Tom Wright wrote:
> Peter Flynn wrote:
>> On the other hand if you were designing for the scientific field, you'd
>> probably want to specify SI units (there are *lots* of them :-)
> 
> Yep, that's the problem, and if I define my own then there's no saying
> they'll be compatible with ones someone else defines 

Well, if you use the SI unit names you can claim you are simply adhering 
to the prevailing international standard. You cannot be attacked for 
that, except that SI is metric and does not cover older, traditional, or 
historic units. There are probably too many of those to codify sensibly.

> which more-or-less defeats the point of using XML.

Not really; it doesn't actually have much to do with XML. XML is a 
standard for markup. Measurement units are metadata.

> (yes, it may be possible to translate, but if there's a standard then I'd
> much rather use that)

SI if it covers all the units you need. Otherwise use SI units for those 
it does cover, and consult an authority for the rest. The remaining 
Imperial units (feet, inches, pounds, acres etc) are well known, and the 
back of any 1950s school copybook will list the less common rods, poles, 
perches, grains, scruples, and drachms. For other (historical) measures, 
especially those from other cultures, perhaps ask your nearest 
librarian, or check with the TEI community (http://www.tei-c.org) whose 
members are well-acquainted with encoding historical documents in XML.

///Peter
-- 
XML FAQ: http://xml.silmaril.ie/