Data types¶

This section describes the numerous data types in use in PROJ.4. As a rule of thumb PROJ.4 data types are prefixed with PJ_, or in one particular case, is simply called PJ. A few notable exceptions can be traced back to the very early days of PROJ.4 when the PJ_ prefix was not consistently used.

Transformation objects¶

PJ¶: Object containing everything related to a given projection or transformation. As a user of the PROJ.4 library you are only exposed to pointers to this object and the contents is hidden behind the public API. PJ objects are created with proj_create() and destroyed with proj_destroy().

PJ_DIRECTION¶

Enumeration that is used to convey in which direction a given transformation should be performed. Used in transformation function call as described in the section on transformation functions.

Forward transformations are defined with the :c:

typedef enum proj_direction {
    PJ_FWD   =  1,   /* Forward    */
    PJ_IDENT =  0,   /* Do nothing */
    PJ_INV   = -1    /* Inverse    */
} PJ_DIRECTION;

PJ_FWD¶: Perform transformation in the forward direction.

PJ_IDENT¶: Identity. Do nothing.

PJ_INV¶: Perform transformation in the inverse direction.

PJ_CONTEXT¶: Context objects enable safe multi-threaded usage of PROJ.4. Each PJ object is connected to a context (if not specified, the default context is used). All operations within a context should be performed in the same thread. PJ_CONTEXT objects are created with proj_context_create() and destroyed with proj_context_destroy().

PJ_AREA¶

New in version 6.0.0.

Opaque object describing an area in which a transformation is performed.

It is used with proj_create_crs_to_crs() to select the best transformation between the two input coordinate reference systems.

2 dimensional coordinates¶

Various 2-dimensional coordinate data types.

PJ_LP¶

Geodetic coordinate, latitude and longitude. Usually in radians.

typedef struct { double lam, phi; } PJ_LP;

double PJ_LP.lam¶: Longitude. Lambda.

double PJ_LP.phi¶: Latitude. Phi.

PJ_XY¶

2-dimensional cartesian coordinate.

typedef struct { double x, y; } PJ_XY;

double PJ_XY.x¶: Easting.

double PJ_XY.y¶: Northing.

PJ_UV¶

2-dimensional generic coordinate. Usually used when contents can be either a PJ_XY or PJ_LP.

typedef struct {double u, v; } PJ_UV;

double PJ_UV.u¶: Longitude or easting, depending on use.

double PJ_UV.v¶: Latitude or northing, depending on use.

3 dimensional coordinates¶

The following data types are the 3-dimensional equivalents to the data types above.

PJ_LPZ¶

3-dimensional version of PJ_LP. Holds longitude, latitude and a vertical component.

typedef struct { double lam, phi, z; } PJ_LPZ;

double PJ_LPZ.lam¶: Longitude. Lambda.

double PJ_LPZ.phi¶: Latitude. Phi.

double PJ_LPZ.z¶: Vertical component.

PJ_XYZ¶

Cartesian coordinate in 3 dimensions. Extension of PJ_XY.

typedef struct { double x, y, z; } PJ_XYZ;

double PJ_XYZ.x¶: Easting or the X component of a 3D cartesian system.

double PJ_XYZ.y¶: Northing or the Y component of a 3D cartesian system.

double PJ_XYZ.z¶: Vertical component or the Z component of a 3D cartesian system.

PJ_UVW¶

3-dimensional extension of PJ_UV.

typedef struct {double u, v, w; } PJ_UVW;

double PJ_UVW.u¶: Longitude or easting, depending on use.

double PJ_UVW.v¶: Latitude or northing, depending on use.

double PJ_UVW.w¶: Vertical component.

Spatiotemporal coordinate types¶

The following data types are extensions of the triplets above into the time domain.

PJ_LPZT¶

Spatiotemporal version of PJ_LPZ.

typedef struct {
    double lam;
    double phi;
    double z;
    double t;
} PJ_LPZT;

double PJ_LPZT.lam¶: Longitude.

double PJ_LPZT.phi¶: Latitude

double PJ_LPZT.z¶: Vertical component.

double PJ_LPZT.t¶: Time component.

PJ_XYZT¶

Generic spatiotemporal coordinate. Useful for e.g. cartesian coordinates with an attached time-stamp.

typedef struct {
    double x;
    double y;
    double z;
    double t;
} PJ_XYZT;

double PJ_XYZT.x¶: Easting or the X component of a 3D cartesian system.

double PJ_XYZT.y¶: Northing or the Y component of a 3D cartesian system.

double PJ_XYZT.z¶: Vertical or the Z component of a 3D cartesian system.

double PJ_XYZT.t¶: Time component.

PJ_UVWT¶

Spatiotemporal version of PJ_UVW.

typedef struct { double u, v, w, t; } PJ_UVWT;

double PJ_UVWT.e¶: First horizontal component.

double PJ_UVWT.n¶: Second horizontal component.

double PJ_UVWT.w¶: Vertical component.

double PJ_UVWT.t¶: Temporal component.

Ancillary types for geodetic computations¶

PJ_OPK¶

Rotations, for instance three euler angles.

typedef struct { double o, p, k; } PJ_OPK;

double PJ_OPK.o¶: First rotation angle, omega.

double PJ_OPK.p¶: Second rotation angle, phi.

double PJ_OPK.k¶: Third rotation angle, kappa.

Complex coordinate types¶

PJ_COORD¶

General purpose coordinate union type, applicable in two, three and four dimensions. This is the default coordinate datatype used in PROJ.

typedef union {
    double v[4];
    PJ_XYZT xyzt;
    PJ_UVWT uvwt;
    PJ_LPZT lpzt;
    PJ_XYZ  xyz;
    PJ_UVW  uvw;
    PJ_LPZ  lpz;
    PJ_XY   xy;
    PJ_UV   uv;
    PJ_LP   lp;
} PJ_COORD ;

double v[4]: Generic four-dimensional vector.

PJ_XYZT PJ_COORD.xyzt¶: Spatiotemporal cartesian coordinate.

PJ_UVWT PJ_COORD.uvwt¶: Spatiotemporal generic coordinate.

PJ_LPZT PJ_COORD.lpzt¶: Longitude, latitude, vertical and time components.

PJ_XYZ PJ_COORD.xyz¶: 3-dimensional cartesian coordinate.

PJ_UVW PJ_COORD.uvw¶: 3-dimensional generic coordinate.

PJ_LPZ PJ_COORD.lpz¶: Longitude, latitude and vertical component.

PJ_XY PJ_COORD.xy¶: 2-dimensional cartesian coordinate.

PJ_UV PJ_COORD.uv¶: 2-dimensional generic coordinate.

PJ_LP PJ_COORD.lp¶: Longitude and latitude.

Projection derivatives¶

PJ_FACTORS¶

Various cartographic properties, such as scale factors, angular distortion and meridian convergence. Calculated with proj_factors().

typedef struct {
    double meridional_scale;
    double parallel_scale;
    double areal_scale;

    double angular_distortion;
    double meridian_parallel_angle;
    double meridian_convergence;

    double tissot_semimajor;
    double tissot_semiminor;

    double dx_dlam;
    double dx_dphi;
    double dy_dlam;
    double dy_dphi;
} PJ_FACTORS;

double PJ_FACTORS.meridional_scale¶: Meridional scale at coordinate \(\left(\lambda,\phi\right)\).

double PJ_FACTORS.parallel_scale¶: Parallel scale at coordinate \(\left(\lambda,\phi\right)\).

double PJ_FACTORS.areal_scale¶: Areal scale factor at coordinate \(\left(\lambda,\phi\right)\).

double PJ_FACTORS.angular_distortion¶: Angular distortion at coordinate \(\left(\lambda,\phi\right)\).

double PJ_FACTORS.meridian_parallel_angle¶

Meridian/parallel angle, \(\theta^\prime\), at coordinate \(\left(\lambda,\phi\right)\).

double PJ_FACTORS.meridian_convergence¶: Meridian convergence at coordinate \(\left(\lambda,\phi\right)\). Sometimes also described as grid declination.

double PJ_FACTORS.tissot_semimajor¶: Maximum scale factor.

double PJ_FACTORS.tissot_semiminor¶: Minimum scale factor.

double PJ_FACTORS.dx_dlam¶: Partial derivative \(\frac{\partial x}{\partial \lambda}\) of coordinate \(\left(\lambda,\phi\right)\).

double PJ_FACTORS.dy_dlam¶: Partial derivative \(\frac{\partial y}{\partial \lambda}\) of coordinate \(\left(\lambda,\phi\right)\).

double PJ_FACTORS.dx_dphi¶: Partial derivative \(\frac{\partial x}{\partial \phi}\) of coordinate \(\left(\lambda,\phi\right)\).

double PJ_FACTORS.dy_dphi¶: Partial derivative \(\frac{\partial y}{\partial \phi}\) of coordinate \(\left(\lambda,\phi\right)\).

List structures¶

PJ_OPERATIONS¶

Description a PROJ.4 operation

struct PJ_OPERATIONS {
    const char  *id;            /* operation keyword */
    PJ *(*proj)(PJ *);          /* operation  entry point */
    char    * const *descr;     /* description text */
};

const char *id¶: Operation keyword.

PJ *(*op)(PJ *)¶: Operation entry point.

char * const *: Description of operation.

PJ_ELLPS¶

Description of ellipsoids defined in PROJ.4

struct PJ_ELLPS {
    const char  *id;
    const char  *major;
    const char  *ell;
    const char  *name;
};

const char *id¶: Keyword name of the ellipsoid.

const char *major¶: Semi-major axis of the ellipsoid, or radius in case of a sphere.

const char *ell¶: Elliptical parameter, e.g. rf=298.257 or b=6356772.2.

const char *name¶: Name of the ellipsoid

PJ_UNITS¶

Distance units defined in PROJ.

struct PJ_UNITS {
    const char  *id;        /* units keyword */
    const char  *to_meter;  /* multiply by value to get meters */
    const char  *name;      /* comments */
    double      factor;     /* to_meter factor in actual numbers */
};

const char *id¶: Keyword for the unit.

const char *to_meter¶: Text representation of the factor that converts a given unit to meters

const char *name¶: Name of the unit.

double factor¶: Conversion factor that converts the unit to meters.

PJ_PRIME_MERIDIANS¶

Prime meridians defined in PROJ.

struct PJ_PRIME_MERIDIANS {
    const char  *id;
    const char  *defn;
};

const char *id¶: Keyword for the prime meridian

const char *def¶: Offset from Greenwich in DMS format.

Info structures¶

PJ_INFO¶

Struct holding information about the current instance of PROJ. Struct is populated by proj_info().

typedef struct {
    int           major;
    int           minor;
    int           patch;
    const char   *release;
    const char   *version;
    const char   *searchpath;
} PJ_INFO;

const char *PJ_INFO.release¶: Release info. Version number and release date, e.g. “Rel. 4.9.3, 15 August 2016”.

const char *PJ_INFO.version¶: Text representation of the full version number, e.g. “4.9.3”.

int PJ_INFO.major¶: Major version number.

int PJ_INFO.minor¶: Minor version number.

int PJ_INFO.patch¶: Patch level of release.

const char PJ_INFO.searchpath¶: Search path for PROJ. List of directories separated by semicolons (Windows) or colons (non-Windows), e.g. “C:\Users\doctorwho;C:\OSGeo4W64\share\proj”. Grids and init files are looked for in directories in the search path.

PJ_PROJ_INFO¶

Struct holding information about a PJ object. Populated by proj_pj_info(). The PJ_PROJ_INFO object provides a view into the internals of a PJ, so once the PJ is destroyed or otherwise becomes invalid, so does the PJ_PROJ_INFO

typedef struct {
    const char  *id;
    const char  *description;
    const char  *definition;
    int          has_inverse;
    double       accuracy;
} PJ_PROJ_INFO;

const char *PJ_PROJ_INFO.id¶: Short ID of the operation the PJ object is based on, that is, what comes afther the +proj= in a proj-string, e.g. “merc”.

const char *PJ_PROJ_INFO.description¶: Long describes of the operation the PJ object is based on, e.g. “Mercator Cyl, Sph&Ell lat_ts=”.

const char *PJ_PROJ_INFO.definition¶: The proj-string that was used to create the PJ object with, e.g. “+proj=merc +lat_0=24 +lon_0=53 +ellps=WGS84”.

int PJ_PROJ_INFO.has_inverse¶: 1 if an inverse mapping of the defined operation exists, otherwise 0.

double PJ_PROJ_INFO.accuracy¶: Expected accuracy of the transformation. -1 if unknown.

PJ_GRID_INFO¶

Struct holding information about a specific grid in the search path of PROJ. Populated with the function proj_grid_info().

typedef struct {
    char        gridname[32];
    char        filename[260];
    char        format[8];
    LP          lowerleft;
    LP          upperright;
    int         n_lon, n_lat;
    double      cs_lon, cs_lat;
} PJ_GRID_INFO;

char PJ_GRID_INFO.gridname[32]: Name of grid, e.g. “BETA2007.gsb”.

char PJ_GRID_INFO¶: Full path of grid file, e.g. “C:\OSGeo4W64\share\proj\BETA2007.gsb”

char PJ_GRID_INFO.format[8]: File format of grid file, e.g. “ntv2”

LP PJ_GRID_INFO.lowerleft¶: Geodetic coordinate of lower left corner of grid.

LP PJ_GRID_INFO.upperright¶: Geodetic coordinate of upper right corner of grid.

int PJ_GRID_INFO.n_lon¶: Number of grid cells in the longitudinal direction.

int PJ_GRID_INFO.n_lat¶: Number of grid cells in the latitudianl direction.

double PJ_GRID_INFO.cs_lon¶: Cell size in the longitudinal direction. In radians.

double PJ_GRID_INFO.cs_lat¶: Cell size in the latitudinal direction. In radians.

PJ_INIT_INFO¶

Struct holding information about a specific init file in the search path of PROJ. Populated with the function proj_init_info().

typedef struct {
    char        name[32];
    char        filename[260];
    char        version[32];
    char        origin[32];
    char        lastupdate[16];
} PJ_INIT_INFO;

char PJ_INIT_INFO.name[32]: Name of init file, e.g. “epsg”.

char PJ_INIT_INFO.filename[260]: Full path of init file, e.g. “C:\OSGeo4W64\share\proj\epsg”

char PJ_INIT_INFO.version[32]: Version number of init-file, e.g. “9.0.0”

char PJ_INIT_INFO.origin[32]: Originating entity of the init file, e.g. “EPSG”

char PJ_INIT_INFO.lastupdate¶: Date of last update of the init-file.

Logging¶

PJ_LOG_LEVEL¶

Enum of logging levels in PROJ. Used to set the logging level in PROJ. Usually using proj_log_level().

PJ_LOG_NONE¶: Don’t log anything.

PJ_LOG_ERROR¶: Log only errors.

PJ_LOG_DEBUG¶: Log errors and additional debug information.

PJ_LOG_TRACE¶: Highest logging level. Log everything including very detailed debug information.

PJ_LOG_TELL¶: Special logging level that when used in proj_log_level() will return the current logging level set in PROJ.

New in version 5.1.0.

PJ_LOG_FUNC¶

Function prototype for the logging function used by PROJ. Defined as

typedef void (*PJ_LOG_FUNCTION)(void *, int, const char *);

where the void pointer references a data structure used by the calling application, the int is used to set the logging level and the const char pointer is the string that will be logged by the function.

New in version 5.1.0.

C API for ISO-19111 functionality¶

enum iso19111_types::PJ_GUESSED_WKT_DIALECT¶

Guessed WKT “dialect”.

Values:

PJ_GUESSED_WKT2_2019¶: WKT2_2019

PJ_GUESSED_WKT2_2018 = PJ_GUESSED_WKT2_2019 ¶: Deprecated alias for PJ_GUESSED_WKT2_2019

PJ_GUESSED_WKT2_2015¶: WKT2_2015

PJ_GUESSED_WKT1_GDAL¶: WKT1

PJ_GUESSED_WKT1_ESRI¶: ESRI variant of WKT1

PJ_GUESSED_NOT_WKT¶: Not WKT / unrecognized

enum iso19111_types::PJ_CATEGORY¶

Object category.

Values:

PJ_CATEGORY_ELLIPSOID¶

PJ_CATEGORY_PRIME_MERIDIAN¶

PJ_CATEGORY_DATUM¶

PJ_CATEGORY_CRS¶

PJ_CATEGORY_COORDINATE_OPERATION¶

enum iso19111_types::PJ_TYPE¶

Object type.

Values:

PJ_TYPE_UNKNOWN¶

PJ_TYPE_ELLIPSOID¶

PJ_TYPE_PRIME_MERIDIAN¶

PJ_TYPE_GEODETIC_REFERENCE_FRAME¶

PJ_TYPE_DYNAMIC_GEODETIC_REFERENCE_FRAME¶

PJ_TYPE_VERTICAL_REFERENCE_FRAME¶

PJ_TYPE_DYNAMIC_VERTICAL_REFERENCE_FRAME¶

PJ_TYPE_DATUM_ENSEMBLE¶

PJ_TYPE_CRS¶: Abstract type, not returned by proj_get_type()

PJ_TYPE_GEODETIC_CRS¶

PJ_TYPE_GEOCENTRIC_CRS¶

PJ_TYPE_GEOGRAPHIC_CRS¶: proj_get_type() will never return that type, but PJ_TYPE_GEOGRAPHIC_2D_CRS or PJ_TYPE_GEOGRAPHIC_3D_CRS.

PJ_TYPE_GEOGRAPHIC_2D_CRS¶

PJ_TYPE_GEOGRAPHIC_3D_CRS¶

PJ_TYPE_VERTICAL_CRS¶

PJ_TYPE_PROJECTED_CRS¶

PJ_TYPE_COMPOUND_CRS¶

PJ_TYPE_TEMPORAL_CRS¶

PJ_TYPE_ENGINEERING_CRS¶

PJ_TYPE_BOUND_CRS¶

PJ_TYPE_OTHER_CRS¶

PJ_TYPE_CONVERSION¶

PJ_TYPE_TRANSFORMATION¶

PJ_TYPE_CONCATENATED_OPERATION¶

PJ_TYPE_OTHER_COORDINATE_OPERATION¶

enum iso19111_types::PJ_COMPARISON_CRITERION¶

Comparison criterion.

Values:

PJ_COMP_STRICT¶: All properties are identical.

PJ_COMP_EQUIVALENT¶: The objects are equivalent for the purpose of coordinate operations. They can differ by the name of their objects, identifiers, other metadata. Parameters may be expressed in different units, provided that the value is (with some tolerance) the same once expressed in a common unit.

PJ_COMP_EQUIVALENT_EXCEPT_AXIS_ORDER_GEOGCRS¶: Same as EQUIVALENT, relaxed with an exception that the axis order of the base CRS of a DerivedCRS/ProjectedCRS or the axis order of a GeographicCRS is ignored. Only to be used with DerivedCRS/ProjectedCRS/GeographicCRS

enum iso19111_types::PJ_WKT_TYPE¶

WKT version.

Values:

PJ_WKT2_2015¶: cf osgeo::proj::io::WKTFormatter::Convention::WKT2

PJ_WKT2_2015_SIMPLIFIED¶: cf osgeo::proj::io::WKTFormatter::Convention::WKT2_SIMPLIFIED

PJ_WKT2_2019¶: cf osgeo::proj::io::WKTFormatter::Convention::WKT2_2019

PJ_WKT2_2018 = PJ_WKT2_2019 ¶: Deprecated alias for PJ_WKT2_2019

PJ_WKT2_2019_SIMPLIFIED¶: cf osgeo::proj::io::WKTFormatter::Convention::WKT2_2019_SIMPLIFIED

PJ_WKT2_2018_SIMPLIFIED = PJ_WKT2_2019_SIMPLIFIED ¶: Deprecated alias for PJ_WKT2_2019

PJ_WKT1_GDAL¶: cf osgeo::proj::io::WKTFormatter::Convention::WKT1_GDAL

PJ_WKT1_ESRI¶: cf osgeo::proj::io::WKTFormatter::Convention::WKT1_ESRI

enum iso19111_types::PROJ_CRS_EXTENT_USE¶

Specify how source and target CRS extent should be used to restrict candidate operations (only taken into account if no explicit area of interest is specified.

Values:

PJ_CRS_EXTENT_NONE¶: Ignore CRS extent

PJ_CRS_EXTENT_BOTH¶: Test coordinate operation extent against both CRS extent.

PJ_CRS_EXTENT_INTERSECTION¶: Test coordinate operation extent against the intersection of both CRS extent.

PJ_CRS_EXTENT_SMALLEST¶: Test coordinate operation against the smallest of both CRS extent.

enum iso19111_types::PROJ_GRID_AVAILABILITY_USE¶

Describe how grid availability is used.

Values:

PROJ_GRID_AVAILABILITY_USED_FOR_SORTING¶: Grid availability is only used for sorting results. Operations where some grids are missing will be sorted last.

PROJ_GRID_AVAILABILITY_DISCARD_OPERATION_IF_MISSING_GRID¶: Completely discard an operation if a required grid is missing.

PROJ_GRID_AVAILABILITY_IGNORED¶: Ignore grid availability at all. Results will be presented as if all grids were available.

enum iso19111_types::PJ_PROJ_STRING_TYPE¶

PROJ string version.

Values:

PJ_PROJ_5¶: cf osgeo::proj::io::PROJStringFormatter::Convention::PROJ_5

PJ_PROJ_4¶: cf osgeo::proj::io::PROJStringFormatter::Convention::PROJ_4

enum iso19111_types::PROJ_SPATIAL_CRITERION¶

Spatial criterion to restrict candidate operations.

Values:

PROJ_SPATIAL_CRITERION_STRICT_CONTAINMENT¶: The area of validity of transforms should strictly contain the are of interest.

PROJ_SPATIAL_CRITERION_PARTIAL_INTERSECTION¶: The area of validity of transforms should at least intersect the area of interest.

enum iso19111_types::PROJ_INTERMEDIATE_CRS_USE¶

Describe if and how intermediate CRS should be used

Values:

PROJ_INTERMEDIATE_CRS_USE_ALWAYS¶: Always search for intermediate CRS.

PROJ_INTERMEDIATE_CRS_USE_IF_NO_DIRECT_TRANSFORMATION¶: Only attempt looking for intermediate CRS if there is no direct transformation available.

PROJ_INTERMEDIATE_CRS_USE_NEVER¶

enum iso19111_types::PJ_COORDINATE_SYSTEM_TYPE¶

Type of coordinate system.

Values:

PJ_CS_TYPE_UNKNOWN¶

PJ_CS_TYPE_CARTESIAN¶

PJ_CS_TYPE_ELLIPSOIDAL¶

PJ_CS_TYPE_VERTICAL¶

PJ_CS_TYPE_SPHERICAL¶

PJ_CS_TYPE_ORDINAL¶

PJ_CS_TYPE_PARAMETRIC¶

PJ_CS_TYPE_DATETIMETEMPORAL¶

PJ_CS_TYPE_TEMPORALCOUNT¶

PJ_CS_TYPE_TEMPORALMEASURE¶

typedef char **PROJ_STRING_LIST¶: Type representing a NULL terminated list of NULL-terminate strings.

struct PROJ_CRS_INFO¶

#include <proj.h>

Structure given overall description of a CRS.

This structure may grow over time, and should not be directly allocated by client code.

struct PROJ_CRS_LIST_PARAMETERS¶

#include <proj.h>

Structure describing optional parameters for proj_get_crs_list();.

This structure may grow over time, and should not be directly allocated by client code.