patterncppMinor

Using std::chrono to make custom "SI unit" types

Submitted by: @import:stackexchange-codereview·Mar 10, 2026·

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stdmakecustomusingtypeschronounit

Problem

std::chrono::duration is a great example of how to create "units" using std::ratio. std::ratio by itself is not very useful for a "units" library, and the two choices are either something like Boost.Unit (which can be very complicated to use) or to write it yourself (why reinvent the wheel?) Therefore I'm trying to write a wrapper around std::chrono::duration for some very basic types, like meter, feet, inches and centimeters.

Right now I feel like the way I've constructed the types is sloppy. It took me a while to get it right (at least for the test cases.)

I also haven't figured out a good way to "rename" the types either. I've considered creating a templated struct that inherits from duration and then just renames the typedefs.

Another concern I have is whether I should use double instead of float and if there's a better way to avoid floating point errors.

#include 
#include 
#include 
#include   /* for std::abs(double) */

// https://isocpp.org/wiki/faq/newbie#floating-point-arith
// "Why doesn’t my floating-point comparison work?"
constexpr inline bool isEqual(double x, double y)
{
  const double epsilon = 1e-5;
  return std::abs(x - y) >>;

    // There are 2.54 centimeters per inch
    // and 39.3701 inches per meter
    using inches = std::chrono::duration>>;

    // There are 12 inches per foot
    using feet = std::chrono::duration, inches::period>>;

    static_assert(inches(1) * 12 == feet(1), "");
    static_assert(centimeters(2.54) == inches(1), "");

    /* Thanks to rounding, inches(1) / 2.54 is 0.393701.
     * To get 0.3937007874, we need to use inches(1 / 2.54)
     * instead.
     */
    static_assert(inches(1 / 2.54) == centimeters(1), "");
    static_assert(centimeters(100) == meters(1), "");

    static_assert(inches(centimeters(100)) == meters(1), "");
    static_assert(isEqual(inches(centimeters(100)).count(), 39.3701), "");
}

Solution

Meters are Not Seconds

using meters = std::chrono::seconds;

I know it's obvious, but it bears stating. A meter is not a second. You compare a meter and a second, you cannot add them, etc. They are different types completely. So what you want is to make a different type:

template >
class distance;

using meters = distance;

I'll leave the implementation of distance up to you. But it should absolutely be a different class than seconds!

Use the Standard Ratios

`

 actually provides a bunch of standard ratios for your use. You should use them:

using centimeters = distance;


You'll note that

std::centi is std::ratio, which makes more sense for centimeters than std::ratio

.

Use integral types

You'll notice I used

int64_t instead of float or double`. Prefer using integers whenever possible to simply sidestep the issue of floating point arithmetic altogether.

Code Snippets

using meters = std::chrono::seconds;

template <typename T, class Ratio = std::ratio<1>>
class distance;

using meters = distance<int64_t>;

using centimeters = distance<int64_t, std::centi>;

Context

StackExchange Code Review Q#105323, answer score: 5

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