Table Schema: Units pattern

Frictionless Data
1

Following on from spec issues #216 and #537 and drawing from http://specs.okfnlabs.org/units/, I’ve drafted a Units pattern.

I’ve ignored:

  • currency (see separate proposal)
  • the suggestion for unitSemantic: pointer-to-a-url-describing that unit - could be RDF uri in favour of using the existing rdfType.
  • unitSystem

Look forward to your feedback, e.g.

  • how best to sort the units table?
  • should a rdfType be appended to the units table?
  • is deferring to rdfType practical?

Units

Overview

This pattern provides a way to describe units associated with numeric quantities in a Table Schema. It provides:

Example units

unit description
“m” metre
"kW h kilowatt hour
“kg m^2 s^-2” implied joule
“kg m^2/s^2” implied joule (alternative denominator delimiter)
“J” joule
“btu_39f/lb” British thermal units per pound
“btu_39f lb^-1” British thermal units per pound (alternative denominator delimiter)
“t km” metric tonne kilometre
“ton_uk km” imperial ton kilometre
“ton_us km” imperial ton kilometre
“deg_c/h” degrees celsius per hour
“deg_c h^-1” degrees celsius per hour (alternative denominator delimiter)

Example Table Schema

  "schema":{
    "fields": [
      {
        "name": "competitor",
        "type": "string"
      },
      {
        "name": "top-speed",
        "type": "number",
        "unit": "km/h"
      },
      {
        "name": "max-height",
        "type": "number",
        "unit": "m",
        "rdfType": "http://example-schema.org/metre"
      }
    ]
  }

Specification

A numeric field MAY contain a unit property. The value of the property:

  • MUST be string that is the unique identifier of one or more standard units
  • MAY be prefixed with a unit prefix
  • MAY be a compound unit described using the compound unit syntax
  • A field that contains a unit property MAY include an rdfType property that is a link to a semantic description of the “type” of data. The rdfType MUST be the URI of a RDF Class, that is an instance or subclass of RDF Schema Class object.

Standard units

Accepted units, their unique identifier and other descriptive information are listed below.

In many cases the unique identifier (“UID”) for each unit is simply the internationally recognised unit symbol (e.g. m, kg, K, J, Pa, etc.). Exceptions to this include cases where exotic characters are used (e.g. “°”) or where variants of identically named units exist (e.g. US and UK versions of the gallon, ton, barrel)).

These units and their proposed UIDs follow the implementation found in the Quantify Rubygem library, which in-turn follows (and extends) the specifications the JScience SI and JScience Non-SI libraries.

Note: UIDs are case sensitive, owing to their conformance in the majority of cases to standard unit descriptors.

UID name symbol physical quantity dimensions
η amagat η number density length^-3 x item
Bq bequerel Bq radioactivity time^-1
C coloumb C electric charge time x electric_current
F farad F electrical capacitance length^-2 x mass^-1 x time^4 x electric_current^2
Gy gray Gy radiation absorbed dose length^2 x time^-2
Hz hertz Hz frequency time^-1
H henry H inductance length^2 x mass x time^-2 x electric_current^-2
kat katal kat catalytic activity time^-1 x amount_of_substance
lm luman lm luminous flux luminous_intensity
lx lux lx illuminance length^-2 x luminous_intensity
Ohm ohm Ω electric resistance length^2 x mass x time^-3 x electric_current^-2
S siemens S electric conductance length^-2 x mass^-1 x time^3 x electric_current^2
Sv sievert Sv radiation dose equivalent length^2 x time^-2
T tesla T magnetic flux density mass x time^-2 x electric_current^-1
Wb weber Wb magnetic flux length^2 x mass x time^-2 x electric_current^-1
m^2 square metre m^2 area length^2
m^3 cubic metre m^3 volume length^3
m/s metre per second m/s velocity length x time^-1
m/s^2 metre per square second m/s^2 acceleration length x time^-2
cm^-1 per centimetre cm^-1 length^-1
cm/s^2 centimetre per square second cm/s^2 acceleration length x time^-2
A ampere A electric current electric_current
bit bit bit information information
cd candela cd luminous intensity luminous_intensity
K kelvin K temperature temperature
m metre m length length
mol mole mol amount of substance amount_of_substance
s second s time time
kg kilogram kg mass mass
g gram g mass mass
km kilometre km length length
μm micron μm length length
J joule J energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
N newton N force length x mass x time^-2
W watt W power length^2 x mass x time^-3
V volt V electric potential difference length^2 x mass x time^-3 x electric_current^-1
Pa pascal Pa pressure length^-1 x mass x time^-2
acre acre acre area length^2
a are a area length^2
atm atmosphere atm pressure length^-1 x mass x time^-2
bar bar bar pressure length^-1 x mass x time^-2
b barn b area length^2
bhp boiler horsepower bhp power length^2 x mass x time^-3
btu_39f british thermal unit (39 °F) BTU energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
btu_60f british thermal unit (60 °F) BTU energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
btu_63f british thermal unit (63 °F) BTU energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
btu_iso british thermal unit (ISO) BTU energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
btu_it british thermal unit (IT) BTU energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
btu_mean british thermal unit (mean) BTU energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
btu_thermo british thermal unit (thermochemical) BTU energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
btu_59f british thermal unit (59 °F) BTU energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
bu_imp US bushel bu (Imp) volume length^3
bu_us UK bushel bu (US lvl) volume length^3
cal calorie cal energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
cp candle power cp luminous flux luminous_intensity
CHU celsius heat unit CHU energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
cmHg centimetre of mercury cmHg pressure length^-1 x mass x time^-2
cmH2O centimetre of water cmH2O pressure length^-1 x mass x time^-2
clo clo clo thermal resistance mass^-1 x time^3 x temperature
c_us cup c (US) volume length^3
Ci curie Ci radioactivity time^-1
dyn dyne dyn force length x mass x time^-2
dyn_cm dyne centimetre dyn cm energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
hp_elec electric horsepower hp power length^2 x mass x time^-3
eV electron volt eV energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
erg erg erg energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
Fd faraday F electric charge time x electric_current
fc footcandle fc illuminance length^-2 x luminous_intensity
ftH2O foot of water ftH2O pressure length^-1 x mass x time^-2
Fr franklin Fr electric charge time x electric_current
γ gamma γ magnetic flux density mass x time^-2 x electric_current^-1
gauss gauss G magnetic flux density mass x time^-2 x electric_current^-1
Eh hartree Eh energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
ha hectare ha area length^2
hhd hogshead hhd volume length^3
inHg inch of mercury inHg pressure length^-1 x mass x time^-2
inH2O inch of water inH2O pressure length^-1 x mass x time^-2
kcal kilocalorie kcal energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
kgf kilogram force kgf force length x mass x time^-2
kn knot kn velocity length x time^-1
La lambert La illuminance length^-2 x luminous_intensity
L litre L volume length^3
Mx maxwell Mx magnetic flux length^2 x mass x time^-2 x electric_current^-1
hp metric horsepower hp power length^2 x mass x time^-3
mbar millibar mbar pressure length^-1 x mass x time^-2
mmHg millimetre of mercury mmHg pressure length^-1 x mass x time^-2
bbl petroleum barrel bbl volume length^3
p poncelot p power length^2 x mass x time^-3
pdl poundal pdl force length x mass x time^-2
lbf pound force lbf force length x mass x time^-2
quad quad quad energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
rd rad rad radiation absorbed dose length^2 x time^-2
rem rem rem radiation dose equivalent length^2 x time^-2
reyn reyn reyn dynamic viscosity length^-1 x mass x time^-1
rood rood rood area length^2
Rd rutherford rd radioactivity time^-1
Ry rydberg Ry energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
sn sthene sn force length x mass x time^-2
St stoke St kinematic viscosity length^2 x time^-1
thm therm thm energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
th thermie th energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
tog tog tog thermal resistance mass^-1 x time^3 x temperature
bbl_imp UK barrel bl (Imp) volume length^3
oz_fl_uk UK fluid ounce fl oz volume length^3
gal_uk UK gallon gal volume length^3
gi_uk UK gill gi volume length^3
hp_uk UK horsepower hp power length^2 x mass x time^-3
gal_dry_us US dry gallon gal volume length^3
bbl_dry_us US dry barrel bl (US) volume length^3
oz_fl US fluid ounce fl oz volume length^3
gi_us US gill gi volume length^3
bbl_fl_us US liquid barrel fl bl (US) volume length^3
gal US liquid gallon gal volume length^3
kWh kilowatt hour kWh energy length^2 x mass x time^-2
lbf/in^2 pound force per square inch psi pressure length^-1 x mass x time^-2
angstrom angstrom Å length length
ua astronomical unit AU length length
Bi biot Bi electric current electric_current
byte byte byte information information
kt carat kt mass mass
ch chain ch length length
d day d time time
deg_c degree celsius °C temperature temperature
deg_f degree farenheit °F temperature temperature
deg_r degree rankine °R temperature temperature
dram dram dram length length
me electron mass me mass mass
ell ell ell length length
ftm fathom ftm length length
fm fermi fm length length
ft foot ft length length
fur furlong fur length length
gr grain gr mass mass
h hour h time time
cwt_long hundredweight long cwt mass mass
cwt_short hundredweight short cwt mass mass
in inch in length length
ly light year ly length length
ln line ln length length
lnk link lnk length length
ton_uk long ton ton mass mass
mi mile mi length length
min minute min time time
month month month time time
nl nautical league nl length length
nmi nautical mile nmi length length
oz ounce oz mass mass
pc parsec pc length length
dwt pennyweight dwt mass mass
pt point pt length length
lb pound lb mass mass
lbmol pound mole lbmol amount of substance amount_of_substance
ton_us short ton ton mass mass
d_sid sidereal day d time time
year_sid sidereal year yr time time
lea statute league lea length length
st stone st mass mass
t tonne t mass mass
u unified atomic mass u mass mass
foot_survey_us US survey foot ft length length
week week wk time time
yd yard yd length length
year year yr time time
unity dimensionless
percent percent % dimensionless
rad radian rad plane angle
sr steridian sr solid angle
centiradian centiradian crad plane angle
arc_min arcminute ′ plane angle
arc_sec arcsecond ″ plane angle
degree degree ° plane angle
grad grad grad plane angle
rev revolution rev plane angle
sphere sphere sphere solid angle

Source data

Unit prefixes

UID name symbol factor
da deca da 10.0
h hecto h 100.0
k kilo k 1000.0
M mega M 1000000.0
G giga G 1000000000.0
T tera T 1000000000000.0
P peta P 1000000000000000.0
E exa E 1.0e+18
Z zetta Z 1.0e+21
Y yotta Y 1.0e+24
d deci d 0.1
c centi c 0.01
m milli m 0.001
μ micro μ 1.0e-06
n nano n 1.0e-09
p pico p 1.0e-12
f femto f 1.0e-15
a atto a 1.0e-18
z zepto z 1.0e-21
y yocto y 1.0e-24

Source data

Compound units

Compound units represent the result of combining units via multiplication, division and raising to powers.

  • Unit multiplication is indicated using a single character of white-space, e.g.

    "kW h"             #=> a kilowatt hour

  • Unit powers are indicated using the caret character followed by a positive or negative integer with no white-space, e.g.

    "m^2"              #=> a square metre

"m^3"              #=> a cubic metre

"s^-1"             #=> frequency per second

  • Unit division i.e. denominator units, can be specified in two ways:

    • using a forward-slash character to delimit all numerator units from denominator units, e.g.

      "m/s"              #=> metres per second

"kg m^2/s^2"       #=> joule

"kg/t km"          #=> kilograms per tonne kilometre

    • using a negative power on individual units, e.g.

      "m s^-1"           #=> metres per second

"kg m^2 s^-2"      #=> joule

"kg t^-1 km^-1"    #=> kilograms per tonne kilometre

  • Base units within compound units can be ordered in any way. The only constraint on unit ordering is where a single “/” is used to delimit numerator from denominator. In this case, all denominator units must follow the delimiter and all numerator units must precede it, although the order of units within the numerator and denominators is arbitrary.

  • Only a single “/” is permitted in any unit description.

Implementations

None known.

1 Like
2

Just noticed there are some compound units in the standard units table e.g. m^2. Is this ok?

3

White-space to indicate multiplication?
Standardized symbols for compound units is not new - see UCUM, ISO 80000, BIPM.
And symbols for multiplication are well known - “.” or * (when real math symbols are not available).
I don’t really understand why you would want to deviate from those.

2 Likes