[OSM-dev] Proposal: Make relations ordered

[Jo]

Frederik Ramm wrote:
> Hi,
>
>   
>> Please think through what needs to happen when a way is split. Can the  
>> order be given like 10,20,30, so 15 and 25, 28 can be added in between?  
>>     
>
> We don't support incremental changes to objects. When you make a
> change to an object, however minor, you re-upload the whole object.
> This is not going to change.
>
> The API user is not concerned with the sequence numbering, he just
> uploads the sequence he wants. The numbering takes place internally.
>   
So inserting a way in the middle and/or reordering ways will have to be 
implemented in all the editors then.
>   
>> Also please change the API, so merging and  
>> splitting of ways doesn't have an influence on route relations. This  
>> would take away the responsibility of the editors to do this.
>>     
>
> Our API is very low-level and has no understanding of the semantics of
> relations. First of all, there is no API operation "split way" -
> splitting a way, for the API, is shortening one and uploading a new
> one, both operations completely separate. What you're calling for is a
> special "split way" operation that not only combines these two, but
> also analyses which relations the split way was part of, and then
> depending on the type of relations changes these as well. Altogehter
> this is surely much too complex for our API. The editor will have to
> do it I'm afraid.
>   
OK, fair enough. I hope JOSM and Potlatch get around to implementing it 
sooner rather than later then. It's rather annoying to carefully define 
a route relation, knowing that it can be blown apart by people who 
remerge the parts or split them in other ways. I tested this and it 
gives undesired results at the moment.

Thanks!

Polyglot