[pilot-db-list] Float field alignment

[Scott W. <swa...@my...>]

Mike,
      this sounds like a good idea to me, I will take a look at what is
involved.  What do you think Marc?

	-Scott


Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2001 09:09:08 -0800 (PST)
From: Mike Ressler <mik...@al...>
To: Pilot db list <pil...@li...>
Subject: [pilot-db-list] Float field alignment

I am very pleased to see the new float field type. I had asked about it a
couple of years ago and offer three cheers to whoever implemented it. I do
have a small request though: I would find it much more useful to have the
numbers aligned on the decimal point, rather than left justified. I have a
large database of astronomical objects (which I hope to make public fairly
soon) and it is hard to get a quick sense of the numbers when the decimal
point wanders. Example:

	Now appears:			Would like:

	9.7				 9.7
	11.3				11.3
	12.4				12.4
	6.5				 6.5

Assuming the formating in my email survives, the right hand column is much
more legible, particularly for long lists with values typically between 7
and 12 (the curse of the magnitude system for measuring brightness in
astronomy). I suppose right justifying with a fixed number of decimal
places would be fine, though the recent discussion about printing
significant digits will require you to actually locate the decimal point
itself. Possible?

Mike



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