[fitsbits] The meaning and use of nonphysical FITS units {External} {External}

[Steve Allen]

On Fri 2025-06-06T11:20:13-0400 Barrett, Paul via fitsbits hath writ:
> I must disagree that my question is beyond the FITS specification. Good
> software design provides use cases that are used to inform and define the
> specification. They help to illuminate corner cases that the software needs
> to properly handle. Otherwise, the software will produce nonsense in these
> situations. So I am basically asking a use case question and how it informs
> and defines the FITS specification.

FITS aims at being inclusive not exclusive, descriptive rather than
prescriptive.  FITS allows me to transcribe data from tables in
historical literature into FITS table extensions even though the
authors of those tables used concepts and units which were unclear to
them at the time and have since been redefined in common usage.

FITS can never fix that kind of problem of "what do these data really
mean?", but it should not prevent their preservation and transfer.

--
Steve Allen                    <sla at ucolick.org>              WGS-84 (GPS)
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