[Boost-users] [units] build up a runtime

Subject: [Boost-users] [units] build up a runtime
From: Michael Powell (mwpowellnm_at_[hidden])
Date: 2011-07-31 00:12:06

Units developers/users,

I need some advice. I am fairly confident boost::units is the way for us to
go and support a design- or compile-time unit safe calculations environment.
However, now for the tricky business of exposing that functionality to the
rest of our application. I am in the midst of trying to do this by exposing
some Managed C++ classes, plausibly representing each kind of dimension; to
get started with I implemented a base Quantity class, and I am extending
that to a Length. I would like to include a quantity<si::length> member, for
starters, but I am receiving a build error:

Error    2    error C4368: cannot define 'si_l' as a member of managed
'CS::Boost::Units::Dimensions::Length': mixed types are not supported
c:\source\safetyvalve2011\cs.calculations.managed\units\Length.h    41
CS.Calculations.Managed

This might extend to include a quantity<us::length>, for instance; and so on
for other unit systems.

Whatever .NET class we expose, this will act like the proxy between the
application layer and the calculations layer; we might have Dimension-aware
UI controls that work on Length, or Quantity, for instance. That sort of
thing.

Anyone encountered anything like this before? Or have suggestions how we
might overcome this hurdle?

I'm puzzling this one through in the meantime...

Thank you...

Regards,

Michael