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Tare is a .NET library that provides a Quantity type for working with physical quantities and units of measurement. Unlike other units libraries, Tare is built around runtime unit parsing, conversion, and supports dimensional arithmetic.
It supports:
- ✅ Unit conversion - Convert between compatible units (inches to meters, pounds to kilograms, etc.)
- ✅ Arithmetic operations - Add, subtract, multiply, and divide quantities with automatic unit handling
- ✅ Composite units - Work with complex units like "m/s", "kg*m/s^2", "Nm", etc.
- ✅ Dimensional analysis - Automatic dimension checking and unit composition
- ✅ "Type" safety - Uses dimensional signatures to prevent invalid operations (like adding length to mass) while only using one
Quantitytype.
using Tare;
//Implicit creation and explicit parsing
Quantity length = "1.5 m";
var force = Quantity.Parse("13 lbf");
//support for scalars
Quantity scalar = 2;
var scalar2 = Quantity.Parse("2");
// TryParse operations
if (Quantity.TryParse("3.2 ft/s^2", out var acceleration))
{
// Success
}
// creation from another quantity (with conversion)
var torque2 = torque.As("lbf*in");Tare automatically handles dimensional algebra when multiplying or dividing quantities:
// Perform some simple math
var longLength = length * scalar;
var longLength2 = length * 2;
var torque = force * length;
var area = length * length;
// Velocity from distance and time
var distance = Quantity.Parse("100 m");
var time = Quantity.Parse("9.58 s");
var velocity = distance / time; // Result: 10.44 m/s
Console.WriteLine(velocity.Format("m/s")); // "10.44 m/s"
// Force calculation (F = ma)
var mass = Quantity.Parse("5 kg");
var acceleration = Quantity.Parse("2 m/s^2");
var force = mass * acceleration; // Result: 10 N (Newtons)
Console.WriteLine(force.Format("N")); // "10 N"
// Horsepower from torque and RPM
// Using the relationship: Power = Torque × Angular Velocity
var motorTorque = Quantity.Parse("45 in*lbf");
var speed = Quantity.Parse("3500 rpm");
var power = motorTorque * speed;
Console.WriteLine(power.Format("hp")); // "2.5 hp"Tare prevents invalid operations at runtime by checking dimensional signatures:
// This throws InvalidOperationException - can't add different dimensional signatures!
var invalid = torque + area; // Error!Support for converting between units:
///Unit conversion and string formatting
Console.WriteLine(force.Format("N")); // "57.7883 N"
Console.WriteLine(force.Format("ozf")); // "2080 ozf"Support for standard dotnet numerical string formatting:
Console.WriteLine(torque.ToString("F1"); // "8. J"// Compare quantities
if (longLength > length)
Console.WriteLine("longLength is greater than length");
if (longLength == long)
Console.WriteLine("longLength is equal to long");Tare supports a wide variety of units across many dimensions:
- Length: m, cm, mm, km, in, ft, yd, mi, nmi
- Mass: g, kg, lb, oz, ton
- Time: ms, s, min, h, day, week, year
- Temperature: °C, °F, K
- Force: N, lbf, kgf
- Pressure: Pa, psi, bar, atm, mmHg
- Energy: J, Nm, kWh, BTU, cal
- Power: W, hp, kW
- Velocity: m/s, km/h, mph, knots
- Area: m², cm², ft², acre
- Volume: m³, L, mL, gal, qt, pt, cup
- And many more...
Available on NuGet: Tare
dotnet add package Tare- Getting Started - Installation and basic concepts
- Basic Usage - Parsing, arithmetic, comparisons, and error handling
- Unit Conversion - Converting between units and working with different unit systems
- Dimensional Arithmetic - Multiplication, division, and dimensional analysis
- Formatting - Controlling output precision, culture-aware formatting, and string interpolation
- Advanced Features - Introspection, normalization, validation, and unit discovery
- API Documentation - Complete API reference
- Changelog - Version history and changes
- Contributing - How to contribute to Tare
Tare maintains rigorous validation of unit conversion accuracy through a dedicated test project and comprehensive documentation. All conversion factors are independently verified against authoritative sources including NIST SP 811, BIPM SI standards, and ISO 80000-1.
-
Unit Validation Strategy - Complete methodology for ensuring conversion accuracy
- Validation approach using authoritative sources
- Testing protocols and adversarial validation procedures
- Precision management and audit trail requirements
-
Unit Accuracy Audit Report - Comprehensive accuracy audit with confidence intervals
- 100% pass rate across all tested conversions (52 validation tests)
- Confidence levels by category (Length, Mass, Force, Energy, etc.)
- Known limitations and recommendations
-
Validation Test Project - Dedicated test project (
Tare.UnitValidation.Tests)- Isolated from functional tests for focused accuracy auditing
- Each test includes inline source citations (NIST, BIPM, ISO)
- Prepared for adversarial testing by multiple models/reviewers
All unit conversions are validated against exact definitions from international standards:
- NIST SP 811 - Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI)
- BIPM SI Brochure - The International System of Units (9th Edition, 2019)
- ISO 80000-1 - Quantities and units - Part 1: General
- 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement - Exact definitions for imperial/US customary units
Test Results: 625 total tests (573 functional + 52 validation) with 100% pass rate ✅
Test Coverage: 93.25% line coverage, 67.25% branch coverage (exceeds 85% target) ✅
# Run all tests
dotnet test
# Run with coverage (requires dotnet-coverage tool)
dotnet tool install -g dotnet-coverage
dotnet-coverage collect -f cobertura -o coverage.cobertura.xml dotnet test
# Generate HTML coverage report (requires reportgenerator tool)
dotnet tool install -g dotnet-reportgenerator-globaltool
reportgenerator -reports:coverage.cobertura.xml -targetdir:coverage-report -reporttypes:Html
# Run specific test category
dotnet test --filter "FullyQualifiedName~S004TestMatrixTests"The test suite includes:
- S-004 Test Matrix: 17 tests explicitly validating all 8 dimensional algebra scenarios
- Unit Tests: Focused component tests for value objects, operators, and parsers
- Integration Tests: End-to-end workflow validation
- Validation Tests: Accuracy verification against NIST/BIPM/ISO standards
For those interested in learning more about dimensional analysis and units of measure:
- Dimensional Analysis (Wikipedia) - Comprehensive overview of dimensional analysis concepts and applications
- Types and Units of Measure (Kennedy Paper) - Academic paper on type-safe units of measure in programming languages
- Frink Programming Language - A programming language designed around physical units and dimensional analysis
- Frink Units Database - Comprehensive database of unit definitions and conversion factors