A quantity is specified as a multiplicative combination of units and floating point numbers. Operators have the following precedence:
.EX \fL+ \fL- \f1add and subtract \fL* \fL/ \fL× \fL÷ \f1multiply and divide catenation multiply \fL² \fL³ \fL^ \f1exponentiation \fL| \f1divide \fL( ... \fL) \f1groupingMost familiar units, abbreviations, and metric prefixes are recognized, together with a generous leavening of exotica and a few constants of nature including:
\fL\\$1\ \\$2 \\$3 \\$4 \\$5 \\$6 ...fq pi,\f1π ratio of circumference to diameter .fq c speed of light .fq e charge on an electron .fq g acceleration of gravity .fq force same as \fLg .fq mole Avogadro's number .fq water "pressure head per unit height of water" .fq au astronomical unit
The .L pound is a unit of mass. Compound names are run together, e.g. .LR lightyear . British units that differ from their US counterparts are prefixed thus: .LR brgallon . Currency is denoted .LR belgiumfranc , .LR britainpound , etc.
The complete list of units can be found in /lib/units . A file argument to units specifies a file to be used instead of /lib/units. The -v flag causes units to print its entire database.
Currency conversions are only as accurate as the last time someone updated the database.