PawPrint.net Forum

I'm currently editing units.xml in order to include suggestions and fixes suggested so far in this forum, and to add a "Dimensionless" Class - for Constants like pi, e, Avogadro's Nr. etc.
The task is a huge one, verifying every factor and formula, but obviously the author has higher priorities (rightly so) than this job, and it is always better to have verifications done by someone NOT involved with the original collection.
If you have ANY ERRORS to notify, or ANY ADDITIONAL CONVERSIONS to request, post them to THIS THREAD, and I'll try to include them.
I have no intention of doing anything regarding the GUI, or the programme itself, JUST THE UNITS.XML file!
If requested, I'll look into documenting the methods I use to customise VersaVerter, but both these tasks will take a little while, so be patient.
I will post here, and CLOSE the thread when the job is finalised.
Baldy

Analyzing the collection of factors etc. which I already have, I've arrived at 68 Classes:

01) Absorbed Dose
02) Acceleration Linear
03) Acceleration Angular
04) Angle
05) Area
06) Calorific Value
07) Capacitance
08) Charge
09) Chemical
10) Concentration Liquid
11) Concentration Molar
12) Conductance
13) Conductivity
14) Current
15) Data Storage
16) Data Transfer
17) Density
18) Digital Image Resolution
19) Electric Field Strength
20) Energy
21) Entropy
22) Flow
23) Flow Mass
24) Flow Molar
25) Force
26) Heat Capacity
27) Heat Flux Density
28) Heat Transfer Coefficient
29) Illumination
30) Inductance
31) Latent Heat
32) Length
33) Linear Charge Density
34) Luminance
35) Luminous Intensity
36) Magnetic Flux
37) Magnetic Flux Density
38) Magnetomotive Force
39) Mass
40) Mass Flux Density
41) Moment of Inertia
42) Permeability
43) Power
44) Pressure
45) Radiation
46) Radiation Activity
47) Radiation Exposure
48) Resistivity
49) Sound
50) Specific Heat
51) Specific Volume
52) Surface Charge Density
53) Surface Current Density
54) Surface Tension
55) Thermal Conductivity
56) Thermal Expansion
57) Time
58) Torque
59) Typography
60) Velocity
61) Velocity Angular
62) Viscosity Dynamic
63) Viscosity Kinematic
64) Volume Charge Density
65) Volume
66) Volume Dry
67) Volume Lumber

and the last:

68) Dimensionless - for Constants.

Anyone got/want any more?

Baldy

Not too familiar with the product, but the most obvious class - currency - seems to be missing.

Regards,
Larry
2004OC05 07:15

Currency conversion CHANGES so frequently, and involves ALL sorts of varying "Commissions" over and above the published base-rate for the day, that it MUST remain as an optional add-on to be maintained by the user.
A Google: http://www.google.com/search?q=%22currency+conversion%22  will return OVER 540,000 entries!
One of those is bound to give more accurate REAL-TIME conversion, and for approximations, the built-in calculator will multiply or divide! <grin>
Just check the DAILY fluctuations between yen/US$/UK Pound/AU$ - how could you keep up with those? - anyway, I'll leave that one OUT for the reasons given. - Sorry about that.

Baldy

Actually here is a spefic link for those interested -

http://www.oanda.com/converter/classic?user=czarnik

Regards,
Larry
2004OC05 09:43

Thanks czarnik, http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic actually comes in as the third entry on the Google Search above. It RELIES on a LIVE connection to CURRENT and HISTORIC exchange rates, and validates my point of frequent change.

Anyone needing / wanting such a Conversion is advised to create a Shortcut to the URL of their preferred Rate Calculator page, and keep THAT shortcut (or copies of it) right alongside their Shortcut(s) to Versaverter, instead of having the URL tucked away in a Favourites List!

That way, ALL your conversion needs are in the one place.

Baldy.

G'day,

AM I missing something, but the Versaverter version 3.0.0.178 with base 2.2.1.0 and that has a currency conversion.  Though I am not sure how it updates the currencies.

Regards,
Larry
2004OC06 07:50

Simple answer, czarnik - It DOESN'T update them at all!
It just uses the approximations in the xml file.
Baldy

I had mentioned about adding Time conversions. ie. microseconds, millseconds, etc.
http://www.pawprint.net/forum/index.php?action=view&id=60

Aaron

adudek - Time conversions are on my todo list above.

cybercrone -

As far as I can determine, the measure "Board Metre" is "non-Standard" and likely to be subject to local variation.

Some of the variations which I have found are loosely based on one of two premises:

1) That "Board Foot" represents the volume of a piece of board, of one inch nominal thickness and having a surface area of one square foot. ie <= 144 inch^3
2) That "Board Foot" represents PRECISELY the volume: 144 inch^3

There is quite a variance in the loose term "Board Foot"
This gives rise to the possibilities of:

Volume based:
144 inch^3 = 2.359737216 Litre

Strict "mixing" of measures:
1 Board Metre = 0.0254m x 1.000m x 1.000m = 0.0254m^3 = 25.4 Litre

Most likely (IMHO):
1 Board Metre = 0.0250m x 1.000m x 1.000m = 0.025m^3 = 25.0 Litre

Timber measures are NOT precisely defined ANYWHERE that I can find, probably due to the localised terminology which varies from country to country in Europe, and seemingly from county to county in the US - at least as far as my research into local Legislation goes! - Same problem for the Timber "Measure" of "Cord" - What a mess to try and unravel!

Anyway, I have added "Board Metre" to my "todo" list.

Baldy

In DeskTopPublishing (DTP) and printing (like  RTF) "points" and "twips".

TWIP: one twentieth of a printer's point (1/1440 inch, also called a twip).  
POINT: a printer's point (1/72 inch)

And it seems MS uses these units:
HiEnglish: 0.001 inch
HiMetric: 0.01 millimeter
LoEnglish: 0.01 inch
LoMetric: 0.1 millimeter

I have added "twips" added to my "to verify" list.
Note:
There is a variance between MS "points" - 1/72 imch
&
Printers "point" - 100/7227 inch
&
French Printers' "point" - 1 didot or 16/15 Printers' "point" - 320/21681 Imperial inch

The confusions arise from the various European Printing "Standards", and the most authoratative derivations I have give the following:

1 point Truchet (now obsolete) = 0.188 mm
1 point Didot = 1/72 French royal inch (27.07 mm) = 0.376 mm
1 cicero = 12 points Didot = 4.531 mm
1 point l'Imprimerie nationale, (IN) = 0.4 mm

1 point ATA = 0.013837 inch = 0.3514598 mm
1 pica ATA = 12 points ATA = 4.2175176 mm

1 point TeX = 100/7227 inch = 0.3514598035 mm
1 pica TeX = 12 points TeX = 4.217517642 mm

1 point Postscript = 1/72 inch = 0.3527777778 mm
1 pica Postscript = 12 points Postscript = 4.233333333 mm

There are variances between proposed or Draft standards, and many countries (Australia included) still allow the use of inch measurements in this area notwithstanding the use of Metric Measures for almost everything else.

ISO Standards and current trends in CSS would indicate an attempt at true standardisation, but there is yet variation in what part of what letter(s) is actually measured!

A useful site for further information is:

http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/metric-typo/

Baldy.

You have Stone (UK) and Hundredweight (UK) how about Quarters ? 4 Qtrs = 1 Cwt ?

Already in my revision list, along with what I think is the whole damned English Weights & Measures set! - HooBoy!, what a long list it is, too. <grin>
Thanks for your input, I hope to post a link soon, to the List of Measures which I have been able to VERIFY against World Standards - "Watch this space" <grin>

Baldy

Frequency Wavelength

radians/second to Hertz

1 radian/second = 0.159154943 Hertz

And maybe

radian/minute
radian/hour

Thanks!
-- Bill

I would like to suggest you add U to the length section. U is a unit that is used in the telecommunications industry and is used to measure the height of audio, video, or computer equipment components, as well as the height of the standard racks in which these components are mounted. One U is equal to 44.45 mm (1.75 in.), so that, for example, a 2 U component is 8.89 mm (3.5 in.) high, and a 22 U rack houses a stack of components 97.79 mm (38.5 in.) high.

Silly I know, but when I took Mechanical Engineering back in the dark ages we always standardized velocities to Furlongs/Fortnight.

So:
<vv:unit type="factor"><vv:symbol>fr/fn</vv:symbol><vv:name type="SI">furlongs per fortnight</vv:name><vv:convert-from>1.6630952380952380952380952380952e-4</vv:convert-from></vv:unit>

Regards, Tom

Due to the wide range of Beauty in the world, and because of the subjective nature of claims to Truth, we desire a universally applicable conversion factor between Truth and Beauty, and for standardized symbols for both units.  
Candidate symbols for Truth and Beauty units must be available on standard keyboards, or from common drop-down symbol lists.
Kindly respond with serious suggestions only to this thread, or to:
jeroboambramblejam@yahoo.com
Sincerely,
JeroboamBramblejam

I would like to see millicurie conversions added to the radiation group.