nollapohjainen

Nollapohjainen is a Finnish adjective used to describe a basis rooted in zero. In technical and organizational language, it indicates that zero serves as the starting point or baseline for a system, model, or calculation rather than one.

Typical applications are found in computing and budgeting. In programming, zero-based indexing assigns the first element position as 0, which is described as zero-based indexing; many programming languages (including C, Python, and Java) use such indexing, contrasting with one-based conventions in languages like Fortran. In budgeting, nollapohjainen budjetointi (zero-based budgeting) requires that every expense be justified for each period, starting from a clean slate rather than adjusting prior budgets. The method gained prominence in the 1970s in the United States and has since been adopted in both public and private sectors.

Other uses include management and project evaluation, where decisions are assessed from zero-based assumptions to avoid automatic carryovers and to ensure resources align with current priorities.

Related concepts include zero-based budgeting and zero-based indexing in programming. The term is primarily a descriptive descriptor rather than a fixed methodology, and its exact meaning can vary with context, but it consistently signals a reset to a zero baseline as the starting point.