On 3/14/2023 7:03 PM, Gavin via ntg-context wrote:
I’d like to better understand how the \unit{} command works and why those choices were made. Some of the choices seem to be “asking for troubles,” but perhaps they are essential for some users.
I wonder if Alan was using context when the first unit module showed up in (what wasn't even call;ed mkii) because it is one of the oldest context modules and we use(d) for typesetting education related documents. Among the reasons for it was that in the pre-unicode times one had to compromise on a math / text mixture due to the way fonts and input was handled.
I’m happy to have the unit command accept a variety of different forms for the unit, but I’d really like one of the acceptable forms to be the form prescribed by Le Système international d'unités, so that “m s” is a meter second and “ms” is a millisecond. However, I’m not sure if this goal conflicts with other important goals.
Would you like to explore \unit{} this summer to see if we can find a consistent solution? Perhaps we can produce a plan for \unit{} that does not conflict with other \unit{} features, or perhaps we can make a module that lacks some of the features of \unit{} but conforms to the SI for input as well as output. I would be happy with either.
In principle one can think of different schemes (for different purposes even), after all everything is in tables; that is probably easier than tring to come up with some complex compromise. There can be instances of unit with different properties. Hans ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE Ridderstraat 27 | 8061 GH Hasselt | The Netherlands tel: 038 477 53 69 | www.pragma-ade.nl | www.pragma-pod.nl -----------------------------------------------------------------