[OSM-dev] Relationships - working prototype

[Dave Stubbs]

> One thing I would like to see is a (possibly optional) lat/lon for the
> entity. (To be consistent, this would have its own distinct property,
> rather than a lat=, lon= tag, like a node, but it could be done with
> tags) This means you could have something visually to select in JOSM
> representing the entity, even if the lat/lon doesn't have any
> geographical significance in its own right; but also it can serve as a
> strong hint to to a renderer where to put any symbol that might be
> needed to show the entity (a no right turn symbol for example) - while
> working it out is possible, it might be tricky, and having a helping
> hand will be useful.

Hinting location could easily be done by referencing an actual node,
which you give a role such as "location".
One particular entity you might do this for is the is_in style: the
location would be where we currently have the place= tagged node, so
just use this node.

For more abstract entity types spurious nodes for locations might be
distracting though. A simple tag entity_type=<type> on the node could
enable things like mappaint to suitably mark them.

The main advantage is that editors such as JOSM already know how to
create and place nodes without any extra work needed.


My mind is currently exploding with all the possibilities and
flexibility entities would bring :-)