Re: [OT] interesting reason why a language is considered good

[Simon Wright <simon@pushface.org>]

"Dmitry A. Kazakov" <mailbox@dmitry-kazakov.de> writes:

> On Mon, 16 Apr 2012 23:48:15 +0200, Georg Bauhaus wrote:

>>>> Simon Wright has recently shown a nice way how to mend the
>>>> situation with X and Y for surface orientation, using Ada 2012
>>>> (substituting Northings and Eastings in the profile, IIRC).
>>>
>>> I wonder what Australians would say about that.
>> 
>> You don't mean that Australian drivers (or pilots) do not know how to
>> head North?
>
> I mean that "North" is probably not the best replacement for
> "vertical."  And the latter is probably not same as "Y." It is
> sometimes "Z." The choice of names is always a difficult one, which
> also depends on the context of use, as Randy has pointed out.

Pretty sure you'll find that Australian maps are printed with North at
the top.

In the context of converting 2-D surface coordinates to compass
bearings, I maintain that it makes a lot of sense to use the names
Northings and Eastings.

Of course, coordinate systems are always fun. The last system I worked
on had at least 5, praise be I never had to understand them.