Standardised Spatial Information System Vocabulary

Question

I've had some musing about this for some time and thought I'd ask the forum.

Are there any resources out there that provide a standard, comprehensive dictionary of acronyms, terms and keywords for the Spatial Industry?

I've seen the Spatial Industry make leaps and bounds into other sectors outside of it's geology/geography roots, and with this terms such as GIS (geographic information system), Coordinate System, I believe are beginning to lose their potency in definition and are more historical terms due to the introduction of spatial technology to an increasing audience of users, developers and enthusiasts.

The most common example I come across, is the term Coordinate System. Typically used to defined a projected and geographic coordinate system to the uninitiated, it can become confusing or add ambiguity to an answer if the merits or differences between coordinate systems is being discussed.

As a result I prefer to use the term Spatial Reference System and offer the sub categories of projected reference system and geographic reference system. Essentially, I'd prefer to align myself with a set of agreed terms that can be addressed. If such a reference exists.

Cheers, OptimizePrime

Answer 1

The closest thing that I'm aware of is the ESRI GIS dictionary, though of course it's tied to a proprietary software package and company. It's pretty comprehensive though: http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/Gisdictionary/browse

an open community version would be excellent though, something like a wiki (could be a good offshoot of this forum!)

Tom

Answer 2

Here are some additional links:

Spatial Information Clearinghouse

Wiki GIS Glossary

Answer 3

I am not sure you can get a true consensus on all terminology.
For instance:

ESRI Node = point or vertex
Autodesk Node = grip point
Microstation Node = text insert
ESRI Arc = line
Autodesk Arc = semicircle

Not that it wouldn't be nice if they could concede and all agree to a standard. And I do see some backing away from "OLD HAT" positions of "that is how we always did it".
Certainly some points of the industry should be clarified and standardized as in your example (op) CRS, SRS, GCS, GPS :) should be differentiated.

Answer 4

There are several ISO standards that would be applicable. For instance, what Esri calls a coordinate system should be called a coordinate reference system. The EPSG Dataset The problem is getting copies of them! There's also a wiki at GIS.com which was launched by Esri in late 2009. The requested pages could be a good starting point. Disclaimer: I work for Esri.

Answer 5

Here is a list I came across from GIS Lounge.

• A->G: http://gislounge.com/geospatial-glossary-a-through-g/
• H->P: http://gislounge.com/geospatial-glossary-%E2%80%93-h-through-p/
• R->Z: http://gislounge.com/geospatial-glossary-r-through-z/

And for good measure, a list of GIS acronyms:

• http://gislounge.com/gis-acronyms/