Function with two unitful arguments with the same dimension

General Usage
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1

Hello,

Using Unitful.jl, you can dispatch on dimensions or specific units. For example, you can write a method that takes any length quantity:

using Unitful: m, ft, Length

f(x::Length) = println("Got length: $x")

Or a function that takes only meters:

f(x::typeof(1m)) = println("Got meters: $x")

I could also write a function that takes two arguments with the same length unit

f(x::T, y::T) where T <: Length = println("Got same units: ($x, $y)")

But is there a way that I can write a function that requires that both of its arguments have the same dimension, but not necessarily the same unit?

2

To answer my own question, I’ve found the following:

function g(x::AbstractQuantity{<:Number,D}, y::AbstractQuantity{<:Number,D}) where D
    println("same dims: $x + $y = $(x+y)")
end

which works as expected:

julia> g(1m, 2ft)
same dims: 1 m + 2 ft = 1006//625 m

I feel compelled to bound D, but I don’t think it’s actually possible, because typeof(1m) is Quantity{Int64, 𝐋, Unitful.FreeUnits{(m,), 𝐋, nothing}}, and 𝐋 is a value, not a type. And if I recall, you can’t constrain values used as type parameters.

Also, I’m not sure if there’s a good reason to use AbstractQuantity over just Quantity. Are there other useful AbstractQuantitys out there?

If anyone else has another solution, I’d love to see it.

Thanks,
Oliver