Module:Convert/documentation/conversion data/introduction

Following is the master list of conversion data used by Module:Convert, although more units may temporarily be at Module:Convert/extra. Units should be discussed at Template talk:Convert.

This page is read by a script (makeunits). The script extracts information from the wikitext, and outputs the Lua source that defines the table of units; that source can be manually copied into Module:Convert/data.

Conversion factors and physical constants
The values for most of the conversion factors used by Template:Convert come from international and national standards documents:
 * This documents links to the NIST document in section 4.2 "Other non-SI units not recommended for use".

The NIST document gives conversion factors correct to 7 places. Factors in bold are exact. If exact factors have more than 7 places, they are rounded and no longer exact. This convert module replaces these rounded figures with the exact figures. For example, the NIST document has 1 square mile = 2.589 988 E+06 square meters. The convert template has 1 square mile = 2,589,988.110336 square meters.

Values for the fundamental physical constants come from the NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty, either the 2010 or the 2014 version. The 2018 version is in preparation. While the articles on the units should be updated as the new versions come out every four years, the few more significant figures provided are probably not necessary for the way this template is used.
 * From
 * From

Definitions for additional historical measures are found in sources such as

Format
The script that reads this page ignores everything except for the wikitext in the following sections:

In those sections, a level-3 heading (like ) starts a table that defines units of a certain type. In the subsection, lines that start with  are processed (all other lines, and lines that start with   or , are ignored). A processed line is split into fields (delimited with ), and leading/trailing whitespace is removed from each field. Empty fields in the Conversions section are given a default value (for example, the plural of yard is formed by adding s, and the US names are also yard and yards).

The second field in each row of the Conversions section normally specifies a unit's symbol, but it can be used for other purposes described in the following. In some cases the text in the second field can be long, and it is convenient to insert  before the text to avoid it wrapping in a narrow column. Any such  at the start of the second field is ignored.

Alias
Some unit codes are an alias for another spelling of the unit code. For example, the code  is an alias for , and that is indicated by entering   in the Symbol column for the   entry. An alias can only be entered after the primary unit has been defined (the  entry must precede the   entry).

Normally there are no other entries on an alias line, however, the following may be used:
 * to specify that the alias has a default output that is different from the primary unit
 * to specify that the alias has a link that is different from the primary unit
 * used as "multiplier = 100" with unit code  to define a unit that is 100 times the size of a kilometre
 * (or ) to specify that using the alias forces US spelling for that unit
 * to specify that the alias has a symbol that is different from the primary unit
 * to specify that the alias has a different link when abbreviated ("symbol link")

Per units
A unit can be defined as a ratio of two other units. For example,  can be defined as "liters per kilometer" by entering   as the symbol for the unit. A single " " is used with an alias to specify that a unit code is an alternative name for another unit. By contrast, if " " is used, the unit code is defined as the first unit "per" the second.

As well as a ratio of two units, a per unit can be of the form "currency per unit". The module recognizes "$" and "£" as currency symbols and shows them appropriately. For example, the input  would be displayed as "$120 per acre", or "$120/acre" if abbreviated.

The definition for a per unit can be followed by the same modifiers available for an alias.

Should be
Some unit codes should not be used—if such a code is used, the template displays an error message telling the editor what unit code should be entered. For example, the code  should not be used, and that is indicated by entering   in the Symbol column for the   entry. There should be no other entries on an error line. The Message text is displayed as an error if  is used in a conversion. The text should use the special format codes  and   on each side of a unit code. The format codes are replaced with wikitext defined in Module:Convert, and which applies a consistent style to each displayed unit code.

Use name
Some units generally use their name, rather than a symbol. That is indicated by inserting  before the symbol. For example, the code  has symbol   which means results will use the singular name "acre", or the plural name "acres", depending on the value.

Use unit code for default
Some units have a symbol prefixed with, for example, the symbol given for   is. Normally, when units are looked up in the Defaults or Links exception tables, the symbol of the unit is used. However, pitch has a symbol that conflicts with micrometre. The  prefix means that the unit code for   is used to look up exceptions, not the symbol.

SI prefixes
The prefix column should be empty if SI prefixes are not used,  for a unit that accepts SI prefixes,   for a unit code that indicates a base unit squared, and   for cubed. For example when defining unit code  put   here, and for   say. This will scale, for example,  to 1000 × 1000 of the base unit, , or scale   to 0.001 × 0.001 × 0.001 of the base unit.

Name
The name of the unit is required. The plural name is optional. If no plural name is given, it is created by appending "s" to the singular name. For example, the  unit has name "foot" and plural name "feet"—the plural name is necessary to avoid the plural of "foot" being "foots".

The US name is optional. If no US name is given, it is the same as the normal name. The US plural name is optional—if it is missing it is created by appending "s" to the US name. When using convert, the option us causes the US name to be displayed if a name is required for the convert.

Any  in the name columns is replaced with the appropriate SI prefix, or is removed if SI prefixes are not appropriate (not suitable for the unit, or not used in the conversion). It is only necessary to use  if the unit accepts prefixes, and if the prefix is not at the start of the unit's name, for example with   and.

Exceptions
Spelling exceptions can be handled by entering a row with the exception. For example, see  which sets the unit name to "hectare"; without that row, the   row would cause   to have the name "hectoare". There must be an override to document that an exception is intended.

Scale
The scale is a value or expression that is used as a factor to convert a value to its corresponding base unit. Commas may be used as a thousand separator (e.g. ) or e notation may be used (e.g.  ). Fractions should be used when required for exactness (e.g.  ).

Extra
The  column is usually empty, but can contain a value or code when more than a simple   is required for a conversion. There are two codes used with fuel efficiency units:  and. In addition, certain codes are required to indicate that the conversion procedure for the unit is built-in to the module. Any other text is used as an offset in the conversion calculation that occurs with temperature units.

Built-in units
The conversion procedure for some units (for example, the  unit of speed) are built into Module:Convert as they are too complex to be specified in a table. That is indicated by entering a code (which must be the same as used in the module) in the Extra column.

The script that reads this page contains a small amount of built-in data that does not conveniently fit into the tables below (see  in makeunits).

Default
A default is a code for a unit or combination that identifies the output unit or units that will be used if none is specified in the convert template. The Defaults section defines exceptions for unit codes with an SI prefix, where the default output is different from that of the base unit. Also, units using engineering notation may appear in the defaults section to define a default output for the unit.

A default may specify a unit code or an expression that tests the input value, and which produces one of two different outputs depending on that value. In the expression,  represents the input value specified in the convert template, and exclamation marks  are used to separate the expression into either three or four fields. For example, the following expression might be used as the default for unit  (inch):

The first field is a condition which evaluates to true or false. In this example, if the input value is less than 36, the default output unit is ; otherwise, it is.

If present, the fourth field is appended to the result. For example, the following expression might be used for unit  (megalitre):

If the condition is true, the result is ; otherwise, it is.

Composite
A composite input unit consists of two standard units, where the second is a subdivision of the first. For example,  may be used to specify 2 feet 6 inches as the input unit in a conversion. See the Input multiples section.

Composites are defined in pairs, but any number of pairs can be used to specify an input. For example, given that  is defined as a subdivision of , and that   is a subdivision of  , an input length could be specified as. Also, with suitable pairs defined, an input length could be specified as. There is no limit to the number of permitted subunits.

Multiple
A multiple is a unit code that can be used as an output. For example,  is a multiple that results in a length being expressed in feet and inches. A multiple may have any number of components defined in the Output multiples section, where each component is a subdivision of the preceding unit.

Link
The link column is the title of the article related to that unit. If the link is preceded with  or , extra text will be inserted before the link, and the text shown by the link will be adjusted to omit a prefix of "US" or "U.S.", if present. For example, if a unit has the symbol "US gal" (or "U.S. gal"), and if the link is, then if the symbol is linked, it would appear as "US gal" ("US" and "gal" link to two different articles). If the link is, it would appear as "U.S. gal".

Similarly, if the link is preceded with, extra text will be inserted before the link, and the text shown by the link will be adjusted to omit a prefix of "imp" or "imperial", if present. For example, if a unit has the symbol "imp gal", and if the link is, then if the symbol is linked, it would appear as "imp gal" ("imp" and "gal" link  two different articles).

The Links section defines exceptions for unit codes with an SI prefix, where the linked article is different from that of the base unit.

Pipe characters in a table need to be encoded. For example, " " should be entered as " ". The script that reads this page replaces each  with.

Override
Some unit codes match a unit with an SI prefix, and duplicate unit codes are not permitted. For example,  can be interpreted as "peta-are" which would prevent the   unit of pressure being defined after the   unit of area. However, listing  in the Overrides section means that the pascal unit can be defined, in which case peta-are will not be available.

Conventions
Some unit codes are not intended to be used in a template, but are needed to define exceptions. For example, the code  has link Foot (unit), but unit   needs   to be linked to Fracture gradient. To handle such cases, a unit code starting with " " is used ( for feet with a link to fracture gradient).

If needed, more dashes can be used to define additional exceptions (for example, see  and , which are similar to   but have different names).

Engineering notation
In addition to the units defined in the data below, large scale units such as  (million kilometres) may be used. The following prefixes may be used, and the linked names are shown if on:
 * (thousand)
 * (million)
 * (billion)
 * (trillion)
 * (quadrillion)

Any standard unit (not a combination, multiple, or built-in) may be used after an engineering notation prefix, including "temperature change" units, but not "temperature" units.

Energy and torque
By convention, units written as force-distance (such as lbft or kgf.m) are torque, and those written as distance-force (such as ftlbf) are energy. See WP:MOSNUM and the discussion, and see Pound-foot (torque) and Foot-pound (energy).

However, some topics use traditional units that conflict with the above convention. To handle these, Module:Convert/makeunits includes a  table that adds an "alttype" (alternate type) field to certain whitelisted units. The alttype field allows conversion between units of different type, provided each unit is whitelisted to allow the conversion.

As at December 2013, the following energy units have alttype = "torque" (the first line consists of different units, while the second line consists of aliases for units in the first line):
 * ftlb, ftlb-f, ftlbf, inlb, inlb-f, inlbf, inoz-f, inozf
 * ft.lbf, ft·lb-f, ft·lbf, in.lb-f, in.lbf, in.oz-f, in.ozf, in·lb-f, in·lbf, in·oz-f, in·ozf

The following torque units have alttype = "energy":
 * Nm
 * N.m, N·m

For example, the following conversion works despite the fact that Nm is torque and ftlbf is energy:
 * → 1 Nm