[MetaCRS] RE: Initial commit of CSV Test data files

[Martin Desruisseaux]

Norm Olsen a écrit :
> Interesting point.  EPSG does specify latitude, longitude, and then height.  My experience says that many (if not most) coordinate system libraries use the longitude, latitude, height convention.  That is, 99.8% of the time and regardless of whether the coordinate system is projective or geographic, the first ordinate increases to the east, the second ordinate increases to the north, and the third ordinate increases away from the center of the earth.  I don't know what the default preference for Proj4 is, so I'd be interested in knowing of the opinions of the Proj4 folk on this.
> 
> Dogmatically, EPSG is correct.  Pragmatically, I believe longitude, latitude, and then height is correct. 

I had the opportunity to be present in some ISO 19111 sessions during OGC 
meetings. The explanation given by some ISO experts (especially Roel, which is 
also involved in the EPSG database) was: while it is true that computer science 
is used to put longitude first since a few decades, the geographers and pilots 
are used to put latitude first since a few centuries. In the case of aeronautic 
for example, "latitude first" in mandatory according international standards. 
Roel said that if for whatever raisons a boat or airplane pilot have to edit a 
WCS request by hand or read the XML result of a GetCapability, if the latitude 
is not first and the pilot doesn't notice that it is not the order he is used 
to, it could be an issue for the passagers security.

On my side, given that GeoTools and Geotoolkit referencing module supports fully 
whatever axis order the authority defines, it is actually simplier for me if the 
order is really "as the authority defines it". However if the community chooses 
to force longitude first, we already have the capability to adapt to that 
situation as well.

	Martin