[Proj] The world of ECEF aka geocentric coordinates

[Clifford J Mugnier]

I find Wiki stuff garbage and worthless in that a knowledgeable
entry can be changed and modified by an incompetent.  How would
a potential reader be able to distinguish the difference as the 
contributors are anonymous?  Even with named attribution, the 
reader would be faced with the task of further research which is
unlikely as the reader is attempting to avoid scholarly research
by merely going to the Wiki site.
 
I find it an idealistic waste of time.
 
C. Mugnier
LSU

________________________________

From: proj-bounces at lists.maptools.org on behalf of Hamish
Sent: Wed 04-Feb-09 01:28
To: PROJ.4 and general Projections Discussions
Subject: Re: [Proj] The world of ECEF aka geocentric coordinates



Clifford J Mugnier wrote:
> I personally find the Wiki stuff useless and misleading.
> The proper reference is Bomford's Geodesy (Editions 1
> thru 4), and not the other trivia listed at the end.  The
> term ECEF is new-age baloney.  The Geocentric Coordinate
> System is the original and decades-old terminology
> recognized in the classical literature.  The notation used
> in the Wiki equations is just more gobbledygook, as Bomford
> established the proper (and world-wide recognized) notation
> about 50 years ago.  As if Wiki is entitled to ignore (?)
> the ellipsoid normal terminated by the semi-minor axis?  The
> term "spheroid" is further glaring evidence of
> classical geodetic ignorance.  That noun is only used with
> an ellipsoid that has a specific datum with an associated
> geoid.  Applicable to OSGB36 and WGS84, but certainly not to
> most classical datums found throughout the world.


If you find that a wiki is incorrect, please please please take the time
to fit it! That's the whole point of a wiki and the best way to stop
garbage being propagated. A few minutes spent there removing/fixing
mistakes and improving the "further reading" section could help avert
countless mop-up jobs and substandard softwares for hundreds of end-users.

debate & justifications can be listed on the entry's "Discussion" page.


humbly,
Hamish



     

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