programs (dates and eras)

[Dominik Wujastyk]

  > This sounds interesting.  If the tools don't already exist, I wouldn't
  > mind writing a C programme, given Harry's notes and enough community
  > interest to test it properly.
 
  > > more important: for some time I dream about a program converting
  > > oriental dates (vikrama; gupta; hejra etc) into dates of our era, taking
  > > fully into account that some Hindu dates are "wrong" and proposing
  > > a range of dates for doubtful data. I am not capable to develop such a
  > > program. But maybe someone of the group wants to try his luck? I have
  > > collected articles and books giving all sorts of formulas for such
  > > conversions, which I could communicate.
  > > Harry
  > >
 

Brett,
 
I would give my right arm for a program of the type Harry describes.
To be able to feed in data like "Friday 11 suklapaksa of Asadha, sam
1617" and have it converted to the European era and verified, and a
nearest guess made if the thing didn't check (assuming that scribes
might be more likely to have the day of the week right than the
tithi).  Please, please go ahead!  Prof. David Pingree is a foremost
authority on these dating systems, and is well up on issues like where
Pillai's tables are wrong.  I would be delighted to help by testing,
or in any other way.
 
Dominik