[gdal-dev] gdal_translate eats projection parameter values

[Frank Warmerdam]

On Fri, Aug 12, 2011 at 10:27 AM, Hermann Peifer <peifer at gmx.eu> wrote:
> Thanks for the quick response, I will do as you suggested. I wasn't aware of
> the ESRI:: prefix and wrongly assumed that GDAL would always auto-detect
> ESRI-isms in the projection files and morph them.
>
> The background of the issue is that we disseminate a series of
> GDAL-generated GeoTIFFs (all in EPSG:3035) via a public website,
> http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data#c17=raster+data
>
> From experience, I know that ESRI users have trouble with some projection
> and parameter names generated by GDAL and vice versa. Is it possible to
> convince GDAL to store coordinate system information in a way that would be
> "ESRI-friendly" and "GDAL-friendly" at the same time (and follow the OGC-WKT
> "standard", as far as it exists ... I can't find it at
> http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards) ?
>
> Thanks again for your time, Hermann

Hermann,

In some cases the GeoTIFF driver will write a specially formatted
PSC Citation geokey in the form "ESRI PE String = PROJ[...]"
with the ESRI PE string for the coordinate system.  It does this
if the code feels we are unable to represent the coordinate system
accurately via GeoTIFF tags.

You could likely mess around in a way to force a particular PE
string to get written by changing the corresponding code in
gdal/frmts/gtiff/gt_wkt_srs.cpp (search for ESRI PE String
and the section that *writes* it).

In the case discussed in this thread the problem was really
that GDAL never properly understood the coordinate system.

Keep in mind that ArcGIS's support for GDAL GeoTIFFs
is pretty good and getting better as it uses GDAL for GeoTIFF
access.  I'd rather discourage doing anything to hacky in this
area.  (It's already pretty messy).

Best regards,




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