Category talk:Coordinates templates/Archive 1

Geo microformat
It would be good if the display of co-ordinates in each of these templates used the Geo microformat in the mark-up. Please let me know if you need further information. Andy Mabbett 08:41, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
 * An example of Template:Coor dms redone to include the Geo microformats can be seen here. --CBD 19:37, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Splendid, thank you - is there an example of this in use, yet? Andy Mabbett 21:24, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Hold that! Looking at your source code, it's broken. You can only use the  attribute on   elements; you have it on  . Andy Mabbett 21:39, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Hmm... but and get printed out here... so how is it supposed to work? --CBD 22:56, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Not sure what you mean by "printed out"? If it's a style sheet issue, the answer may be to apply different styling to the relevant classes. Andy Mabbett 23:18, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Another solution would be to display both sets of values:, perhaps with the latter below the former. After all, decimal values may be more accessible, or useful, to some people (such as GPS users?) Andy Mabbett 10:50, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
 * I was referring to the fact that abbr tags are displayed on Wikipedia, as seen here. Changing the displayed template outputs (per your display both formats/second line ideas) would probably be difficult to reconcile with all the existing uses. --CBD 16:46, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks, but I'm still not clear what you mean about display. Can you post a screenshot, please? Could the dual display be reconciled with some uses? At least as a proof-of-concept? Andy Mabbett 16:56, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
 * When I click on this link I see, " °′″, °′″ ". Do you see something different? If not, then that's what I'm referring to... the 'abbr' sections are displayed on the screen as text rather than recognized as formatting tags. --CBD 17:55, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
 * I see the same as you. Not sure whether it's a bug or a feature :-( Andy Mabbett 21:09, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

I've been encountering all these sorts of issues in my work with User:The Anomebot2. It seems to me we need a MediaWiki extension for tags: there are so many perfectly reasonable ways of writing a geolocation (for example: WGS84 lat/long, OSGB36 National Grid coordinates, UTM, and so on, not to mention the various valid ways of writing these: decimal vs. dms, with/without spaces, and so on...) that we need actual software support, rather than templates alone.

Incidentally, it looks like a lot of the current UK lat/longs are being done using UK-specific datums, or even Airy 1930, which adds a lot of extra confusion, and that the National Grid Reference link server is not getting it quite right, either. (Take a look at Alexandra Palace Transmitter links to Google Maps via the NGR and the derived WGS84 location for an example: the NGR-derived WGS84 is right on the mark, to within the precision of the original NGR, and linking via the NGR server is some way out.) -- The Anome 15:11, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

Since (for example):

contains decimal values, and currently produces the output:

  52.41527° N 1.91615° W 

it should be possible to change the output to:

  52.41527 ° N 1.91615 ° W 

or, if preferred, to:

  52.41527 ° -1.91615 ° 


 * Andy Mabbett 10:59, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Note also that the info box created here already as decimal values using a negative number for Westings - exactly as required for the "Geo" microformat.. Andy Mabbett 18:16, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Resolved
Please see Template:Coor/new coord, which resolves these issues (also allowing entry and use of precise decimal values, while displaying more user-friendly DMS values), and applies the Geo microforamt. Discussion at Template talk:Coor dms Template talk:Coord. Andy Mabbett 10:34, 22 March 2007 (UTC)