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authorHernan Grecco <hernan.grecco@gmail.com>2012-07-13 19:13:17 +0200
committerHernan Grecco <hernan.grecco@gmail.com>2012-07-13 19:13:17 +0200
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+Pint: a Python units library
+============================
+
+Pint is Python module/package to define, operate and manipulate physical
+quantities: the product of a numerical value and a unit of measurement.
+It allows arithmetic operations between them and conversions from and
+to different units.
+
+It is distributed with a comprehensive list of physical units, prefixes
+and constants. Due to it's modular design, you to extend (or even rewrite!)
+the complete list without changing the source code.
+
+It has a complete test coverage. It runs in Python 2.6, 2.7, 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2
+ with no other dependency. It licensed under BSD.
+
+
+Design principles
+-----------------
+
+Although there are already a few very good Python packages to handle physical
+quantities, no one was really fitting my needs. Like most developers, I programed
+Pint to scratch my own itches.
+
+- Unit parsing: prefixed and pluralized forms of units are recognized without
+explicitly defining them. In other words: as the prefix *kilo* and the unit *meter*
+are defined, Pint understands *kilometers*. This results in a much shorter and
+maintainable unit definition list as compared to other packages.
+
+- Standalone unit definitions: units definitions are loaded from simple and
+easy to edit text file. Adding and changing units and their definitions does
+not involve changing the code.
+
+- Handle temperature conversion: it can convert between units with different
+point of reference, like positions on a map or absolute temperature scales.
+
+- Advanced string formatting: a quantity can be formatted into string using
+PEP 3101 syntax. Extended conversion flags are given to provide latex and pretty
+formatting.
+
+- Small codebase: small and easy to maintain codebase with a flat hierarchy.
+It is a single stand-alone module that can be installed as a package or added
+side by side to your project.
+
+- Dependency free: it depends only on Python and it's standard library.
+
+- Python 2 and 3: A single codebase that runs unchanged in Python 2.6+ and Python 3.0+.