// Copyright 2005, 2006 - Morten Nielsen (www.iter.dk)
//
// This file is part of SharpMap.
// SharpMap is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
// it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
// the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
// (at your option) any later version.
// 
// SharpMap is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
// GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.

// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
// along with SharpMap; if not, write to the Free Software
// Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA 

namespace GeoAPI.CoordinateSystems
{
    /// <summary>
    /// A set of quantities from which other quantities are calculated.
    /// </summary>
    /// <remarks>
    /// For the OGC abstract model, it can be defined as a set of real points on the earth 
    /// that have coordinates. EG. A datum can be thought of as a set of parameters 
    /// defining completely the origin and orientation of a coordinate system with respect 
    /// to the earth. A textual description and/or a set of parameters describing the 
    /// relationship of a coordinate system to some predefined physical locations (such 
    /// as center of mass) and physical directions (such as axis of spin). The definition 
    /// of the datum may also include the temporal behavior (such as the rate of change of
    /// the orientation of the coordinate axes).
    /// </remarks>
    public interface IDatum : IInfo
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the type of the datum as an enumerated code.
        /// </summary>
        DatumType DatumType { get; set; }
    }
}