Bikeshedding force_in(Unit)

[mpusz]

As we discussed before, the spelling of distance.force_in(si::metre) may be confusing. Also, the C++ standard does not use "force" word anywhere to force a conversion.

AU library is using coerse_in(Unit) for that reason but I personally do not think it helps here.

I just thought about renaming it to cast_to(si::metre). Lets see some examples:

quantity q1 = 42 * m;
quantity q2 = q1.in(mm);
quantity q3 = q1.cast_to(km);
quantity q4 = q1.numerical_value_in(mm);
quantity q5 = q1.cast_numerical_value_to(km);
quantity q6 = q1.numerical_value_cast_to(km);

What do you think of the above? Which one looks better to you, q5 or q6?

[mpusz]

The above naming is also more consistent with the value_cast<Unit>(q) that does the same thing.

[chiphogg]

I could see this becoming idiomatic. One downside may be that we're changing the verb, from "in" to "to". The reason to prefer keeping the verb the same is that the API names become easier to compose, easier to "guess". That said, I think cast_to probably sounds better on its own than cast_in... 🤔

[mpusz]

Yes, I agree that naming is hard ;-)

The first question is, do we agree that cast_to is a better choice than force_in?

The second one is if we have any better candidates.

[chiphogg]

I think cast_to is better than force_in, yes. I'm starting to suspect that the global optimum might be .to and .cast_to, but changing .in to .to would be a monumental shift. I think .cast_in/.in is probably slightly better than .cast_to/.in.

[JohelEGP]

I think .cast_in/.in is probably slightly better than .cast_to/.in.

That makes sense.
"To" usually denotes the target type.
In this case, we're not changing the type, but the units.

[mpusz]

Please note that at some point, we may also have .cast_to<int>(). cast_in<int>() does not look that nice anymore.

[mpusz]

I thought about .cast_in() as well but then the problem comes with cast_numerical_value_in() or numerical_value_cast_in() where both seem to not read right. cast_numerical_value_to() looks better for me.

[Spammed]

As I (not native speaker) understand it,
'cast' denotes a operation, so 'cast_to' sounds more correct than 'cast_in', which might better mean 'casted_in'.

Are 'stored_in', 'kept_in' or 'hold_in' alternatives?

[mpusz]

"Stored", "kept", or "hold" are not a valid solution here. We need two options for conversion. One that means 'convert safely' (e.g., no data truncation), and for that, we have .in() now. The second one means 'force conversion even if unsafe', and for that, we have now .force_in() now. I propose to change the latter to cast_to() or similar as "casting" in C++ means a forced conversion. The Au library uses .coerse_in(), which is also an option, but I personally am not a fan of it.

[Spammed]

Ah ok, thanks for clarification. So, 'unsafe_cast_to' is a little bit too unhandy?
'forced_to' does not pose any risk of confusion for me.
PS: You mean 'coerce_in'