[MetaCRS] Link to Common SQLite-based dictionaries for SRS

[Howard Butler]

> On Aug 2, 2015, at 2:13 PM, Roger Bivand <Roger.Bivand at nhh.no> wrote:
> 
> A heads up with regard to a discussion taking place on some lists, started on the low-volume MetaCRS list, and reposted elsewhere by Even Roualt:
> 
> http://lists.maptools.org/pipermail/proj/2015-August/007196.html
> 
> It strikes me that the response by Huw James is very well founded, and that the data model for a future common dictionary for coordinate reference systems should permit the optional use of historical CRS. This is an enduring problem with EPSG codes, which can change with each release, so making reproducible research harder (especially as the EPSG CSV files in PROJ.4 and GDAL, and versions in the GeoTiff software, do not report their versions). I would invite ideas now, to assist in guiding MetaCRS towards a robust and time-aware dictionary structure with self declaring versioning.

Yes, this is one of the driving factors for my proposal. While it is probably a stretch to do *automated* time-aware transforms, it would be nice to at least be time-aware to start. Another factor prompting the proposal is the archaeology sometimes required to figure out what exactly happened in situations where we didn't get the expected output. That challenge is difficult with the current regime.


Howard