You are missing dimensional analysis. For example (from the answer you linked to), in F# you can do this:
let g = 9.8<m/s^2>
and it will generate a new unit of acceleration, derived from meters and seconds (you can actually do the same thing in C++ using templates).
In C#, it is possible to do dimensional analysis at runtime, but it adds overhead and doesn’t give you the benefit of compile-time checking. As far as I know there’s no way to do full compile-time units in C#.
Whether it’s worth doing depends on the application of course, but for many scientific applications, it’s definitely a good idea. I don’t know of any existing libraries for .NET, but they probably exist.
If you are interested in how to do it at runtime, the idea is that each value has a scalar value and integers representing the power of each basic unit.
class Unit
{
double scalar;
int kg;
int m;
int s;
// ... for each basic unit
public Unit(double scalar, int kg, int m, int s)
{
this.scalar = scalar;
this.kg = kg;
this.m = m;
this.s = s;
...
}
// For addition/subtraction, exponents must match
public static Unit operator +(Unit first, Unit second)
{
if (UnitsAreCompatible(first, second))
{
return new Unit(
first.scalar + second.scalar,
first.kg,
first.m,
first.s,
...
);
}
else
{
throw new Exception("Units must match for addition");
}
}
// For multiplication/division, add/subtract the exponents
public static Unit operator *(Unit first, Unit second)
{
return new Unit(
first.scalar * second.scalar,
first.kg + second.kg,
first.m + second.m,
first.s + second.s,
...
);
}
public static bool UnitsAreCompatible(Unit first, Unit second)
{
return
first.kg == second.kg &&
first.m == second.m &&
first.s == second.s
...;
}
}
If you don’t allow the user to change the value of the units (a good idea anyways), you could add subclasses for common units:
class Speed : Unit
{
public Speed(double x) : base(x, 0, 1, -1, ...); // m/s => m^1 * s^-1
{
}
}
class Acceleration : Unit
{
public Acceleration(double x) : base(x, 0, 1, -2, ...); // m/s^2 => m^1 * s^-2
{
}
}
You could also define more specific operators on the derived types to avoid checking for compatible units on common types.