Measurement Objects

The django.contrib.gis.measure module contains objects that allow for convenient representation of distance and area units of measure. [1] Specifically, it implements two objects, Distance and Area – both of which may be accessed via the D and A convenience aliases, respectively.

Example

Distance objects may be instantiated using a keyword argument indicating the context of the units. In the example below, two different distance objects are instantiated in units of kilometers (km) and miles (mi):

>>> from django.contrib.gis.measure import D, Distance
>>> d1 = Distance(km=5)
>>> print(d1)
5.0 km
>>> d2 = D(mi=5)  # `D` is an alias for `Distance`
>>> print(d2)
5.0 mi

For conversions, access the preferred unit attribute to get a converted distance quantity:

>>> print(d1.mi)  # Converting 5 kilometers to miles
3.10685596119
>>> print(d2.km)  # Converting 5 miles to kilometers
8.04672

Moreover, arithmetic operations may be performed between the distance objects:

>>> print(d1 + d2)  # Adding 5 miles to 5 kilometers
13.04672 km
>>> print(d2 - d1)  # Subtracting 5 kilometers from 5 miles
1.89314403881 mi

Two Distance objects multiplied together will yield an Area object, which uses squared units of measure:

>>> a = d1 * d2  # Returns an Area object.
>>> print(a)
40.2336 sq_km

To determine what the attribute abbreviation of a unit is, the unit_attname class method may be used:

>>> print(Distance.unit_attname("US Survey Foot"))
survey_ft
>>> print(Distance.unit_attname("centimeter"))
cm

Supported units

Unit Attribute

Full name or alias(es)

km

Kilometre, Kilometer

mi

Mile

m

Meter, Metre

yd

Yard

ft

Foot, Foot (International)

survey_ft

U.S. Foot, US survey foot

inch

Inches

cm

Centimeter

mm

Millimetre, Millimeter

um

Micrometer, Micrometre

british_ft

British foot (Sears 1922)

british_yd

British yard (Sears 1922)

british_chain_sears

British chain (Sears 1922)

indian_yd

Indian yard, Yard (Indian)

sears_yd

Yard (Sears)

clarke_ft

Clarke’s Foot

chain

Chain

chain_benoit

Chain (Benoit)

chain_sears

Chain (Sears)

british_chain_benoit

British chain (Benoit 1895 B)

british_chain_sears_truncated

British chain (Sears 1922 truncated)

gold_coast_ft

Gold Coast foot

link

Link

link_benoit

Link (Benoit)

link_sears

Link (Sears)

clarke_link

Clarke’s link

fathom

Fathom

rod

Rod

furlong

Furlong, Furrow Long

nm

Nautical Mile

nm_uk

Nautical Mile (UK)

german_m

German legal metre

Note

Area attributes are the same as Distance attributes, except they are prefixed with sq_ (area units are square in nature). For example, Area(sq_m=2) creates an Area object representing two square meters.

In addition to unit with the sq_ prefix, the following units are also supported on Area:

Unit Attribute

Full name or alias(es)

ha

Hectare
Changed in Django 5.1:

Support for the ha unit was added.

Measurement API

Distance

class Distance(**kwargs)[source]

To initialize a distance object, pass in a keyword corresponding to the desired unit attribute name set with desired value. For example, the following creates a distance object representing 5 miles:

>>> dist = Distance(mi=5)
__getattr__(unit_att)

Returns the distance value in units corresponding to the given unit attribute. For example:

>>> print(dist.km)
8.04672
classmethod unit_attname(unit_name)

Returns the distance unit attribute name for the given full unit name. For example:

>>> Distance.unit_attname("Mile")
'mi'
class D

Alias for Distance class.

Area

class Area(**kwargs)[source]

To initialize an area object, pass in a keyword corresponding to the desired unit attribute name set with desired value. For example, the following creates an area object representing 5 square miles:

>>> a = Area(sq_mi=5)
__getattr__(unit_att)

Returns the area value in units corresponding to the given unit attribute. For example:

>>> print(a.sq_km)
12.949940551680001
classmethod unit_attname(unit_name)

Returns the area unit attribute name for the given full unit name. For example:

>>> Area.unit_attname("Kilometer")
'sq_km'
class A

Alias for Area class.

Footnotes

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