Units of Measure

# Darryl (18 years ago)

I think it'd be interesting and useful to have some way to have units of measure as part of the structure of a number. For instance

var area = 5m * 5m; // area == 25m*m or whatever

You could register a new unit of measure by relating it to other units of measure:

newUnit( "x", 1.523m ); // 1x == 1.523m
newUnit( "sq_m", mm ); // 1sq_m == 1mm, (2m)(2m) == 4mm == 4sq_m, ...
newUnit( "W", J/s );

and then convert back and for using standard type conversion

area = area to x; // area == 57.988225x
var time = 500J/20W; // time = 25s

The system would treat units like constants, in most situations, but allow them in certain contexts that variables aren't allowed (such as immediately preceeding or following a number, as above). It would also treat the variable as containing "something" thats numberlike, so they could be multiplied against one another and still retain their unit-behavior.

It's just an idea but I think it'd be incredibly useful in the future for designing advanced web applications.

o/// Be seeing you...

I think it'd be interesting and useful to have some
way to have units of measure as part of the structure
of a number. For instance

1) var area = 5m * 5m; // area == 25m*m or whatever

You could register a new unit of measure by relating
it to other units of measure:

2) newUnit( "x", 1.523m ); // 1x == 1.523m
3) newUnit( "sq_m", m*m ); // 1sq_m == 1m*m, (2m)*(2m)
== 4m*m == 4sq_m, ...
4) newUnit( "W", J/s );

and then convert back and for using standard type
conversion

5) area = area to x; // area == 57.988225x
6) var time = 500J/20W; // time = 25s

The system would treat units like constants, in most
situations, but allow them in certain contexts that
variables aren't allowed (such as immediately
preceeding or following a number, as above). It would
also treat the variable as containing "something"
thats numberlike, so they could be multiplied against
one another and still retain their unit-behavior.

It's just an idea but I think it'd be incredibly
useful in the future for designing advanced web applications.

-------------------------------

o///
Be seeing you...

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# Brendan Eich (18 years ago)

On Oct 26, 2007, at 12:48 PM, Darryl wrote:

I think it'd be interesting and useful to have some way to have units of measure as part of the structure of a number.

See www.mozilla.org/js/language/old-es4/rationale/units.html
(and everyone, please help disambiguate by using "program units" when
talking about the other units, the kind included in ES4 as proposed:
proposals:program_units ;-).
Waldemar's write-up there in the old-es4 doc-tree references Dav
Raggett's Spide (www.mozilla.org/js/language bibliography.html#spice), worth a read too.

It's just an idea but I think it'd be incredibly useful in the future for designing advanced web applications.

At this point, as the overview says, we are not taking new proposals
for ES4. Units are tempting to consider for a future Edition, but
IIRC Waldemar had some unsolved problems in his design. It would be
good to hear from him, if he remembers the details.

On Oct 26, 2007, at 12:48 PM, Darryl wrote:

> I think it'd be interesting and useful to have some
> way to have units of measure as part of the structure
> of a number.

See http://www.mozilla.org/js/language/old-es4/rationale/units.html  
(and everyone, please help disambiguate by using "program units" when  
talking about the other units, the kind included in ES4 as proposed:  
http://wiki.ecmascript.org/doku.php?id=proposals:program_units ;-).  
Waldemar's write-up there in the old-es4 doc-tree references Dav  
Raggett's Spide (http://www.mozilla.org/js/language/ 
bibliography.html#spice), worth a read too.

> It's just an idea but I think it'd be incredibly
> useful in the future for designing advanced web applications.

At this point, as the overview says, we are not taking new proposals  
for ES4. Units are tempting to consider for a future Edition, but  
IIRC Waldemar had some unsolved problems in his design. It would be  
good to hear from him, if he remembers the details.

/be
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