Coordinates & Coordinate Systems
Coordinates are linear or angular quantities that designate the position of a point within a coordinate system. By extension, they also designate the position of a point within a spatial reference frame.
Coordinate Systems are a collection of rules by which a tuple of values may be used to spatially relate a location to a unique (coordinate system) origin location.
Cartesian Coordinate Systems are based on an ordered set of mutually perpendicular axes formed by straight lines. The point of intersection of the axes is termed the origin. The directions of successive axes are normally related to each other by a “right hand” rule.
Cartesian Coordinates (two-dimensional) uniquely locate points on a plane using a doublet of values, e.g., (x, y).
Cartesian Coordinates (three-dimensional) uniquely locate points within a volume using a triplet of values, e.g., (x, y, z).