C++ Geodetic Library
December 28, 2025 · View on GitHub
Introduction
This is a C++ library meant to provide implementations of the most commonly used
geodetic calculations. The whole library is wrapped around the dso namespace.
Dependancies
This library uses the eigen library for basic matrix manipulation and linear algebra.
Compilation / Installation
Building the library requires cmake Supposing you are located in the top-level directory:
## to build in a folder named "build":
$> cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
$> cmake --build build --target all --config Release -- -j4
## (Optional) run tests
$> ctest --test-dir build
## Install, system-wide (needs root)
$> cd build && sudo make install
The Library
Coordinate Types
A point can be defined can be described (in 3-D space) by any of the following coordinate types:
- Cartesian, using ; unless otherwise stated, in SI units (i.e. meters)
- Geodetic, using , denoting the longitude in range , denoting the geodetic latitude in range and denotes the ellipsoidal height. Unless otherwise stated, ellipsoidal coordinate sets are given/derived in this order (i.e. ) in units of radians and meters. Note that geodetic coordinates are based on a reference ellipsoid.
- Spherical
Coordinate Transformations
-
Test : Geodetic -> Cartesian -> Geodetic results in max discrepancies (between the input and ouput geodetic coordinates) in the range: , and . See here).
-
Test : Spherical -> Cartesian -> Spherical results in max discrepancies (between the input and ouput spherical coordinates) in the range: , and . See here).
PREPARE Funding
This study was funded under the project PREPARE (HFRI PN:15562) in the framework of H.F.R.I call “Basic research Financing (Horizontal support of all Sciences)” under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0” funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU
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