Difference between revisions of "Geonames"

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(Discipline)
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===Discipline===
 
===Discipline===
  
If there is a problem with this, it is that you might need to edit all the geonames in your family file. The strenght of the process depends on strict adherence (and identical spelling) to the table structure.
+
If there is a problem with this, it is that you might need to edit all the geonames in your family file. The strength of the process depends on strict adherence (and identical spelling) to the table structure.
  
 
===Old place names===
 
===Old place names===
  
 
If you are going to add Google maps with references from, say, '''geonames.org''', then the old names for places won't be found. The easiest solution to this is to add the old names as notes, but map them with their current names.
 
If you are going to add Google maps with references from, say, '''geonames.org''', then the old names for places won't be found. The easiest solution to this is to add the old names as notes, but map them with their current names.

Revision as of 00:49, 6 November 2007

GEONAMES

This is intended to be a place to discuss place names in Gramps.

Storage methods

When we think about places, we tend to think of them in our own situation. So, I might live at 135 Copley Place, Beverley Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA. I think of them as Address, Suburb, City, State and Country. Other places use different nomenclature - county, province, city..to name just a few.

So, I would prefer to think of them as "levels", starting with the country (we can all agree on that, I think) as the base level - Level 0 - and then moving on to Level 1 etc. Having defined our Level 0, all Level 1s are therefore sub-ordinate to it.

So the computer application will think in reverse to us, preferring to know its own name, then the names of the places sub-ordinate to it. Accordingly, the database setup needs to reflect this:

place# parent# level place long lati
1 0 0 USA W100.00 N39.00
6 1 1 California W119.300 N36.000
7 6 2 Los Angeles W118.230 N34.05
8 7 3 Beverley Hills W118.400 N34.07
25 8 4 135 Copley Place W118.4224 N34.0767

Other places in Los Angeles would "share" the first 3 rows in the table, but then start a new branch.

Discipline

If there is a problem with this, it is that you might need to edit all the geonames in your family file. The strength of the process depends on strict adherence (and identical spelling) to the table structure.

Old place names

If you are going to add Google maps with references from, say, geonames.org, then the old names for places won't be found. The easiest solution to this is to add the old names as notes, but map them with their current names.