[Python-ideas] real numbers with SI scale factors

[Sven R. Kunze]

I didn't follow the previous discussion so far, so excuse me if I repeat 
something somebody already mentioned. But these are intriguing points 
you made here.

On 29.08.2016 09:31, Ken Kundert wrote:
> The reason why hexadecimal and octal are in general purpose languages and real
> numbers with SI scale factors are not is because languages are developed by
> computer scientists and not by scientists. I keep using SPICE and Verilog as
> examples of a languages that supports SI scale factors, and that is because they
> are the extremely rare cases where the languages were either developed or
> specified by end users and not by computer scientists.
>
> The reason why computer scientists tend to add hexadecimal and octal numbers to
> their languages and not SI scale factors is that they use hexadecimal and octal
> numbers, and as we have seen by this discussion, are rather unfamiliar with real
> numbers with SI scale factors. It is easy for them to justify adding hex because
> they know from personal experience that it is useful, but if you don't use
> widely scaled real numbers day in and day out it is hard to understand just how
> tedious exponential notation is and how useful it would be to use SI scale
> factors.

I didn't know that THERE ARE languages that already feature SI factors. 
You could be right about their development.

I for one wouldn't have an issue with this being in Python for the 
following reasons:

1) I wouldn't use it as I don't have the use-cases right now
2) if I would need to read such code, it wouldn't hurt my reading 
experience as I am used to SI
3) there will be two classes of code here: a) code that has use for it 
and thus uses it quite extensively and code that doesn't; depending on 
where you work you will encounter this feature or you don't even know it 
exists (this is true for many features in Python which is a good thing: 
each domain should use what is the best tool for them)


The biggest issue I have is the following: SI scale factors without SI 
units do not make much sense, I think (especially considering those 
syntax changes). So, the potential, if any, can only illustrated in 
combination with them. But Python does not feature any SI units so far 
as those are provided by external packages. If you can resolve that I am 
+1 on this proposal, but otherwise just +0.

Sven


PS: If I think about it this way, I might have a use-case in a small 
side-project.