The following module was proposed for inclusion in the Module List:
modid: Physics::Unit
DSLIP: RdpOp
description: Manipulate physics units and dimensions.
userid: KLORTHO (Christopher Maloney)
chapterid: 23 (Miscellaneous_Modules)
communities:
similar:
Convert::Units, Data::Dimensions, Math::Units, Math::Calc::Units
rationale:
Though this is similar to a few other modules already on the CPAN,
we feel that this has significant new functionality, and definitely
does belong in the Physics::* namespace.
The related modules that we've investigated are: Convert::Units
Data::Dimensions Math::Units Math::Calc::Units
Each of these modules has unique and interesting features. However,
one big drawback of all of them is a severe lack of documentation.
I'm in the process of corresponding with each of the authors of
these modules, to talk about the possibility of merging them all
under the Physics::Unit module. All of these modules are somewhat
"stale"; i.e. they haven't been updated in quite a long time.
An alternative would be to update one of the above modules with the
new functionality of Physics::Unit. This is not a good idea, IMO,
because Physics::Unit is already more mature than any of the above
modules. The documentation and examples are quite thorough, and
quite a few tests are included (although they haven't as yet been
integrated in to the "make test" command. Right now the tests reside
in the eg/ directory.)
Also, I hope to convince you that the Physics::* namespace makes
more sense than any of the above, and that's another reason why my
new module should become the "master".
The objects of the Physics::Unit and related classes are designed
to hold data values that represent physical quantities.
They are not just for doing unit conversions; they can be used in
any program which simulates or models the real world. Hence the
Convert::* namespace is not appropriate.
The Data::Dimensions module is very similar in some respects to my
module. However, it lacks the nice unit expression parser that ours
has. We feel that the Data::* root namespace is too vague and
general for this module. The Data::Dimensions module itself is not
well-named. "dimensions" could refer to any number of things other
than physical units.
Finally, the Math::* root namespace is clearly not appropriate.
This module has very little to do with pure mathematics.
Furthermore, we would argue, that since there is a Math::* root
namespace, it only makes sense that there should be a Physics::*
root namespace as well. These are two realms of knowledge and
algorithms, that, for example, universities around the world
recognize as distinct.
Thanks for your consideration, and please let me know if you want
more information, or if there are any other hoops we need to jump
through to make this module see the glorious light of the CPAN
module lists!
In addition, I'd like to suggest a new category (chapter) in your
module list above: how about "Real-world modelling / simulation"?
enteredby: KLORTHO (Christopher Maloney)
enteredon: Wed Mar 19 16:12:32 2003 GMT
The resulting entry would be:
Physics::
::Unit RdpOp Manipulate physics units and dimensions. KLORTHO
Thanks for registering,
--
The PAUSE
PS: The following links are only valid for module list maintainers:
Registration form with editing capabilities:
https://pause.perl.org/pause/authenquery?ACTION=add_mod&USERID=cf300000_fbb108a0a61c2661&SUBMIT_pause99_add_mod_preview=1
Immediate (one click) registration:
https://pause.perl.org/pause/authenquery?ACTION=add_mod&USERID=cf300000_fbb108a0a61c2661&SUBMIT_pause99_add_mod_insertit=1
