ISO 19162

ISO 19162:2019

Geographic information — Well-known text representation
of coordinate reference systems

ISO 19162:2015

This document defines the structure and content of a text string implementation of the abstract model for coordinate reference systems described in ISO 19111. The string defines frequently needed types of coordinate reference systems and coordinate operations in a self-contained form that is easily readable by machines and by humans. The essence is its simplicity; as a consequence there are some constraints upon the more open content allowed in ISO 19111. To retain simplicity in the well-known text (WKT) description of coordinate reference systems and coordinate operations, the scope of this document excludes parameter grouping and pass-through coordinate operations. The text string provides a means for humans and machines to correctly and unambiguously interpret and utilise a coordinate reference system definition with look-ups or cross references only to define coordinate operation mathematics. A WKT string is not suitable for the storage of definitions of coordinate reference systems or coordinate operations because it omits metadata about the source of the data and may omit metadata about the applicability of the information.

ISO 8601-1, Date and time — Representations for information interchange — Part 1: Basic rules

ISO/IEC 10646, Information technology — Universal Coded Character Set (UCS)

ISO 19111:2019, Geographic information — Referencing by coordinates

ISO 6709 Standard representation of geographic point location by coordinates

ISO 19127:2019 Geographic information — Geodetic register