CEN/TC 287/WG 4 - Positional reference systems for geographic information

In the context of this European Prestandard, a direct positioning system identifies location of points in relation to the Earth by coordinates. The most widely-used systems are geodetic reference systems. Others exist, mainly for local use. This European Prestandard: - defines the basic concepts related to coordinate position information; - gives the guidance necessary to use the geodetic reference systems for geographic information. The choice of any particular position system is outside the scope of this European Prestandard.

This European Prestandard establishes a schema for spatial referencing using geographic identifiers. It specifies how a system of geographic identifiers is described, and defines the attributes of a location and the contents of a gazetteer of locations. Spatial referencing based on coordinates is outside the scope of this standard. This European Prestandard is applicable not only to digital data, but also to other forms of geographic data such as maps, charts and textual documents.