SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
(Main)Standard representation of geographic point location by coordinates (ISO 6709:2022)
Standard representation of geographic point location by coordinates (ISO 6709:2022)
This document specifies the representation of latitude and longitude and optionally height or depth
compatible with previous editions of ISO 6709.
This document also supports the representations of other coordinate types and time that can be
associated with those coordinates as defined through one or more coordinate reference systems (CRS).
This document describes a text string of coordinates, suitable for electronic data exchange, for
one point, including reference system identification to ensure that the coordinates unambiguously
represent the position of that point. Files containing multiple points with a single common reference
system identification are out of scope. This document also describes a simpler text string structure for
coordinate representation of a point location that is more suitable for human readability.
Standarddarstellung für geographische Punkte durch Koordinaten (ISO 6709:2022)
Représentation normalisée de la localisation des points géographiques par coordonnées (ISO 6709:2022)
Le présent document spécifie la représentation de la latitude et la longitude, et, facultativement, de la hauteur ou de la profondeur compatible avec les versions précédentes de l'ISO 6709.
Le présent document prend également en charge les représentations d'autres types de coordonnées et de temps qui peuvent être associées à ces coordonnées, telles que définies par un ou plusieurs systèmes de référence de coordonnées (CRS, Coordinate Reference System).
Le présent document décrit une chaîne de texte de coordonnées, adaptée à l'échange de données électroniques, pour un point comprenant une identification de système de référence afin d'assurer que les coordonnées représentent la position de ce point sans ambiguïté. Les fichiers contenant plusieurs points avec une identification de système de référence commune unique n'entrent pas dans le domaine d'application. Le présent document décrit également une structure de chaîne de texte plus simple pour la représentation des coordonnées d'une localisation de point plus adaptée à la lisibilité humaine.
Standardna predstavitev geografske točkovne lokacije s koordinatami (ISO 6709:2022)
Ta dokument določa predstavitev zemljepisne širine in dolžine ter po izbiri višine ali globine, združljive s prejšnjimi izdajami standarda ISO 6709.
Dokument podpira tudi predstavitve drugih vrst koordinat in časa, ki jih je mogoče povezati s temi koordinatami, kot so opredeljene z enim ali več koordinatnimi referenčnimi sistemi (CRS).
Dokument opisuje besedilni niz koordinat, primeren za elektronsko izmenjavo podatkov, za eno točko, vključno z identifikacijo referenčnega sistema, ki zagotavlja, da koordinate nedvoumno predstavljajo položaj te točke. Datoteke, ki vsebujejo več točk z enotno identifikacijo skupnega referenčnega sistema, so zunaj področja uporabe dokumenta. Dokument opisuje tudi preprostejšo strukturo besedilnega niza za koordinatno predstavitev lokacije točke, ki je primernejša za človekovo berljivost.
General Information
Relations
Standards Content (Sample)
SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
01-januar-2023
Nadomešča:
SIST EN ISO 6709:2009
Standardna predstavitev geografske točkovne lokacije s koordinatami (ISO
6709:2022)
Standard representation of geographic point location by coordinates (ISO 6709:2022)
Standarddarstellung für geographische Punkte durch Koordinaten (ISO 6709:2022)
Représentation normalisée de la localisation des points géographiques par coordonnées
(ISO 6709:2022)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 6709:2022
ICS:
07.040 Astronomija. Geodezija. Astronomy. Geodesy.
Geografija Geography
35.240.70 Uporabniške rešitve IT v IT applications in science
znanosti
SIST EN ISO 6709:2023 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
EN ISO 6709
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
October 2022
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 35.240.70 Supersedes EN ISO 6709:2009
English Version
Standard representation of geographic point location by
coordinates (ISO 6709:2022)
Représentation normalisée de la localisation des points Standarddarstellung für geographische Punkte durch
géographiques par coordonnées (ISO 6709:2022) Koordinaten (ISO 6709:2022)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 5 July 2021.
CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2022 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN ISO 6709:2022 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
EN ISO 6709:2022 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
2
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
EN ISO 6709:2022 (E)
European foreword
This document (EN ISO 6709:2022) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 211
"Geographic information/Geomatics" in collaboration with Technical Committee CEN/TC 287
“Geographic Information” the secretariat of which is held by BSI.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by April 2023, and conflicting national standards shall be
withdrawn at the latest by April 2023.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes EN ISO 6709:2009.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards
body/national committee. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of
North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the
United Kingdom.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 6709:2022 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 6709:2022 without any modification.
3
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 6709
Third edition
2022-09
Standard representation of geographic
point location by coordinates
Représentation normalisée de la localisation des points
géographiques par coordonnées
Reference number
ISO 6709:2022(E)
© ISO 2022
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
ISO 6709:2022(E)
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO 2022
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
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Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
ISO 6709:2022(E)
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction . vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Abbreviated terms and character code notations . 4
4.1 Abbreviated terms . 4
4.2 Character code notations . 5
5 Conformance . 5
6 Geographic point location (GPL) representation. 5
6.1 Overview . 5
6.2 Component representation . 6
6.3 Coordinate tuple. 6
6.4 Character string delimiters and terminator notation . 7
6.5 CRS identifier structure . 8
6.6 Text string representation . 10
6.6.1 Background . 10
6.6.2 Formatting rules for angular measures . 10
6.6.3 Component structure .12
7 Human-readable GPL representation .16
7.1 Overview of human-readable GPL representation . 16
7.2 General requirements of human-readable GPL representation . 16
7.3 Formatted examples of human-readable text strings . 18
Annex A (normative) Conformance and abstract test suite .20
Annex B (normative) Backwards compatible representation of geographic point location .23
Annex C (informative) Uniqueness of latitude and longitude coordinates .29
Annex D (informative) Latitude and longitude resolution.30
Annex E (informative) Changes compared to ISO 6709:2008 .31
Annex F (normative) Character encodings .33
Bibliography .35
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
ISO 6709:2022(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/
iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 211, Geographic information/Geomatics,
in collaboration with the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee CEN/TC
287, Geographic Information, in accordance with the Agreement on technical cooperation between ISO
and CEN (Vienna Agreement).
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO 6709:2008), which has been technically
revised. It also incorporates the Technical Corrigendum ISO 6709:2008/Cor. 1:2009.
The main changes are as follows:
— Harmonization with other recently revised ISO/TC 211 International Standards;
— Clarification of normative requirements to maintain rigid backwards compatibility when required;
— Correction of the issues contained in the Technical Corrigendum ISO 6709:2008/Cor. 1:2009;
— Correction of annexes that contained normative requirements but were labelled as informative;
— Deletion of annexes and concepts which have changed and were no longer suitable for the revised
edition;
— Correction of instances where European numeric formatting conventions were incorrectly inserted.
These conventions will no longer be recommended;
— Clarification of editorial issues.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
In accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, 2018, Rules for the structure and drafting of
International Standards, in International Standards the decimal sign is a comma on the line. However,
the General Conference on Weights and Measures (Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures) at its
meeting in 2003 passed unanimously the following resolution:
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
ISO 6709:2022(E)
“The decimal marker shall be either a point on the line or a comma on the line.”
In practice, the choice between these alternatives depends on customary use in the language concerned.
In the technical areas of geodesy and geographic information it is customary for the decimal point
always to be used, for all languages. That practice is used throughout this document.
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
ISO 6709:2022(E)
Introduction
Geographic point location (GPL) is the description of a well-defined geographic place using a single
coordinate tuple. Efficient interchange of GPL data requires formats which are universally interpretable
and which allow the identification of points on, above and below the Earth’s surface. Users in various
disciplines have different requirements. This is exemplified by the use of degrees and decimal degrees,
as well as the traditional degrees, minutes and seconds, for recording latitude and longitude. User
applications can also require various levels of precision and can use latitude and longitude without
height.
ISO 6709:1983 defined a specific format representation of latitude and longitude, and optionally
altitude.
ISO 6709:2008 revised the format representation of the 1983 edition by:
— adding the ability to identify the coordinate reference system (CRS) to which coordinates are
referenced, without which location is ambiguous, and
— expanding the use of altitude to allow for any ellipsoidal or gravity-related height or depth.
Since the first edition of this document in 1983, the field of geodesy has undergone significant
technological advances, along with the continued development of other related geodesy and geomatics
standards.
The aim of this edition is to address these new advances and standards and to revise the coordinate
string suitable for digital representation (Clause 6) while continuing to support the requirements of the
previous edition (Annex B).
Clause 7 defines a simpler structure for the unambiguous representation of GPL in a human-readable
format.
In addition, a series of annexes are provided with the following content:
— Annex A (normative) defines the abstract test suite used for conformance testing;
— Annex B (normative) defines the representation of latitude and longitude coordinates that maintain
backwards compatibility with ISO 6709:2008;
— Annex C (informative) presents a description and examples of how the position of coordinates can
appear ambiguous without the use of a CRS;
— Annex D (informative) presents a table of mathematical precision values of resolution for latitude
and longitude;
— Annex E (informative) describes the changes in this document compared to the previous edition of
ISO 6709;
— Annex F (normative) specifies encodings for character strings and delimiters required in this
document.
The following options are highlighted to users of this document:
a) For all cases where backwards compatibility is not required, this document recommends using
the methods and rules specified in Clause 6, GPL representation, or Clause 7, human-readable GPL
representation;
b) However, in systems and environments where backwards compatibility with ISO 6709:2008 is
required, the methods and rules specified in Annex B can be used.
In addition, when using Annex B, it is recommended that suitable and comprehensive ancillary
documentation, not defined within this document or in previous editions of this document, be
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
ISO 6709:2022(E)
prepared and accompany all instances of geographic point location text strings and human-readable
representations claiming backwards compatibility.
The use of this document:
— establishes an expanded point representation string format supporting the current concepts and
standards of geodesy and geographic information;
— when required, continues to support the needs of established user communities by maintaining
backwards compatibility with the previous edition of this document (ISO 6709:2008);
— reduces the cost of interchange of data;
— reduces the delay in converting non-standard coding structures in preparation for interchange by
providing advance knowledge of the standard interchange format; and
— provides flexible support for geographic point representation.
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 6709:2022(E)
Standard representation of geographic point location by
coordinates
1 Scope
This document specifies the representation of latitude and longitude and optionally height or depth
compatible with previous editions of ISO 6709.
This document also supports the representations of other coordinate types and time that can be
associated with those coordinates as defined through one or more coordinate reference systems (CRS).
This document describes a text string of coordinates, suitable for electronic data exchange, for
one point, including reference system identification to ensure that the coordinates unambiguously
represent the position of that point. Files containing multiple points with a single common reference
system identification are out of scope. This document also describes a simpler text string structure for
coordinate representation of a point location that is more suitable for human readability.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 8601-1, Date and time — Representations for information interchange — Part 1: Basic rules
ISO 8601-2, Date and time — Representations for information interchange — Part 2: Extensions
ISO/IEC 10646:2020, Information technology — Universal coded character set (UCS)
ISO 19111, Geographic information — Referencing by coordinates
ISO 19162, Geographic information — Well-known text representation of coordinate reference systems
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
accuracy
closeness of agreement between a test result or measurement result and the true value
[SOURCE: ISO 3534-2:2006, 3.1.1, modified — Notes to entry have been removed.]
3.2
altitude
height where the chosen reference surface is mean sea level
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ISO 6709:2022(E)
3.3
compound coordinate reference system
coordinate reference system using at least two independent coordinate reference systems
Note 1 to entry: Coordinate reference systems are independent of each other if coordinate values in one cannot
be converted or transformed into coordinate values in the other.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.3]
3.4
coordinate
one of a sequence of numbers designating the position of a point
Note 1 to entry: In a spatial coordinate reference system, the coordinate numbers are qualified by units.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.5]
3.5
coordinate reference system
coordinate system that is related to an object by a datum
Note 1 to entry: Geodetic and vertical datums are referred to as reference frames.
Note 2 to entry: For geodetic and vertical reference frames, the object will be the Earth. In planetary applications,
geodetic and vertical reference frames may be applied to other celestial bodies.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.9]
3.6
coordinate set
collection of coordinate tuples referenced to the same coordinate reference system and if that
coordinate reference system is dynamic also to the same coordinate epoch
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.10]
3.7
coordinate system
set of mathematical rules for specifying how coordinates are to be assigned to points
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.11]
3.8
coordinate tuple
tuple composed of coordinates
Note 1 to entry: The number of coordinates in the coordinate tuple equals the dimension of the coordinate
system; the order of coordinates in the coordinate tuple is identical to the order of the axes of the coordinate
system.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.13]
3.9
datum
reference frame
parameter or set of parameters that realize the position of the origin, the scale, and the orientation of a
coordinate system
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.15]
2
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ISO 6709:2022(E)
3.10
depth
distance of a point from a chosen vertical reference surface downward along a line that is perpendicular
to that surface
Note 1 to entry: The line direction may be straight or be dependent on the Earth's gravity field or other physical
phenomena.
Note 2 to entry: A depth above the vertical reference surface will have a negative value.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.17]
3.11
ellipsoidal height
geodetic height
h
distance of a point from the reference ellipsoid along the perpendicular from the reference ellipsoid to
this point, positive if upwards or outside of the reference ellipsoid
Note 1 to entry: Only used as part of a three-dimensional ellipsoidal coordinate system or as part of a three-
dimensional Cartesian coordinate system in a three-dimensional projected coordinate reference system, but
never on its own.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.24]
3.12
geographic point location
well defined geographic place described by one coordinate tuple
[SOURCE: ISO 19145:2013, 4.1.11]
3.13
geographic point location representation
syntactic description of a geographic point location in a well known format
[SOURCE: ISO 19145:2013, 4.1.12]
3.14
gravity-related height
H
height that is dependent on the Earth’s gravity field
Note 1 to entry: This refers to, amongst others, orthometric height and Normal height, which are both
approximations of the distance of a point above the mean sea level, but also may include Normal-orthometric
heights, dynamic heights or geopotential numbers.
Note 2 to entry: The distance from the reference surface may follow a curved line, not necessarily straight, as it is
influenced by the direction of gravity.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.37]
3.15
height
distance of a point from a chosen reference surface positive upward along a line perpendicular to that
surface
Note 1 to entry: A height below the reference surface will have a negative value.
Note 2 to entry: Generalisation of ellipsoidal height (h) and gravity-related height (H).
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.38]
3
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ISO 6709:2022(E)
3.16
measurement precision
precision
closeness of agreement between indications or measured quantity values obtained by replicate
measurements on the same or similar objects under specified conditions
Note 1 to entry: Measurement precision is usually expressed numerically by measures of imprecision, such as
standard deviation, variance, or coefficient of variation under the specified conditions of measurement.
Note 2 to entry: The "specified conditions" can be, for example, repeatability conditions of measurement,
intermediate precision conditions of measurement, or reproducibility conditions of measurement (see
ISO 5725-1:1994).
Note 3 to entry: Measurement precision is used to define measurement repeatability, intermediate measurement
precision, and measurement reproducibility.
Note 4 to entry: Sometimes "measurement precision" is erroneously used to mean measurement accuracy.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC Guide 99:2007, 2.15]
3.17
metadata
information about a resource
[SOURCE: ISO 19115-1:2014, 4.10]
3.18
resolution (of a coordinate)
unit associated with the least significant digit of a coordinate
Note 1 to entry: Coordinate resolution may have linear or angular units depending on the characteristics of the
coordinate system.
3.19
sexagesimal degree
angle represented by a sequence of values in degrees, minutes, and seconds
Note 1 to entry: In the case of latitude or longitude, it may also include a character indicating hemisphere.
EXAMPLE 50.0795725 decimal degrees is represented as 50°04'46.461"
3.20
tuple
ordered list of values
Note 1 to entry: The number of values in a tuple is immutable.
[SOURCE: ISO 19136-1:2020, 3.1.60]
4 Abbreviated terms and character code notations
4.1 Abbreviated terms
CRS coordinate reference system
CRScsd coordinate reference system character string delimiter
EPSG EPSG geodetic parameter dataset
GML Geography Markup Language
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SIST EN ISO 6709:2023
ISO 6709:2022(E)
GPL geographic point location
HTML HyperText Markup Language
ISOGR ISO Geodetic Registry
JSON JavaScript Object Notation
lat latitude
lon longitude
OGC Open Geospatial Consortium
UCS Universal Coded Character Set
URL Uniform Resource Locator
WKT well-known text
XML eXtensible Markup Language
4.2 Character code notations
Character string delimiters required in this document are represented in accordance with notation
from ISO/IEC 10646. Character names and code points are specified in Annex F, Table F.1.
5 Conformance
To conform to this document, representations of GPL shall satisfy the conditions specified in the
abstract test suite (Annex A).
6 Geographic point location (GPL) representation
6.1 Overview
This edition of ISO 6709 revises and expands the representation of geographic point location (GPL),
while maintaining an option (Annex B) for backwards compatibility with the previous edition
(ISO 6709:2008).
ISO 19111 defines the elements required to describe a CRS. A coordinate tuple represents a location
unambiguously only if the CRS to which it is referenced is identified and if that CRS is dynamic the
epoch of the coordinates is also identified. Without this identification, uncertainty in position can result
in the location being as much as several hundred metres distant
...
SLOVENSKI STANDARD
oSIST prEN ISO 6709:2021
01-februar-2021
Standardna predstavitev geografske točkovne lokacije s koordinatami (ISO/DIS
6709:2020)
Standard representation of geographic point location by coordinates (ISO/DIS
6709:2020)
Standarddarstellung für geographische Punkte durch Koordinaten (ISO/DIS 6709:2020)
Représentation normalisée de la localisation des points géographiques par coordonnées
(ISO/DIS 6709:2020)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN ISO 6709
ICS:
07.040 Astronomija. Geodezija. Astronomy. Geodesy.
Geografija Geography
35.240.70 Uporabniške rešitve IT v IT applications in science
znanosti
oSIST prEN ISO 6709:2021 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.
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oSIST prEN ISO 6709:2021
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oSIST prEN ISO 6709:2021
DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
ISO/DIS 6709
ISO/TC 211 Secretariat: SIS
Voting begins on: Voting terminates on:
2020-12-28 2021-03-22
Standard representation of geographic point location by
coordinates
Représentation normalisée de la localisation des points géographiques par coordonnées
ICS: 35.240.70
THIS DOCUMENT IS A DRAFT CIRCULATED
This document is circulated as received from the committee secretariat.
FOR COMMENT AND APPROVAL. IT IS
THEREFORE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND MAY
NOT BE REFERRED TO AS AN INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD UNTIL PUBLISHED AS SUCH.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
ISO/CEN PARALLEL PROCESSING
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL,
TECHNOLOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND
USER PURPOSES, DRAFT INTERNATIONAL
STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE TO
BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR
POTENTIAL TO BECOME STANDARDS TO
WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE MADE IN
Reference number
NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
ISO/DIS 6709:2020(E)
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED
TO SUBMIT, WITH THEIR COMMENTS,
NOTIFICATION OF ANY RELEVANT PATENT
RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE AND TO
©
PROVIDE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION. ISO 2020
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oSIST prEN ISO 6709:2021
ISO/DIS 6709:2020(E)
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO 2020
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Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Abbreviated terms, and changes from the previous edition. 4
4.1 Abbreviated terms . 4
4.2 Character code notations . 5
4.3 Changes from the previous edition and backwards compatibility . 5
4.4 Cultural and language adaptability . 5
5 Conformance . 6
6 Geographic point location representation . 6
6.1 Overview . 6
6.2 Component representation . 7
6.3 Coordinate tuple . 7
6.4 Character string delimiters and terminator notation . 7
6.5 CRS identifier structure . 8
6.6 Text string representation.10
6.6.1 Background.10
6.6.2 Formatting rules for angular measures .10
6.6.3 Component structure .12
7 Human-readable GPL representation .16
Annex A (normative) Conformance and abstract test suite .20
Annex B (normative) Backwards compatible representation of geographic point location .23
Annex C (informative) Latitude and longitude coordinates are not unique.29
Annex D (informative) Latitude and longitude resolution .30
Annex E (informative) Changes from ISO 6709:2008 .31
Bibliography .33
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Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/ directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/ patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www .iso .org/
iso/ foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 211 Geographic information/Geomatics.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO 6709:2008), which has been technically
revised.
The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:
— Harmonization with other recently revised ISO/TC 211 standards
— Clarification of normative requirements to maintain rigid backwards compatibility when required
— Correction of the issues contained in the 2009 Technical Corrigendum to ISO 6709:2008
— Correction of annexes that contained normative requirements but were labelled as informative
— Deletion of annexes and concepts which have changed and were no longer suitable for the
revised edition
— Correction of instances where European numeric formatting conventions were incorrectly inserted
during pre-publication editing. These conventions will no longer be recommended
— Clarification of editorial issues
Annex E presents detailed information on the differences between this and previous editions of
ISO 6709.
Use of numeric formatting conventions:
In accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, 2018, Rules for the structure and drafting of
International Standards, in International Standards the decimal sign is a comma on the line. However,
the General Conference on Weights and Measures (Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures) at its
meeting in 2003 passed unanimously the following resolution:
“The decimal marker shall be either a point on the line or a comma on the line.”
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In practice, the choice between these alternatives depends on customary use in the language concerned.
In the technical areas of geodesy and geographic information it is customary for the decimal point
always to be used, for all languages. That practice is used throughout this document.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/ members .html.
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Introduction
Geographic point location (GPL) is the description of a well defined geographic place using a single
coordinate tuple. Efficient interchange of GPL data requires formats which are universally interpretable,
and which allow identification of points on, above and below the earth’s surface. Users in various
disciplines may have different requirements. This is exemplified by the use of degrees and decimal
degrees, as well as the traditional degrees, minutes and seconds, for recording latitude and longitude.
Users may also require various levels of precision and may use latitude and longitude without height.
ISO 6709:1983 defined a specific format representation of latitude and longitude, and optionally
altitude.
ISO 6709:2008 revised the format representation of the 1983 edition by:
— adding the ability to identify the CRS to which coordinates are referenced, without which location is
ambiguous, and
— expanding the use of altitude to allow for any ellipsoidal or gravity-related height or depth.
Since the first edition of this document in 1983, the field of geodesy has undergone significant
technological advances, along with the continued development of other related geodesy and geomatics
standards.
The aim of this edition addresses these new advances and standards and revises the coordinate string
suitable for digital representation (Clause 6) while continuing to support the requirements of the
previous edition (Annex B).
Clause 7 defines a simpler structure for the unambiguous representation of GPL in a human-
readable format.
In addition, a series of Annexes are provided with the following content:
— Annex A (normative) defines the abstract test suite used for conformance testing;
— Annex B (normative) defines the representation of latitude and longitude coordinates that maintain
backwards compatibility with ISO 6709:2008;
— Annex C presents a description and examples of how the position of coordinates can appear
ambiguous without the use of a CRS;
— Annex D presents a table of mathematical precision values of resolution for latitude and longitude;
— Annex E describes the changes in this document from the previous edition of ISO 6709.
Users of this document should be aware of the following options:
a) For all cases where backwards compatibility is not required, this document recommends using
the methods and rules specified in Clause 6, GPL representation, or Clause 7, human-readable GPL
representation;
b) However, in systems and environments where backwards compatibility with the previous edition
of ISO 6709 is required, the methods and rules specified in Annex B may be used.
In addition, when using Annex B, it is recommended that suitable and comprehensive ancillary
documentation, not defined within this document, or in previous editions of ISO 6709, should be
prepared and accompany all instances of geographic point location text strings and human-readable
representations claiming backwards compatibility.
The use of this International Standard:
— establishes an expanded point representation string format supporting the current concepts and
standards of geodesy and geographic information;
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— when required, continues to support the needs of established user communities by maintaining
backwards compatibility with the previous edition of this standard;
— reduces the cost of interchange of data;
— reduces the delay in converting non-standard coding structures in preparation for interchange by
providing advance knowledge of the standard interchange format; and
— provides flexible support for geographic point representation.
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DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/DIS 6709:2020(E)
Standard representation of geographic point location by
coordinates
1 Scope
This document specifies the representation of latitude and longitude and optionally height or depth
compatible with previous editions of ISO 6709.
This document also supports the representations of other coordinate types and time that may be
associated with those coordinates as defined through one or more coordinate reference systems (CRS).
This document describes a text string of coordinates, suitable for electronic data exchange, for
one point including reference system identification to ensure that the coordinates unambiguously
represent the position of that point. Files containing multiple points with a single common reference
system identification are out of scope. This document also describes a simpler text string structure for
coordinate representation of a point location that is more suitable for human readability.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 8601-1, Date and time — Representations for information interchange — Part 1: Basic rules
ISO 8601-2, Date and time — Representations for information interchange — Part 2: Extensions
ISO/IEC 8859-1, Information technology — 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets — Part 1: Latin
alphabet No. 1
ISO 19111, Geographic information — Referencing by coordinates
ISO 19162, Geographic information — Well-known text representation of coordinate reference systems
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at http:// www .electropedia .org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http:// www .iso .org/ obp
3.1
accuracy
closeness of agreement between a test result or measurement result and the true value
[SOURCE: ISO 3534-2:2006, 3.1.1, modified – The original notes have been deleted.]
3.2
altitude
height where the chosen reference surface is mean sea level
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3.3
compound coordinate reference system
coordinate reference system using at least two independent coordinate reference systems
Note 1 to entry: Coordinate reference systems are independent of each other if coordinate values in one cannot
be converted or transformed into coordinate values in the other.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.3]
3.4
coordinate
one of a sequence of numbers designating the position of a point
Note 1 to entry: In a spatial coordinate reference system, the coordinate numbers are qualified by units.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.5]
3.5
coordinate reference system
coordinate system that is related to an object by a datum
Note 1 to entry: Geodetic and vertical datums are referred to as reference frames.
Note 2 to entry: For geodetic and vertical reference frames, the object will be the Earth. In planetary applications,
geodetic and vertical reference frames may be applied to other celestial bodies.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.9]
3.6
coordinate set
collection of coordinate tuples referenced to the same coordinate reference system and if that
coordinate reference system is dynamic also to the same coordinate epoch
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.10]
3.7
coordinate system
set of mathematical rules for specifying how coordinates are to be assigned to points
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.11]
3.8
coordinate tuple
tuple composed of coordinates
Note 1 to entry: The number of coordinates in the coordinate tuple equals the dimension of the coordinate system;
the order of coordinates in the coordinate tuple is identical to the order of the axes of the coordinate system.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.13]
3.9
datum
reference frame
parameter or set of parameters that realize the position of the origin, the scale, and the orientation of a
coordinate system
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.15]
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3.10
depth
distance of a point from a chosen vertical reference surface downward along a line that is perpendicular
to that surface
Note 1 to entry: Note 1 to entry: The line direction may be straight or be dependent on the Earth's gravity field or
other physical phenomena.
Note 2 to entry: Note 2 to entry: A depth above the vertical reference surface will have a negative value.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.17]
3.11
ellipsoidal height
geodetic height
h
distance of a point from the reference ellipsoid along the perpendicular from the reference ellipsoid to
this point, positive if upwards or outside of the reference ellipsoid
Note 1 to entry: Only used as part of a three-dimensional ellipsoidal coordinate system or as part of a three-
dimensional Cartesian coordinate system in a three-dimensional projected coordinate reference system, but
never on its own.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.24]
3.12
geographic point location
well defined geographic place described by one coordinate tuple
[SOURCE: ISO 19145:2013, 4.1.11]
3.13
geographic point location representation
syntactic description of a geographic point location in a well known format
[SOURCE: ISO 19145:2013, 4.1.12]
3.14
gravity-related height
H
height that is dependent on the Earth’s gravity field
Note 1 to entry: This refers to, amongst others, orthometric height and Normal height, which are both
approximations of the distance of a point above the mean sea level, but also may include Normal-orthometric
heights, dynamic heights or geopotential numbers.
Note 2 to entry: The distance from the reference surface may follow a curved line, not necessarily straight, as it is
influenced by the direction of gravity.
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.37]
3.15
height
distance of a point from a chosen reference surface positive upward along a line perpendicular to
that surface
Note 1 to entry: A height below the reference surface will have a negative value.
Note 2 to entry: Generalisation of ellipsoidal height (h) and gravity-related height (H).
[SOURCE: ISO 19111:2019, 3.1.38]
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3.16
measurement precision
precision
closeness of agreement between indications or measured quantity values obtained by replicate
measurements on the same or similar objects under specified conditions
Note 1 to entry: Measurement precision is usually expressed numerically by measures of imprecision, such as
standard deviation, variance, or coefficient of variation under the specified conditions of measurement.
Note 2 to entry: The "specified conditions" can be, for example, repeatability conditions of measurement,
intermediate precision conditions of measurement, or reproducibility conditions of measurement (see
ISO 5725-3).
Note 3 to entry: Measurement precision is used to define measurement repeatability, intermediate measurement
precision, and measurement reproducibility.
Note 4 to entry: Sometimes "measurement precision" is erroneously used to mean measurement accuracy.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC Guide 99:2007, 2.15]
3.17
metadata
information about a resource
[SOURCE: ISO 19115-1:2014, 4.10]
3.18
resolution (of a coordinate)
unit associated with the least significant digit of a coordinate
Note 1 to entry: Coordinate resolution may have linear or angular units depending on the characteristics of the
coordinate system.
3.19
sexagesimal degree
angle represented by a sequence of values in degrees, minutes, and seconds
Note 1 to entry: In the case of latitude or longitude, it may also include a character indicating hemisphere.
EXAMPLE 50.0795725 decimal degrees is represented as 50°04'46.461"
3.20
tuple
ordered list of values
Note 1 to entry: The number of values in a tuple is immutable.
[SOURCE: ISO 19136-1:2020, 3.1.60]
4 Abbreviated terms, and changes from the previous edition
4.1 Abbreviated terms
CRS Coordinate Reference System
CRScsd Coordinate Reference System character string delimiter
GPL Geographic Point Location
lat latitude
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lon longitude
URL Uniform Resource Locator
WKT Well-known text
4.2 Character code notations
Bit combinations and Hex values for the character string delimiters required in this document are
represented using abbreviated notation based on ISO/IEC 8859-1, as shown in Table 1.
Table 1 — Character string delimiter bit combinations and Hex codes
8859-1 8859-1
Char- Bit com- Char- Bit com-
Name Hex Name Hex
acter bination acter bination
Code Code
SPACE 02/00 20 RIGHT ANGLE BRACKET > 03/14 3E
QUOTATION MARK " 02/02 22 COMMERCIAL AT @ 00/04 40
APOSTROPHE ' 02/07 27 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C C 04/03 43
LEFT PARENTHESIS ( 02/08 28 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E E 04/05 45
RIGHT PARENTHESIS ) 02/09 29 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H H 04/08 48
PLUS + 02/11 2B LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N N 04/14 4E
HYPHEN MINUS - 02/13 2D LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R R 05/02 52
FULL STOP . 02/14 2E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S S 05/03 53
SOLIDUS / 02/15 2F LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W 05/07 57
W
DIGIT ONE 1 03/01 31 LATIN SMALL LETTER D d 06/04 64
DIGIT TWO 2 03/02 32 LATIN SMALL LETTER T t 07/04 74
DIGIT THREE 3 03/03 33 LEFT CURLY BRACKET { 07/11 7B
DIGIT FOUR 4 03/04 34 RIGHT CURLY BRACKET } 07/13 7D
COLON : 03/10 3A DEGREE SIGN ° 11/00 B0
LEFT ANGLE BRACKET < 03/12 3C
EXAMPLE "CRS" is represented by bit combinations 04/03, 05/02, and 05/03 or Hex 43, 52, and 53
respectively.
This document does not specify a required character encoding for GPL string representation or human-
readable notation. However, the use of a widely accepted character encoding such as ISO 8859-1 or
UTF-8 is recommended and should be clearly documented.
4.3 Changes from the previous edition and backwards compatibility
The Foreword of this document provides a brief list of changes from the previous edition. A detailed
presentation of these changes and modifications made to the structure of the document during the
revision process are presented in Annex E. Additionally, the Introduction and Annex E provide an
overview and guidance for using this document. All users are advised to consult these clauses prior to
using the methods and rules specified in this document.
Annex B of this document maintains backwards compatibility with previous editions of ISO 6709.
4.4 Cultural and language adaptability
The previous edition of this document loosely supported cultural and language adaptability by
allowing either a full stop (.) or comma (,) to be used as the "decimal mark." Users must understand
these issues and consult all accompanying metadata and documentation. While the choice between
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these alternatives depends on customary use in the language (locale) concerned, it is preferred, in the
technical areas of geodesy and geographic information that the decimal mark always be a full stop/
decimal point (.) for all languages. That practice is required by this document.
5 Conformance
To conform to this document, representations of GPL shall satisfy the conditions specified in the
abstract test suite (Annex A).
6 Geographic point location representation
6.1 Overview
This edition of ISO 6709 revises and expands the representation of geographic point location (GPL),
while maintaining an option (Annex B) for backwards compatibility with the previous edition
(ISO 6709:2008).
ISO 19111 defines the elements required to describe a coordinate reference system (CRS). A coordinate
tuple represents a location unambiguously only if the CRS to which it is referenced, is identified. Without
this identification, uncertainty in position may result in the location being as much as several hundred
metres distant, see Annex C.
In this edition of ISO 6709, CRS identifiers shall accompany all GPL representations. Identification may
be through:
— a complete URL notation (6.5 a)),
— an abbreviated notation (6.5 b)), or
— a complete CRS definition as specified in ISO 19111 (6.5 c)).
ISO 19111:2019 specifies several CRS types, of which, the following are supported in this document and
any one, or a combination of these, shall accompany all GPL representations:
— geodetic CRS – three-dimensional,
— geographic CRS – two-dimensional or three-dimensional,
— projected CRS – two-dimensional, or sometimes three-dimensional,
— engineering CRS – two-dimensional, or sometimes one-dimensional or three-dimensional,
— parametric CRS – one-dimensional, with normally vertical orientation,
— vertical CRS – one-dimensional,
— temporal CRS – one-dimensional, and
— compound CRS.
NOTE For detailed information about each of these CRS types users should consult ISO 19111:2019.
The text string representation format defined in 6.6 is used for single GPL instances. However, in
practice, GPL instances with uniform representation formats are commonly grouped into coordinate
sets that often provide a single CRS identification f
...
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