Re: Re: quantity libraries

From: Kevlin Henney (kevlin_at_[hidden])
Date: 2001-08-14 04:27:06

>   From: Anatoli Tubman <anatoli_at_[hidden]>
>
>A quantity library that wishes to support both metric
>and English units must chose one of the following:
>
>1. All length are stored in meters.
>2. All length are stored in feet.
>3. All length are stored in units specified at configure time.
>4. Some lengths are stored in feet, others in meters.
>
>Every choice has its problems. Choices 1 and 2 are giving unfair
>preference to users of a particular unit system.

I'm not sure what the problem is. Choosing between 1 and 2 is easy: 1,
without a shadow of a doubt. The choice in this case is informed by the
fact that the meter is the more fundamental concept: the foot is
officially defined in terms of the meter, and can therefore be
considered something of a derived unit :->

Kevlin
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