Microsoft Whitepaper – Introduction to Spatial Coordinate Systems: Flat Maps for a Round Planet
Isaac Kunen blog’s about the first spatial whitepaper Microsoft has released.
Introduction to Spatial Coordinate Systems: Flat Maps for a Round Planet
Says Isaac: “This paper is a bit of an odd duck: it isn’t SQL Server, or even Microsoft specific in any way. It’s just a little introduction to the use of spatial data.” Yea so it isn’t exactly new material for spatial folks, but hey it might come in handy one day and it is very well written. Definitely worth bookmarking.
Microsoft is new to the spatial world, so maybe they didn't get everything right.
That picture is creepy. I’d rather dine with Hannibal Lector than have to stare at that.
Glad to see that Microsoft is paying attention (and homage) to the basic cartographic principles that mapmakers need to employ. I personally think that this is very well written and sounds almost identical to my first cartography textbook . Now that SQL 2008 supports spatial data, it makes perfect sense to educate future developers of map products to understand the fundamentals of projections, coordinates systems, etc.
-Matt
P.S. I agree that the Bill Gates pic is creepy. Nice touch of adding the ships to the monitor though (I think the orig was ASCII MS-DOS logo?) Sad that I know that…
actually no it was a CP/M prompt that he was in the middle of ripping off.
Thanks for clarification JW! BTW, looks like an proto-version of the BSOD on the other monitor.
He looks like he is stoned.
Hi,
I’m just wondering these days about what IS spatial data. I’d be interested in your comments on the page at the URL I’ve posted here.
I read your URL. I don’t think you can be helped.
Wow…Lichanos…your post is undeniably one of the most “interesting” I’ve read regarding spatial data.
Matt – glad you were intrigued, but do you have comments? Arguments?
JW – yeah, I’m beyond help, I know, but argue with me anyway.
Honestly, I’m really interested in knowing what people think about this topic. I discussed it years ago and was savaged by academics outraged that I was questioning their …turf?
i don’t think it is a matter of turf. It is a lack of basic understanding.
Go find a copy of “Spatial data characteristics and handling techniques ” by Roger Tomlinson and get back to us after you have read it.
@JW, Lichanos:
The Tomlinson book seems to be out of print. FWIW I’ve found “GIS: A Computing Perspective†by Michael Worboys and Matt Duckham, and “Spatial Databases†by Philippe Rigaux et al, to be pretty useful in explaining this stuff in a fair degree of detail. Assuming anybody else is actually interested in reading this stuff…
JW:
I don’t know who you are, or how you make your living, but your response, “get back to us after you’ve read it,” is so typical of academe that I’m guessing that’s your domain.
You assume that what you have read is the defining material on the topic. Academics have a way of defining problems so they can be answered with their favored methods. What if my question is logically prior to your methods? You also assume I have read nothing of what you regard as cannonical on the topic (otherwise, naturally, I would agree with it and form my argument accordingly) and that any discussion of it MUST refer to those texts. Not a point of view conducive to original or critical thought.
Nevertheless, I shall review these works (again) just to freshen up my argument. Then “I’ll get back to you.”
Whoa, that was one weird URL Lichanos. You really should look into reading a few books or something…