Re: How should a two-digit airport runway number be represented in XML?

On 6/24/2024 11:36 AM, Norm Tovey-Walsh wrote:
>> "Runways, all runways, have a 2-digit number that represents the magnetic heading of the runway to the nearest 10 degrees. If the runway's heading is 265 — 274 degrees, then the runway number is 27 — always drop the last “0.” The opposite end of the runway is 180 degrees apart, so Runway 09 (90 degrees)."
>>
>> How to represent a runway number in XML?
> 
> As ever, “it depends”. Without knowing more about the context, I can only appeal to my aesthetic sense and intuition.
> 
>> What do you think? Which form is better?
> 
> Given that the computer doesn’t care if it’s 9 or 09, I’d probably store the value as 09. That will be familiar and natural to a human pilot familiar with reading runway signs. Or an experienced technical writer used to documenting airport designs.
> 
> Don’t confuse the human is always a good design choice.

To make things a bit more interesting, pilots don't speak it as 
"Oh-nine".  They say "nine".  When I learned to fly at Honolulu 
International, there were two parallel runways 04.  We would call them 
"four-left" and "four-right".  The tower controller would say things 
like "Piper zero-six-zero cleared for intersection takeoff runway four 
left".


>                                          Be seeing you,
>                                            norm
> 
> --
> Norm Tovey-Walsh <[email protected]>
> https://norm.tovey-walsh.com/
> 
>> The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of
>> tolerance comes when we are in the majority.--Ralph W. Sockman


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