qtty-cpp API Documentation

qtty-cpp is a modern, header-only C++17 library for working with physical quantities using strongly-typed, unit-safe value types. It wraps the Rust-based qtty conversion engine through its C FFI layer (qtty-ffi), giving you compile-time dimension safety and zero-overhead unit conversions without writing a single line of Rust.

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Features

Feature	Description
Strong unit types	Each unit (e.g., Meter, Second, Kilogram) is a distinct C++ type — mixing incompatible dimensions is a compile error
Unit conversion	Quantity::to<T>() delegates to the qtty-ffi Rust engine for exact conversions
User-defined literals	Ergonomic construction: 10.0_km, 5.0_s, 90.0_deg, 1.0_kg
Generated headers	Unit aliases and literals auto-generated from units.csv — always in sync with the Rust layer
CMake integration	One target_link_libraries call: qtty_cpp

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Quick Start

#include <qtty/qtty.hpp>
#include <iostream>
 
using namespace qtty;
using namespace qtty::literals;
 
int main() {
    // Distance and time with unit literals
    auto distance = 100.0_km;
    auto time     = 2.0_h;
 
    // Compound type (KilometerPerHour)
    auto speed = distance / time;
    std::cout << speed.value() << " km/h\n";
 
    // Convert to metres
    Meter m = distance.to<Meter>();
    std::cout << m.value() << " m\n";
 
    // Angular quantities
    auto angle = 90.0_deg;
    Radian r   = angle.to<Radian>();
    std::cout << r.value() << " rad\n";
 
    return 0;
}

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Architecture

┌──────────────┐
│  C++ user    │   #include <qtty/qtty.hpp>
│  code        │
└──────┬───────┘
       │  header-only (inline)
┌──────▼───────┐
│   qtty-cpp   │   C++17 strong types, literals, conversion API
│  (headers)   │
└──────┬───────┘
       │  extern "C" calls
┌──────▼───────┐
│  qtty-ffi   │   C ABI (cbindgen-generated from Rust)
│ (.so/.dylib) │
└──────┬───────┘
       │
┌──────▼───────┐
│  qtty (Rust) │   Unit registry, exact conversions, dimension algebra
└──────────────┘

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Modules

• qtty/qtty.hpp — umbrella include for the full public API
• qtty/ffi_core.hpp — FFI helpers and exception hierarchy
• qtty/units/length.hpp — Meter, Kilometer, Mile, NauticalMile, …
• qtty/units/time.hpp — Second, Minute, Hour, Day, …
• qtty/units/angular.hpp — Radian, Degree, ArcMinute, ArcSecond, …
• qtty/units/mass.hpp — Kilogram, Gram, Pound, …
• qtty/units/velocity.hpp — compound velocity types
• qtty/literals.hpp — user-defined literals for all units
• qtty/serialization.hpp — optional JSON/serde helpers

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Error Model

FFI status codes are translated into typed C++ exceptions:

Exception	When thrown
QttyException	Base class for all qtty errors
InvalidUnitError	Unrecognised unit identifier
IncompatibleDimensionsError	Conversion between incompatible dimensions
ConversionError	Numeric conversion failure in the FFI layer

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Prerequisites

• C++17 compiler (GCC 7+, Clang 5+, MSVC 2017+)
• CMake 3.15+
• Rust toolchain (cargo) — qtty-ffi is built automatically

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Building

git clone --recurse-submodules <url>
cd qtty-cpp
 
cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build --parallel
ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure
 
./build/demo

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Building This Documentation

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DQTTY_BUILD_DOCS=ON
cmake --build build --target docs

Then open:

• build/docs/doxygen/html/index.html