Add compound units like square-* or cubic-*

[hlehmann]

As I undersand there were and issue of data size, that's why allowed units have been limited.

Currently there a list of allowed unit identifiers and a possibility to combine them by using the identifier -per- (ex: meter-per-second => m/s).

Could it be possible to add the same logic with "square-" and "cubic-" (ex squared-meter => m² or meter-per-squared-second => m/s²).

This would allow use of area units and volume units:

• area units: square-centimeter square-foot square-inch square-kilometer square-meter square-mile square-yard
• volume units: cubic-inch cubic-kilometer cubic-meter cubic-mile cubic-yard

If a generic "square-" approach is not possible, please consider adding some of square area units as there are commonly used.

[ryzokuken]

Is this data already available in CLDR?

[hlehmann]

I based those lists on https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/validity/unit.xml

[ryzokuken]

@hlehmann perfect, so the data exists and there's demand! I would raise this in the TC39-TG2 meeting later today but generally, anything you could do to make a stronger case for the addition of these units would be wonderful. This includes (but isn't limited to) other standard libraries/popular packages supporting the use of these units, use of the units on the web in the wild, especially in contexts that utilize or could potentially benefit from localization. I think the use-cases for square-meter for example would be fairly easy to spot in real-estate related web applications (for example).

[hlehmann]

Thanks.

My main concern is mostly about square-meter and square-kilometer (and imperial units equivalents).

Any apps that have for example:

• geographic assessment: building, land, properties, cities, countries, geographic events...
• products with surface properties: the living area of ​​an house, the size of a product or the area covered by a product...

By searching m² or km² on the web it returns hundreds of millions page results.

[sffc]

Arbitrary unit dimensionality should be implementable with ICU with minimal data size impact.

[jrnail23]

@ryzokuken, our app showcases event venues, including their floor plans and event space measurements. We'd really love to have support for square feet and square meters for those use cases. We're currently localizing our app, and we're having to implement this ourselves.

[ray007]

Sounds like an exponent parameter to me.