View source for measure-formats

= Measure Formats =

This is a collection of existing [[measure]] formats.

==[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_Notation Normalized Scientific Notation]==

The scientific notation for measured values had been used for decades worldwide; it should be the base of discussion for a measurement microformat.

It actually translates flawlessly in 'Plain Old Semantic Html' terms:

<pre><nowiki>
       <span class="hmeasure">
           <a href="/depth" rel="tag" class="data-name">Depth</a>:
             ( <span class="data-value">2.17</span> +/-
                  <span class="data-error"> 0.02</span> )
                  x 10<sup class="exp">3</sup>
                  <abbr class="unit-measure" title="m">meters</abbr>.
        </span>
</nowiki></pre>
Even if seldomly displayed in non-technical contexts, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measurement_error observational errors] are inherently defined in any measuring process, and needed for further processing.

Common, simpler notations as those found outside the scientific realm can still be expressed in terms of the above semantic structure; by just making data-error, exp, and the rel-tag definition optional, and by not enforcing strict rules on the number of digits and SI units.

== UNECE ==

[http://www.unece.org UNECE], the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has standardized the [http://www.unece.org/etrades/units.htm measurement unit codes] for use in Trade.

== ACORD ==

[http://www.acord.org ACORD], a leading insurance standardization organization uses the following semantics for expressing measures:
* Measurement
** NumUnits (Required) Decimal 
** UnitMeasurementCd (Optional) the value must be one of the ones defined by UNECE.

== Systeme International ==

The internation system of measures consists of [http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/units.html base and derived units of measure]. 

For instance, meter (m) is the elementary unit of length, second (s) the elementary unit of time, and speed or velocity is derived and expressed in meter per second (m/s).

===SI Base Units===
<!-- Can someone make this a table, please?-->
<table>
<tr><td>Name</td><td>Symbol</td><td>Quantity</td></tr>
<tr><td>metre</td><td>m</td><td>Length</td></tr>
<tr><td>kilogram</td><td>kg</td><td>Mass</td></tr>
<tr><td>second</td><td>s</td><td>Time</td></tr>
<tr><td>ampere</td><td>A</td><td>Electrical current</td></tr>
<tr><td>kelvin</td><td>K</td><td>Thermodynamic temperature</td></tr>
<tr><td>mole</td><td>mol</td><td>Amount of substance</td></tr>
<tr><td>candela</td><td>cd</td><td>Luminous intensity</td></tr>
</table>

===SI Derived Units===
<!-- Can someone make this a table, please?-->
area  	square meter  	m2
volume 	cubic meter 	m3
speed, velocity 	meter per second 	m/s
acceleration 	meter per second squared   	m/s2
wave number 	reciprocal meter 	m-1
mass density 	kilogram per cubic meter 	kg/m3
specific volume 	cubic meter per kilogram 	m3/kg
current density 	ampere per square meter 	A/m2
magnetic field strength   	ampere per meter 	A/m
amount-of-substance concentration 	mole per cubic meter 	mol/m3
luminance 	candela per square meter 	cd/m2
mass fraction 	kilogram per kilogram, which may be represented by the number 1 	kg/kg = 1

== The Unified Code for Units of Measure ==

[http://aurora.regenstrief.org/UCUM/ucum.html The Unified Code for Units of Measure]

== UBL ==

"[http://docs.oasis-open.org/ubl/cd-UBL-1.0/ UBL] is designed to provide a universally understood and recognized commercial syntax for legally binding business documents and to operate within a standard business framework such as ISO 15000 (ebXML) to provide a complete, standards-based infrastructure that can extend the benefits of existing EDI systems to businesses of all sizes."

UBL uses the following semantics for prices:

* In the context of an Order. a LineItem can have a Quantity which is qualified with a unitCode.
* In the context of the price of a product: a Price has a PriceAmount qualified with a currencyID, and a BaseQuantity (usually 1) qualified with a unitCode.

The value of unitCode are those defined by UNECE.

==See also==
{{measure-related-pages}}