From:	 "John W. Lockhart" 
To:	 <lwn@lwn.net>
Subject: On the Desktop... 'units' (3 Jul 01 LWN)
Date:	 Wed, 4 Jul 2001 05:13:16 -0400 (EDT)


Amusing; you show a bug in the units program and/or database, but don't
point it out.

79 degF = (79-32)*(5/9) = 26 degC

The bug is most readily shown using known points -- to wit, freezing and
boiling temperatures.

'units' claims that
        32 degF = 17.777778 degC
        212 degF = 117.77778 degC

The correct answers, of course, are 0 and 100 degC, respectively.

Apparently this is due to the units.dat database, which seems to omit the
'32' in the usual formulas:
  (degF - 32) * (5/9) = degC
  (degC * (9/5)) + 32 = degF

Hopefully the bug illustration will result in a fix...

  -- John