Paolo Carlini wrote:
... I only want to add - I said this to the OP in private email too - that we also have in widespread use expressions like 'integral constant' and even 'is_integral' (standardized in the C++0x library). Thus I don't see the point of changing now, after so many years, that specific integral in the docs where most users are likely to find *many* more integral in documentation elsewhere, in the C++ standards, etc.
Integral is a perfectly good word, and furthermore I think it is better usage to choose the appropriate adjective when one is available, rather than a noun serving as an adjective. The latter is fine when there is no convenient adjective, but in this case, integral is a smoother and more natural style. For another take, though the Ada standard extensively uses the word integral, it does prefer integer type, by analogy with array type, record type etc, where no adjective is available. But as noted the C++ standard prefers integral type, so might as well standardize on that when talking about C or C++.
