Destiny Weapon Stats

In Halo armor was just a skin and weapons were universal. Here in Destiny we have my favorite level of game involvement, upgrading equipment and coordination of tools.

However, now I want to know what I am really doing with all of my stuff. Do I sacrifice some impact with my auto rifle if the attack rating is better? Will I get more damage per second with my scout rifle even though it is much slower?

I am starting to do some research. All in all, I am a calculus student, I'd like to see the equations for me shooting a Fallen, a Vex, or (especially) another player. But for the time being, I am looking around at what other people are saying.

Here are two good entries that I am recommending to my other friends and will be looking over more of the comments and other posts. If you care to do your own research, here you go.

http://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/2g03i7/weapon_stats_explained/

http://www.giantbomb.com/forums/destiny-244788/damage-calculations-and-why-transparency-is-import-1494586/