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===Work already done===
So, I would prefer to think of all those geographic descriptors 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. You can, of course, have as many 'Level 0's as you need.
So the computer application will think in reverse to us, preferring to start with a country, then finding the names of the places sub-ordinate to it, and so on. Accordingly, the database setup needs to reflect this. As an example:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto" table border="1"{{prettytable}}
|-
!place#!!parent#!!level!!place!!long!!lati
Other places in Los Angeles would "share" the first 3 rows in the table, but then start a new branch.
===GEDCOM===
A well-designed database could derive from a GEDCOM using the correct structure:
<pre>
0 INDI @987@
1 BIRT
2 DATE 23 JUN 1967
2 PLAC Beverley Hills, California, USA
3 MAP
4 LATI N34.05
4 LONG 118.230
</pre>
but in practical use, the last 3 lines can be left out, and the 2 PLAC information linked to a lookup "places" table to prevent bloating the GEDCOM with repeat information.
Not all applications adhere to this pattern. TMG expects you to enter the data in this format:
* DDMMSSCDDDMMSSC
where the first seven characters represent the latitude and the last eight characters represent the longitude. DD is degrees, MM is minutes and SS is seconds. The "C" is the compass heading (NSEW)
TMG exports the lat/lon data as the last portion of the PLAC record, like this:
<pre>
1 BAPM
2 DATE 23 JUN 1935
2 PLAC St Columba's Church, 2340 W. Lehigh Avenue,
Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co, Pennsylvania, USA,
395945N0751013W
</pre>
It really needs to look like this:
<pre>
1 BAPM
2 DATE 23 JUN 1935
2 PLAC St Columba's Church, 2340 W. Lehigh Avenue,
Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co, Pennsylvania, USA
3 MAP
4 LATI N39.9958
4 LONG W75.1703
</pre>
===Discipline===
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.
However, you should be able to hand-edit. For example, say you know a small place, now vanished from the face of the earth, outside Vienna where someone was born. You study maps, derive the co-ordinates to be 48.055026 16.513064 (it's just a ploughed paddock). You should be able to give the proper name for the place that is long-gone, and add the co-ordinates yourself.
===Google Group===
There is an interesting forum at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/geonames
==See also==
* [[GEPS 006: Better Place handling]]
* [[Place database]]
* [[Places in Gramps]]
