Proposal for GPX
Enhancements to GPX 1.1
Shortly after drafting the TrackPointExtras schema, I started to contemplate whether it should actually become part of the GPX standard.
This proposal is pretty simple, basically to incorporate the extensions from the TrackPointExtras schema into the existing GPX 1.1 schema:
- Re-introduce
<course> and <speed>, fully compatible with GPX 1.0.
- Introduce the accuracy estimates provided by numerous GPS / GNSS chipsets and location services (e.g. Apple and Android).
- Additional source information; e.g.
<manufacturer>, <product>, <serial>, and <version> in <hardware> elements.
- There is a reasonable argument for calling this GPX 1.1.1 as it is a small release in it’s own right that does not replace well established extensions.
- There are absolutely no breaking changes / compatibility issues with GPX 1.1.
Example Schema for GPX 1.1.1
I have created an example schema for discussion purposes:
- The example schema is available on GitHub but as stated, it is simply a proposal and should not be used for anything other than general discussion.
- The proposal incorporates the TrackPointExtras into GPX 1.1, with slimmed down comments in keeping with the existing GPX 1.1 schema.
After further discussion on the GPX developers forum (and subsequent tweaking of the proposal), the GPX 1.1.1 schema would also benefit from consistent use of whitespace, which is currently a mix of tabs and spaces.