[OSM-talk] Mapping canals

[Dermot McNally]

On 22/01/2008, Richard Fairhurst <richard at systemed.net> wrote:

> maxspeed=110   <-- assumed km/h
> maxspeed=70mph <-- unit stated
> maxwidth=2.14  <-- assumed metres
> maxwidht=7ft   <-- unit stated

I'm uneasy about this - up till now, these fields were assumed to
contain pure numbers, with the ease of processing that this implies. I
know that in an imperial world, it's not so convenient to use a figure
like 2.14 when you're trying to represent what could be a round
number. But to introduce the possibility of there being units in these
fields (and the requirement to arbitrate those units when processing)
smacks to me of dirty data.

Is there not a nicer middle ground here? I'm thinking of some kind of
editor support that would treat units like 'mph', 'ft' or whatever as
macros that instantly transform any submitted value into the database
internal SI equivalent before submission?

Dermot