[Python-ideas] real numbers with SI scale factors: next steps

[Stephen J. Turnbull]

Guido van Rossum writes:
 > On Wed, Aug 31, 2016 at 8:57 PM, Stephen J. Turnbull
 > <turnbull.stephen.fw at u.tsukuba.ac.jp> wrote:

 > > That seems to be right approach: in system administration, these
 > > numbers are used mostly to understand resource usage, and
 > > underestimates are almost never what you want,
 > 
 > That would seem to apply to "space used" but not to "space available".

True, but I don't think the implications are symmetric.  I buy storage
to handle space (expected to be) used, not space available.  But when
I find myself caring about the "slop" in space available, the fact
that I care about that is already very bad news.  Time to head for
Fry's Electronics!

As I wrote before, I don't think the same argument applies to
scientific computing.