ok, so booleans do this weird thing. I understand it...but WHY are they doing it?

[Netvudu]

I think by now it is well know that when you use boolean operations (specially substractions) over no-thickness objects, such as a flat plane as opposed to a box, it behaves in a very weird way, and instead of a simple hole we get part of the box added to the flat plane.

Now, I understand this only happens with no thickness objects (maybe I should better say "no volume"?), so it´s easy not to use it then and use drill or solid drill operations for those.

But the thing is: WHY is it doing that? What reasoning impulses LW to do such a thing?. I got my own theory but it might be totally wrong, so instead of feeling ashamed after being proved wrong I would like to hear the actual reasoning from someone in the know.

Also, please be clear if you´re supposing or if you´re sure and why...

Just curious, but I think it´s rather interesting.

[Matt]

it's a bug!

[Heimhenge]

... specifically, a programming bug that allows the zero thickness object to cause a "division by zero" error somewhere along the routine. When that happens, where the program jumps, and what variable values it takes along with it, it pretty much a matter of the code structure. What happens next is almost always weird. Good programming would at least use an error trap to prevent those jumps. Great programming would allow for the possibility that someone might want to boolean a zero thickness object.

But speaking from experience, it's difficult to forsee all possible applications of a routine.

This one, you'd think. should have been forseen.