Attributes in GPX: Status Update?

[+Uncopyrighted]

I know people have been talking about including attribute flags in GPX files for at least 4 years now and I've heard several times that they will be in the next version of GPX. I was just wondering if there is any status on this?

 

If there is a problem in implementation it seems that a simple solution would be to standardize the order of the attribute flags (e.g. "dogs," then "parking fee," then "climbing gear," etc.) and write a string in the GPX file indicating the status of each flag. This would look something like this "FNTNNN..." Where F is a no, T is a yes, and N indicates "null, no comment indicated." The example above would mean "no dogs allowed, climbing gear required, no comments on parking fee, etc."

 

Use the current order listed on the pocket query page and additional flags can be added at the end as needed.

[+tozainamboku]

It would be more in keeping with the nature of XML (on which the GPX format is based) to simply use the text of the attribute names that are specified. That also would make it more extensible if attributes were added in the future. If an attribute is not specified on a cache there is no need to include in the GPX file. Each attribute that is specified could be in either the Yes or No state with Yes being the default.

<Groundspeak:attributes>
  <Groundspeak:attribute state="N">dogs allowed</Groundspeak:attribute>
  <Groundspeak:attribute state="Y">climbing gear</Groundspeak:attribute>
</Groundspeak:attributes>

[+weigle]

My Garmin Zumo will not recognize anything in a Groundspeak tag. Ever heard of that before? It's a minor inconvienance that I have to edit every GPX file before I can upload it.

 

- jeremy

 

OSX 10.5 - Zumo 450