UnitNamens

UnitNamens is a naming framework for units of measurement intended to enable unambiguous references across software, data schemas, and multilingual contexts. It provides a canonical identifier for each unit, along with human-readable labels and a set of aliases, while supporting localization. By separating the machine-identifier from localized labels, UnitNamens aims to improve data interoperability and validation in heterogeneous environments.

The framework categorizes units into base units, derived units, and compound units. Each unit has a namespace-qualified identifier, a dimensional description, a symbol, and one or more aliases. The identifiers are designed to be stable across languages, so a single data field can be interpreted identically by systems in different regions. UnitNamens also defines a minimal ontology for relationships among units, such as equality, derivation, and conversion pathways, to support automated reasoning about unit expressions.

UnitNamens is designed to be compatible with established standards such as the International System of Units (SI) and UCUM. It emphasizes disambiguation through canonical IDs and a machine-readable ontology, enabling validation, conversion, and metadata enrichment. It also provides guidance on pluralization rules and localization policies so that labels can be presented correctly in various languages. This makes it suitable for use in scientific databases, APIs, and data pipelines that require consistent unit handling.

Usage in practice involves tagging values with a UnitNamens unit identifier rather than a localized label alone. Data consumers can validate unit expressions (for example, metre per second) and, when possible, convert to target units using a conversion service that understands the UnitNamens ontology. Examples include UNAM:BASE:LEN:METRE (label: "metre", symbol: "m") and UNAM:DER:VEL:METRE_PER_SEC (label: "metre per second", symbol: "m/s").

Note: UnitNamens is a proposed framework used here to illustrate principles of standardized unit naming.