Hi,
with the newest beta version of mapnik it is possible to use different street labels in case there is not enough room to print the full label.
I think about trying this on osm-tools.org.
What would be the best way to shorten the names?
For destination input purposes I suggest we have the full name in the name (resp name:en) tag. Else no software could match the correct soi.
For example (in english for my convenience):
name:en=Sukhumvit Road Soi 28
alternative
name:en=Thanon Sukhumvit Soi 28
This might be shortened in the following way:
- Sukhumvit Soi 28
- Soi 28
- 28
In the first reduction step I would treat “Thanon” the same as “Road” and leave it out first.
Do you think this is a valid way? Can you think of situations where this automatic shortening will be wrong and special treatment is needed?
Would anyone shorten Sukhumvit Soi 28 to Sukhumvit 28?
For Thai I would do it similar:
name=ถนน สุขุมวิท ซอย 28
- สุขุมวิท ซอย 28
- ซอย 28
- 28
as a special case I would treat Arabic numbers and Thai numbers the same way, also ignoring white space.
Does this sound like a way to go improving street names?
Stephan