A method and apparatus for dynamically configuring a unit conversion mechanism is provided. A non-executable data structure defines information, which is accessed to facilitate unit conversion. The information in the non-executable data structure is in the form of elements, which include among other things at least one measurable quantity, such as length or mass, along with a plurality of units, such as feet, meters, millimeters, pounds, and kilograms. Each of the units is associated with a measurable quantity. For example, feet, meters, and millimeters are used in measuring length. Conversion information, which includes an offset and a gain, is associated with each of the units. The plurality of units, along with the conversion information, is used to dynamically configure the unit conversion mechanism at runtime. In so doing, the unit conversion mechanism can convert from one unit to another unit for a measurable quantity.