Who Controls The Gpx Format/standard?

[+Thot]

If someone wants to add an item to the GPX format who approves/disapproves it?

[+briansnat]

I do. What do you need?

[+The Leprechauns]

Are you talking about the GPX schema generically? See the Topografix website, for starters. Or are you talking about the Groundspeak namespace, which is, obviously, controlled by Groundspeak? If you have a suggestion for an addition to the Groundspeak namespace, then I would think you'd want to post in the Geocaching.com forum.

[robertlipe]

Are you really asking about GPX itself or are you asking about Groundspeak's extended namespace as presented by pocket queries that uses GPX?

 

If the former, see http://www.topografix.com/gpx.asp but be prepared to be able to either vigorously defend why your extension is a must-have to every GPX consumer on the planet or be told to put your extensions in a private namespace.

[+Thot]

Thanks for the replies. They let me understand my question better. I didn't realize TopoGrafix managed the GPX schema. Is there no independent (non commercial) organization that controls/manages it?

[Dale_Lynn]

Thanks for the replies. They let me understand my question better. I didn't realize TopoGrafix managed the GPX schema. Is there no independent (non commercial) organization that controls/manages it?

I really think if one develops a program/utility and develops some sort of file format the program/utility uses/supports they have copyright to the data format and the choice of designating the extender name as long as it does not infringe on existing formats/names/copyrights.

 

If you choose to modify a file format and give it a extender the same as a know existing one, you are only going to cause chaos in data management as the bastardized from will no longer be compatible with the software/format/extender name as originally intended by the developer.

 

Dale

[+Renegade Knight]

Thanks for the replies. They let me understand my question better. I didn't realize TopoGrafix managed the GPX schema. Is there no independent (non commercial) organization that controls/manages it?

Nope. I'm fairly sure that Topografix is willing to work with GPS related companeis on the standard, but pretty much everone who would set the standard is commercial where most of us who would actually use it, are not.

[robertlipe]

It's not like Topografix is a 900 pound gorilla in this world. The spec is jointly designed and input on the developer list is actively solicted and used. Topografix recognized the value of XML early on as a solution to their own problems and formed a public project to formalize it.

 

Yeah, at the end of the day someone has to be the leader, do the slugwork of publishing it, and has to pay the bills to host it. In this case, it's Dan, the Topografix dude. Thanx, Dan!

 

If your question really is about GPX and not about pocket queries, float your proposal or question on the list. That's where the worlds biggest concentration of GPX experts is. (There are familiar names on the list.) If it can be done in a private namespace, it probably should be and that group can help you figure out if that's the case.

[+Thot]

pretty much everone who would set the standard is commercial where most of us who would actually use it, are not.

I think the XML standard (of which GPX is an instance) is owned by a non-profit http://www.w3.org/Consortium/

[robertlipe]

Yes, and if GPX had a list of funders, err, particpants that looked like http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Member/List that would certainly be an option.

 

The reality is that setting up that non-profit organization to own such things is a suprisingly expensive and consuming operation so for smaller projects, it's prohibitive.

[+RumJungle]

It’s always good to have somebody such as Topografix (thank you) that is willing to sponsor an open standard. It is a central place where all can go and find out more. HP/Agilent has done this for years. IEEE etc..

 

In most cases for standards there are comments sumitted and rebuttals for those comments with a comity (is there one for GPX) of other people or companies who vote on the comments.

 

Off the GPX site there is a link to a yahoo forum for GPX discussion.

 

Fourm Link

 

GC.com has added their own proprietary extensions to the GPX format. As an example, those exertions may be a start for a contribution to GPX format in the format of a comment proposal.

 

I’m not sure if there is a comity for GPX, but it seems that it has become a accepted open standard.