Units

[foss-scribe]

Can we specify what units the recipe is using (i.e. Metric or Imperial/English)

[TheEndIsNear]

I would agree with doing this, but I also think it could be helpful to have a tool to convert between the two. That way, if we ever decide to convert the markdown into a static web page, the user has the ability to choose between metric and imperial.

[popey]

Yes please! "Cups" means nothing to us non-US people. Most recipe sites have the ability to switch units. Having everything in cups makes this significantly less usable for non-US people.

[foss-scribe]

Not to mention that I'll burn down my house if I cook something at 450 degrees (Fahrenheit) in my centigrade oven!

[rikai]

The problem is, we've got flat files, so there's no ability to switch unless there's a markdown feature i don't know about. Any suggestions on what we might be able to do?

[popey]

Don't use flat files. :) You're early on in the project and can make architectural decisions now. If you leave it till later you'll have way more pain.

[rikai]

The alternative would be building a site that we submit to over github and hosting it elsewhere. Trying to keep things as simple as possible for the moment. Maybe something to look into after the holiday craziness is over.

[foss-scribe]

would JSON be a better a candidate than markdown then? At least that would make it easier to parse stuff like units and it still retains the advantages of being a flat file.

Alternatively AsciiDoc supports conditional output and variables which we could use to build Metric/Imperial variants along with British-US English spelling differences (and translated languages).

I grant you though that neither is as simple as markdown.

[rikai]

They're also not terribly readable, and not parsed by github to something visually pleasing like markdown is.

[foss-scribe]

100% agree

Perhaps the best we can hope for then is that individual contributors (or some kind of editor) ensures they do the conversions themselves and include both in their recipes.

[g33kdad]

I think, in this format, requesting contributors to do conversions before committing is the best idea. Google does conversions on the search engine. C to F is 9/5 +32 (if I remember correctly).

[rikai]

Yes, perhaps modify the table i mentioned in the issue #51 to have imperial and metric columns.

[foss-scribe]

Would you like me to create an example/template then based on issue #51 and the comments here?

[foss-scribe]

I've created a template based on #51 and the comments in this thread. It's a place to start so let me know what you think :)

[ninjaaron]

I think this issue is a bit over the top. There are two solutions that don't break the current model:

1. Contributors must specify the units of measure. The users can act like adults and use their preferred search site to to do the conversion.
2. contributors must specify units according to both standards before their changes will be pulled.

The last fscking thing this project needs is to be unnecessarily complicated by involving JavaScript.

[pintjuk]

how strictly metric does the metric column have to be. I am asking becous it is quit usefull to mix table soopns, pinches etc with metric units in recepes.

[rikai]

Fixed in the example, time to update your recipes!