyC 600

zyDzyCzyC 700

zyDzyCzyCzyC 800

zzCzzM 900

zzM 1000

zzMzzMzzM 3000

zzMzzMzzMzzCzzMzXCwIX 3999

(why do I feel like I'm reading an Eastern European phone book?)
-- Bootbuckles, Aug 10 2010


Many written languages have used their alphabets as numerals, including Greek, Hebrew and Gothic. We do it to some extent when we go "a), b), c)...".
-- nineteenthly, Aug 10 2010



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