Bounded answer
Preserve place label, coordinates, coordinate source, precision, elevation policy, and geocoding time. Bind those fields to one canonical input manifest and receipt before interpreting or sharing an output.
Input contract
What must be fixed first
Canonical input manifest
Named algorithm and dependency versions
Declared units and conventions
Retention and redaction policy
Procedure
Work the decision in order
- 1
Normalize the input without dropping uncertainty.
- 2
Record place label, coordinates, coordinate source, precision, elevation policy, and geocoding time.
- 3
Run the named deterministic operation.
- 4
Bind inputs and outputs into a receipt.
- 5
Verify the receipt independently before interpretation.
Expected outputs
- Canonical manifest
- Calculation or transformation receipt
- Reproducibility and redaction statement
Refuse when
- A place name can resolve to multiple coordinates or political boundaries.
- Required input, unit, convention, or dependency version is absent.
- An interpretive preference selects the computational convention after outputs are seen.
Questions this guide answers
What must a machine preserve for location provenance?
Preserve place label, coordinates, coordinate source, precision, elevation policy, and geocoding time.
Which information must be versioned?
At minimum, preserve place label, coordinates, coordinate source, precision, elevation policy, and geocoding time, together with the canonical input and output digests.
When should an output be withheld?
Withhold it when a place name can resolve to multiple coordinates or political boundaries. or when a required dependency cannot be identified.
Does determinism validate the interpretation?
No. Determinism makes the computation reproducible; interpretive or predictive validity requires a separate prospective evaluation.
What belongs in the receipt?
The operation, canonical inputs, units, assumptions, dependency versions, outputs, uncertainty treatment, and package digest.
Limits
- A place name can resolve to multiple coordinates or political boundaries.
- Reproducible astronomical arithmetic does not validate an astrological interpretation or prediction.
- No missing number, uncertainty interval, or calculation receipt is invented.